Engagement Academy Fellows Program

Academy Fellows commit to the following activities.

• Receive a $3000 summer stipend, as well as a project budget of up to $7000, to complete a self-designed project 
• Engage in regular meetings with Student Engagement Network leadership in an active community of scholarly practice
• Document, present, and share project findings to the broader Penn State community, in addition to other scholarly venues as appropriate
• Submit a final report at the end of term to summarize project and findings
• Be willing to participate in the selection of future Academy Fellows and/or Academy Scholars

While all Penn State faculty and staff are eligible to apply to become Academy Fellows, successful candidates meet the following criteria.

• Have an interest in, or experience with, student engagement and/or engaged scholarship (for example, experience with programming in student life or leading engaged scholarship experiences).
• Be willing to serve as a campus leader or mentor for student engagement and engaged scholarship. Have an interest in being an active member of a community of practice for student engagement and engaged scholarship.

The application for the Academy Fellows Program requires a project budget, which is used to determine the amount of funds awarded. Download the budget template to start planning your budget, even before the application opens in February. 

The Academy Advisory Group will use the following process to select Academy Fellows.

• Each year, five Academy Fellows are selected to begin their one-year terms starting in the summer of the year in which they are selected. Applications open in February and close in late March.
• Interested Penn State faculty and staff should submit a letter of intent along with an application form and proposed budget using the application website, which opens each year in early February. These materials will be carefully reviewed by the Academy Advisory Group.

The Academy Advisory Group will select Fellows based on the following criteria:

• The quality and relevance of the applicant’s past student engagement and engaged scholarship activities and those proposed in the application
• Demonstration of a desire to deepen campus-wide discourse, practice, and recognition of student engagement and engaged scholarship at Penn State
• Evidence of the candidate’s willingness and capacity to disseminate information about the project to the broad Penn State campus community
• Ability to contribute as a University leader in student engagement and/or engaged scholarship

To gain a clear understanding of how your application will be evaluated, you can view the rubric the Academy Advisory Group uses to assess candidates. Download the rubric to plan your application strategy.