About the Scholarship
The Institute for Critical Disability Studies General Scholarships support WWU students who are engaging in advocacy, activism, and scholarly or creative work centered around critical disability studies and disability identity and justice.
This award was established by the ICDS Co-Directors and has been made possible by the generous donations of our Give Day donors who contributed to the ICDS General Scholarship Fund in 2023. This year, we are excited to be able to offer new $500 scholarships to current declared minors in Critical Disability Studies, and we hope to increase the number and amount of scholarships we offer in the future.
Contact icds@wwu.edu with questions, or if you are interested in helping to directly support Critical Disability Studies students though scholarships!
Award distribution: Academic Year, beginning Fall
Award amount: variable. $500 for AY 2024-25
Number of awards: variable. For AY 2024-25: 1 or 2 total for students minoring in Critical Disability Studies at Western:
Up to one Scholarship in Disability Justice & Activism
Up to one Scholarship in Academic Critical Disability Studies
Applicant eligibility: To be considered, you must be a current WWU student planning to enroll at least half time next Fall and must have declared the Minor in Critical Disability Studies before the end of Winter Quarter 2024. Students may only apply to one of the two scholarships
Applications open: April 2024
Application deadline: 11:59 pm, Wednesday, May 01, 2024
Letter of recommendation deadline: 11:59 pm, Wednesday, May 01, 2024.
Contact: icds@wwu.edu
Evaluation Criteria:
Applicants are judged on these main criteria:
- Is the applicant a current declared Minor conducting coursework in Critical Disability Studies at Western?
- Has the applicant demonstrated engagement with one of the following aspects of disability studies and action (discussed in their personal statement):
- Candidates for the Disability Justice & Activism Scholarship for Minors engage in curricular or extracurricular work in disability justice, disability identity, advocacy, and/or activism and respond to the prompt: How have you contributed to the rights, resources, and concerns of disability communities?
- Candidates for the Academic Critical Disability Studies Scholarship for Minors conduct research, internships, independent studies, and other academic or creative work in areas related to CDS and respond to the prompt: Why is Critical Disability Studies interesting and important to you academically?
- Letter of Recommendation from a mentor or faculty member
- Preference is given for students who have demonstrated financial need, but it is not required to be chosen for the Award.
CDS Scholarship Awardees
2024-25 Awardees
These are new scholarships supported by your generous Give Day donations! We are pleased to announce our first awardee for the CDS Scholarship!
![An indoor selfie of a person in a reddish hoodie with a short beard and curly dark hair and glasses, gazing to the bottom right of the frame.](https://wp.wwu.edu/disabilitycollaborative/files/2024/05/remi-rogoff-800x1024.jpg)
Remi Rogoff
he/him
I am an out of state student from Northern California majoring in Urban Planning and Sustainable Development with minors in Critical Disability Studies and Honors Interdisciplinary Studies. I love cuddling my dog when I’m visiting home, playing wheelchair basketball with the Adaptive Sports Club, and cooking. I look forward to pursuing my education in urban planning and disability studies in order to work towards a more equitable and accessible world.
These scholarships are entirely built on small donations to the ICDS General Scholarship fund!
Please contact ICDS icds@wwu.edu to learn about how you can contribute to the fund so that we can continue to offer them next year. Donations to the Scholarship Fund can be made at any time of the year!