Engaged Scholarship Teaching and Research Grants support faculty to develop new or existing courses and research projects. The Lang Center Advisory Committee (comprised of faculty) reviews applications, favoring those that center on equipment, travel, or supply costs (or part-time assistance) directly related to engaged scholarship.
Engaged Scholarship Research Grant (ESRG)
ESRGs support research that applies knowledge to needs, and aims toward understanding and/or ameliorating social problems or community needs. You can request funding for research assistance, the purchase of equipment, and travel essential to Engaged Scholarship research that will take place during the calendar year. Successful applications are typically able to show how the proposed research is likely to culminate in products including but not limited to publications, public performances, or art installations.
The deadline for ESRG applications in the 2024 calendar year (spring, summer, and fall) is February 15, 2024. You can find the application here. Questions about the ESRG can be directed to Jennifer Magee.
NOTE: The Institutional Review Board (IRB) is charged with reviewing all research involving human subjects conducted under the auspices of the College by its faculty, students, and staff, as well as research by outside investigators involving Swarthmore students or personnel. To learn more, visit the IRB website.
Engaged Scholarship Teaching Grant (ESTG)
ESTGs recognize that teaching new Engaged Scholarship courses (or re-envisioning existing courses in order to add a public-facing orientation) often requires extra resources. Engaged Scholarship courses can include the kind of "Community-Based Learning" (CBL) courses that the Lang Center has historically supported, as well as courses that add an experiential component to subjects and problems of public interest. For the academic year, you can request funding for TAs to act as liaisons with your community partners, equipment, travel, and honoraria for community partners. On the Lang Center website you can view a representative list of some of the courses that we (and the faculty colleagues who teach them) currently consider to comprise Engaged Scholarship. Their common denominator tends to be a focus on issues/problems of interest to a community outside of Swarthmore College, along with an attempt to analyze or address those issues with (or on behalf of) some external community. Some Engaged Scholarship courses include a "perspective-taking" component, a development of empathy for the viewpoint and positionality of a community or communities relevant to the academic study.
Dr. Magee provides leadership and support for key programs of the Center that fund the work of social responsibility, including the Engaged Scholarship Research Grant program for faculty and for students: Lang Opportunity Scholarship Program, Lang Social Impact Fellowship, Pilot Project Grant Program, Project Pericles Fund of Swarthmore College, and Davis Projects for Peace. Office hours by appointment.
ESTG Contact
Katie Price
Senior Associate Director, Lang Center for Civic & Social Responsibility
