The WWU Institute for Critical Disability Studies supports faculty, staff, and community members with fellowships to develop programs and carry out projects related to disability scholarship and advocacy. This year, we are building a three-person cohort from differing professional and advocacy backgrounds for a 10-month program running from May 2024 until February 2025. Fellows meet regularly throughout the calendar year to work together on their projects and learn from each other’s skills and interests.
Fellows are awarded $3,000 total for their time in the program. Fellows also consult with one or more Project Mentors.
ICDS Fellows Program Mission
The goal of the WWU ICDS Fellows Program is to create a venue where faculty, staff, and local community members can develop collaborative programs and initiatives related to disability scholarship and advocacy.
About the Fellows Program
What do Fellows do?
Our fellows take on a wide range of projects. Here are a few examples:
- Developing a community-focused event or program
- Traveling to conduct research at an archive or to gather interviews from the community
- Building a social network among activists and artists within a community
- Creating an art project and sharing it with the public
- Conducting scholarly research and developing writing projects
While we would like you to have some ideas and general direction for what you’d like to do as a Fellow, you do not have to have a firm plan finalized in order to be accepted into the ICDS Fellows Program. Much of our early work in the Fellows Program can include planning and project development in consultation with Program Mentors and with the collective support of your peers in the Program.
Program Structure
The participation of Fellows in the Program is structured as follows:
- Each Fellow will submit an application in which they propose ideas and projects they are interested in working on for their fellowship period.
- Each fellow receives $3,000 total for the period from May 01 2024 until February 28, 2025, disbursed in two installments of $1500, one near the beginning of the Fellows Program, and one at the Fellowship’s conclusion. The awarded funds are typically distributed evenly across academic terms, but can be disbursed on a different schedule if requested.
- Fellows will have the opportunity to engage with mentors based on the group’s interests and project goals. Fellows will meet and check in regularly with their mentors during their project development stage.
- Fellows meet as a full cohort approximately once every 2 – 3 weeks throughout the calendar year, including the summer. These meetings will be hybrid, allowing both in-person and online participation.
Program Outcomes
This is a process-driven program, rather than a product-driven program. What this means is that you will be working toward a goal, but it is not vital that you finish the project within the year of the fellowship. Some projects may turn out to be too big and ambitious to finish in just one year. The Fellows Program is here to help you along the journey.
There are three outcomes for the fellows program:
- In late May 2024, we will ask you to write a brief introduction of yourself and your tentative project ideas, which we will publish in our annual 2024 ICDS Annual Showcase newsletter. We will help you with any editorial support you should need.
- In October 2024, we will invite you to give a 10-30 minute presentation about your work in progress as an ICDS Fellow at the annual Disability Studies and Action Collaborative UnConference happening Saturday and Sunday, October 19 and 20, 2024.
- By February 2025, we will ask you to write a short follow-up report on your work as a ICDS Fellow. This report will be published in our annual 2025 ICDS Annual Showcase newsletter.
Getting Involved
Fellows: How to apply to the ICDS Fellows Program
Applications open on Friday March 01, 2024, and are due by 11:59 pm on Monday, April 01, 2024. The application form is at the bottom of this page. Finalists will be contacted for callback interviews in the first half of April.
How to become a Project Mentor for the ICDS Fellows Program
Fellows partner with ICDS Fellows Mentors, who are faculty, staff, or community member mentors with expertise or experience in disability scholarship and/or advocacy. Mentors meet with Fellows to discuss their projects and offer support. Project Mentors are compensated for each mentorship session.
If you are interested in serving as a mentor, please contact icds@wwu.edu so that the ICDS co-directors can follow-up with your questions and set up a phone call or Zoom meeting.
Contact us
To reach the ICDS Fellows Program team with questions, please address emails to both of the following email addresses: icds@wwu.edu and icds.fellows.program@wwu2.onmicrosoft.com.
Institute for Critical Disability Studies Fellows Application
Applications for the ICDS Fellows Program 2024 Cohort will open on March 01, 2024.
Please check back soon!
Application deadline: 11:59 pm, Monday, April 01, 2024