Publicly Engaged Fellowship Application

The David G. Pollart Center for Arts and Humanities, in partnership with the WSU Graduate School, invites graduate students to apply for a unique funding opportunity to connect scholarly and creative work with meaningful public impact. Supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities NextGen grant, the PEF program helps graduate students and faculty reimagine the possibilities of graduate education at a land-grant research university. Through the PEF program, fellows learn how to collaborate equitably with community partners while gaining hands-on experience in publicly engaged research, creative work, and community-based scholarship. 

Is this fellowship right for you? We welcome proposals from any arts and humanities discipline. If you are interested in community engagement, developing collaborative partnerships, and are ready to design a project that connects your academic expertise with a community, please consider applying. 

Projects are intentionally open-ended to allow graduate students from as many contrasting disciplines as possible to see themselves doing this kind of work. For ideas, feel free to read about projects from a recent cohort of Publicly Engaged Fellows.

Timeline 

Proposals are due by Friday, March 13, 2026 at 5:00 PM PST. Incomplete proposals will not be considered.

Funding recipients will be notified during the week of March 30.

Funding 

Graduate students selected for the next Publicly Engaged Fellows cohort will receive a total of $3,000. The first half ($1,500) is released after the fellow completes the initial steps outlined in the award letter. The remaining $1,500 is typically distributed over the summer once the fellow demonstrates they are nearing completion of their project. Funds may be used for a summer stipend, research or travel expenses, and any materials required to complete the project. All expenditures must be approved by Pollart Center leadership. 

Proposal Guidelines 

A complete proposal addresses the following components: 

  1. Project description (250 words or less) 
    • A description of your intended project and the public or community challenge it engages 
  2. Potential community partners
    • A listing of the community partners and organizations with whom you plan to build equitable, mutually beneficial collaborations
  3. Connections to your academic goals (100 words or less)
    • A description of how this work is related to your scholarly and creative development 
  4. Expected outcomes and timeline
    • Your deliverables and vision for summer project work 
    • A listing of anticipated due dates for successful completion of the project 

Sharing Your Work 

Members of the Publicly Engaged Fellows cohort will share their work in a public presentation at the Neill Public Library in downtown Pullman, WA. These sessions will take place during the fall 2026 semester on dates coordinated between each fellow and library staff. In addition, Publicly Engaged Fellows are expected to submit an abstract to the Graduate and Professional Student Association Research Exposition and to WSU Showcase, both held in March of the spring 2027 semester.

Publicly Engaged Fellowship Application

Name(Required)
Provide a description of your intended project and the public or community challenge it engages.
With which community partner(s) and organization(s) do you plan to build equitable, mutually beneficial collaborations?
How is this work related to your scholarly and creative development?
Please detail your vision for your summer project work and explain the expected deliverables for the end of your project. Please also include anticipated due dates for successful completion of the project.