Education and Social Justice Summer Research Fellowship
The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs and the Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching & Service (CSJ) administer the Education & Social Justice Research Fellowship. In early 2010, the Berkley Center and the CSJ created the Education and Social Justice Project to engage students and build knowledge about the deep connections between global challenges of poverty and education. Only through better access to education will people living in poverty be able to seize opportunities in an increasingly global economy. While policy analysts have documented the widespread failure of governments to meet this imperative, we still know relatively little about successful local efforts led by religious communities to advance sustainable community development and social justice through education.
Undergraduate student research fellows spend three weeks of summer conducting interviews on best practices at the intersection of education and social justice. Local hosts are Jesuit-led institutions doing innovative educational work in support of under-resourced communities.
During the preceding spring, fellows are supported in their submission of an IRB application, train in interview techniques, and prepare for field-based research in their specific sites through the 1-credit Pass/Fail course, UNXD 230 Education and Social Justice Research Methods. During three weeks of summer fieldwork, fellows conduct between 12-20 interviews and receive a 1-credit tuition scholarship to take UNXD 231 Education and Social Justice Fieldwork. In the fall semester, after completing data collection, fellows take UNXD 232: Digital Scholarship through which they create an engaging online report of their findings. They present their research in a public forum and their final reports are digitally published. The research fellowship funds travel, lodging, meals, and includes a $1,500 award.
Competitive applicants are in strong academic standing and specifically interested in international education research. Adaptability and flexibility are important characteristics, as fellows are typically placed in contexts with simple accommodations. Serious applicants should visit the project webpage to read past fellows’ reports and watch their research presentations.
For over ten years, Georgetown students have been making an impact through the Education and Social Justice Fellowship. Read more about the last decade of ESJ here.
How to apply in Fall 2023 for the 2024 Fellowship
The CSJ Fellowship is open to all GU undergraduates, including Hoyas at GU-Qatar and the School of Continuing Studies. The application cycle is now open. The application deadline is 5:00 PM ET on Friday, October 27, 2023.
If you have any questions about the application process or would like to discuss, sign up for one of the two Zoom information sessions being offered on October 4 at 8 AM and 8 PM.
Apply to the Fellowship here:
A complete application includes: a resume, unofficial transcript, and 250 words personal statement along with a completed Google Form application submitted by no later than 5 PM ET on Friday, October 27. (Here is the link to View-Only Application, in case you want to plan your application accordingly without having to access the google form.)
Current and Past Fellows
2023
Pragyan Acharya (GU-Q’24)
Pragyan (GUQ ’24) is a Nepali student with a major in International Politics and minor in Education, Inquiry, and Justice (EDIJ). He is a Qatar Foundation Merit Scholarship recipient and serves as a Director of Debate Network Nepal (DNN). He coaches the Nepal national team for the Worlds Schools Debating Championship, leads the GU-Q Debating Union, and has judged the Semi-Finals of the World Universities Debating Championship and the Grand-Finals of the Asian Universities Debating Championship twice. Pragyan focuses his studies the relationship among conflict, education, and transitional justice. He interned at the Protect Education in Insecurity and Conflict (PEIC) Directorate of Education Above All Foundation (EAA) and is currently part of a project, supported by the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), researching the Education City multiversity initiative. He enjoys road trips, trekking, Nepali music, and Newa cuisine.
Renee Vongai Mutare (GU-Q’24)
Renee Vongai (GUQ ’24) is an International Economics major, born and raised in Zimbabwe. She serves as the co-president for Georgetown’s Black Students Association and has been an active member of the university’s African Students Association. She is passionate about social justice issues, especially race and women’s empowerment. She strives to create an open dialogue on campus while promoting inclusivity and diversity. Renee participates in marathons in and around Doha and is involved in the Track and Field Club. She has volunteered to provide first aid resources to special needs communities in Qatar and with vulnerable communities in her hometown, Gweru. Her hobbies include cooking, binge-watching Netflix shows, and restaurant hopping.
Molly May (COL’24)
Molly May (COL’24) is pursuing a major in Sociology with minors in Statistics and Education, Inquiry and Justice. She is from Long Island, New York; while NYC is her home city, she loves all that DC has to offer. Molly serves as the Director of Operations at GU Votes and aims to enhance the voting culture on campus. She has been active in the CSJ since her freshman year as a Team Leader with Jumpstart. Molly loves working with young children and exploring equitable and effective educational practices that place care at the center of classroom spaces. Her favorite times are the morning drives past the Tidal Basin on the way to her preschool classroom sites. Molly hopes to pursue social science research that focuses on education and community engagement. When not in school, Molly is a competitive Highland dancer and enjoys hiking around DC and beyond.
2022
Sarah Craig (SFS’23)
Sarah is a junior in the SFS majoring in Culture and Politics and minoring in Italian and Creative Writing. As a first-generation student from Metro Detroit, Sarah has found community on campus with both the Community Scholars Program and the Georgetown Scholars Program (GSP). On campus, she works with the GSP Student Board to advocate for visibility and equity for FGLI students on campus. She also serves as the Opinion Editor for The Georgetown Voice, where she often writes about education and mental health. Sarah is a strong believer in students prioritizing their mental wellbeing and is interested in analyzing higher education through a disability studies perspective. In her free time, Sarah enjoys reading, bullet journaling, and rewatching her favorite TV shows.
Vikki Hengelbrok (C’23)
Vikki (COL’23) is a Justice and Peace Studies major, minoring in Psychology. She is German-American but has spent most of her life living in Panama City, Panama. On campus she is on the board of Hoyas Inspire Language Learners(HILL), a club whose purpose aligns with her passion of working with kids and encouraging multiculturalism from a young age. She has worked alongside immigrant teachers to help discover and ease the barriers they face when trying to work in DC Public Schools and she currently holds a position as a program assistant at Georgetown’s BMW center for German and European Studies. Some of her favorite past times are playing the guitar, cooking with her mom and watching really bad reality TV.
Kartikeya Uniyal (GU-Q’23)
Kartikeya Uniyal (GU-Q’23) is an undergraduate student at Georgetown’s campus in Qatar, where he studies International Politics. Hailing from India, Kartikeya is deeply passionate about designing low-cost educational interventions for public schools in India to make 21st-century skills accessible, attainable, and enforceable. He was selected for the Clinton Global Initiative University fellowship in 2019 where he worked on building a Commitment to Action to make education equitable. He launched Access Labs, an education technology non-profit in 2021 and is currently working with the Peace Innovation Lab at Stanford to design a peace education curriculum. At GU-Q, he works in the Office of Student Life to develop student programs and design communications for the student body. In his free time, he enjoys watching football (soccer), teaching, and discussing Indian politics.