The WashU & Slavery Project supports immersive learning opportunities that help situate the reckoning with slavery and its legacies in our city within a national and global context.

Immersive Learning Scholarships

The WashU & Slavery Project offers scholarships to support participation in university-approved study abroad programs (including Ampersand Programs) that help situate the reckoning with slavery and its legacies in our city and nation within a global context. These scholarships (up to $2,500) are intended to encourage and offset the cost of participation in study abroad and potentially other immersive learning opportunities that promote greater understanding of “local to global” community histories and legacies of colonialism and slavery, as well as the politics and best practices of reparative justice, and to increase engagement with these vital issues across the university. 

Eligibility and Requirements

All WashU students are eligible to apply for immersive learning scholarships. The application form will ask you to request a funding amount (up to maximum of $2,500) and explain how the requested funding will be used to engage local to global community histories and legacies of colonialism and slavery, and approaches to reparative justice. Funding must be used to facilitate the proposed engagement with the thematic focus of the scholarship, which may include immediate tuition and travel expenses for study abroad programs specifically related to the scholarship theme, or funding to supplement a program with more relevant research and other engagement (e.g., extending time to focus on scholarship themes). We will also consider applications for support for archival and other research outside of St. Louis. Funding recipients will be recognized as Project Scholars and are required to produce a reflection essay including visuals sharing some of the insights and experiences facilitated by WashU & Slavery Project support. 

How to Apply

To apply, click the "Apply Here" button (right) to submit an application for the WashU & Slavery Project scholars program, and select the Immersive Learning option. Note: for applicants interested in study abroad, this application will enable us to identify interested and eligible students and initiate coordination with the Office of Overseas Programs to provide an offer of scholarship support (WashU & Slavery study abroad scholarships will be administered in partnership with the Office of Overseas Programs). Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and reviewed by the project steering committee. Support will be offered according to project fit and funding availability as applications are reviewed over the fall and spring semesters. Study abroad scholarship offers will be contingent on completion of the separate application and enrollment processes managed by the Office of the Overseas Program.  

Pictured:
Albert Dock in Liverpool, England, home of the International Slavery Museum today and historically significant for its role in the trans-atlantic slave trade, and the construction of the Confederate naval fleet during the U.S. Civil War (Photo: G. Ward).