Apply to the Community Scholars Program (CSP)!

Curious about what current CSP students have to say about their experience learning about social change and visioning a new and more equitable world? 

​​”My biggest takeaway is that there is so much hope.”

“From the course as a whole, I have experienced a rekindling of hope that a good society is not only possible, but that it will be successful.”

“This semester I have definitely experienced some of the biggest developments in personal growth for as long as I can remember, and this course has inspired a good deal of it. One area I have seen growth is in my ability to vision.”

“The people currently making a good society happen need numbers, they need support, they need hope. I have gained a much greater awareness for the process of creating social change, and my own role within this process, as a result of this course”

“I have no doubt that the kind of community built in our class is possible to build among any group of people”

Now more than ever, students might be seeking an opportunity to work on issues of social change.  Mounting and intersecting crises are deepening inequality and suffering in the U.S. and across the globe, due in part to the prioritizing of transnational corporate interests at the expense of marginalized groups and the common good, especially with regard to meeting essential public health and health care needs, addressing climate change, protecting worker and immigrant rights and more. Thankfully, there are also many examples of resistance, community engagement, networks of mutual aid, and alternative models that we can look toward as we vision and build a different future together. 

Apply to the CSP and join a meaningful, vibrant learning community surrounded by staff, professors and peers who are engaged in work of social justice and social change. 

Details:

  • Weekly engagement with a community organization
  • 4 courses over 2 years that support you to do the work of social change
  • Small classes and relational teaching
  • Support to design and carry out a Capstone Project (including for CHC students)
  • Opportunity to earn a Civic Engagement and Public Service Certificate
  • And more!

Learn More, Apply Here, or reach out to CSP Faculty Director Deborah Keisch at dkeisch@umass.edu for more information. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the program is filled.

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