Debating for Democracy inspires students to become successful advocates in their communities. To encourage engaged citizenship, Project Pericles requests original letters to elected officials from teams (two or more students) at Periclean colleges and universities. A panel of judges will select the winning teams for the D4D competition. Five teams from five different colleges will win $500 to work on their issue. The Lang Center has developed an internal program to support students who wish to participate in Debating for Democracy. This opportunity is open to first-years, sophomores, and juniors.

The ChesterSemester Program is an interdisciplinary program on social change with an engaged scholarship (ESCH) internship component. The purpose of the program is to facilitate committed student engagement with visionary leaders in the city of Chester and focuses on critically understanding and helping to ameliorate some of society’s most pressing real-world problems by requiring students to participate in civic volunteer programs throughout the academic year. This fellowship awards students an academic credit for the fall and pays students for hourly internship work in the spring. This opportunity is open to all class years.

While at Swarthmore College, students initiate their own social impact projects with the support of programs like the Lang Opportunity Scholarship Program. The intention of this post baccalaureate program -- the Lang Social Impact Fellowship (LSIF) -- is to empower recent alumni to continue their projects by engaging stakeholders in systems change activities. Key features of LSIF include: mentoring, training, and funding. Awards are $27,000 per Fellow and is open to Swarthmore College alumni who have graduated in the past few years aged 25 years old and under.

Faculty can apply for up to $5,000 a year for courses that require substantial community engagement on the part of students, faculty, or visiting partners, though most awards are less than that so we can award a greater number of courses. Applicants typically request funds for honoraria for community partners or speakers; teaching assistants (TAs); travel; and equipment. We welcome compelling requests that fall outside these parameters, and we will consider requests for additional funding if the Engaged Scholarship components promise exceptional pedagogical and/or community impact.

In close collaboration with community partners, Engaged Humanities Studio Fellows embark on a 12- to 18-month project that addresses a contemporary issue through the arts and humanities. Awards are $15,000, $5000, or $1500. This opportunity is open to all Swarthmore faculty, staff, and students.

The CoLab at the Lang Center awards students $150 for a 10-hr project and $300 to complete a 20-hour remote project designed by community-based organizations, activists, and/or projects for social change. This program seeks to center community voices and put college resources to use in ways that are mutually beneficial to students and community partners. Community partners benefit from completed projects that might otherwise not be possible and students benefit from the opportunity to apply their academic learning to real-world projects aimed at social good. This opportunity is open to all class years.

Dare 2 Soar is Swarthmore College's largest and oldest tutoring group, serving hundreds of Chester, PA children aged K-12. It was founded as a student-run organization by Khadijah White '04 with Francisca Mata '04 and Greg Lok '04, with a mission "to provide elementary school students and families of Chester with positive role models of color that attend college and serve the community," and "to demonstrate to the children what social action is truly about so that they might one day continue this mission." Application is open to all class years and tutors are paid hourly.

The Lang Center supports faculty-led programs that encourage interdisciplinary learning and Engaged Scholarship. We are currently developing a formal application process. Stay tuned for more details!

The Fund supports groups of Swarthmore students who propose and implement social and civic action projects whose scope and sustainability will advance solutions for the issues in question and also promote recognition of students' motivation and capability to address such major issues effectively. Any team of two or more currently enrolled students may apply for grants of up to $25,000 to fund projects that are visionary in scope and groundbreaking in practice. Open to groups of students of any class year.

The Lang Opportunity Scholarship (LOS) Program each year selects members of Swarthmore’s sophomore class as Lang Scholars. Selection criteria include distinguished academic and co-curricular achievement, leadership qualities, and demonstrated commitment to civic and social responsibility. This program offers a diverse range of benefits including a $10,000 grant, a designated adviser, and networking opportunities to support the development of a project that creates a needed social resource in the U.S. or abroad. Applications are only open to sophomores.