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Graham Sustainability Scholars Application Guidelines

Graham Sustainability Scholars Application Guidelines

Application Materials 

  • A Narrative (< 500 words) that addresses the three prompts below and demonstrates your strengths as an emerging sustainability leader:
    • Describe your educational and career goals and how this interdisciplinary, collaborative sustainability experience would be transformative (as opposed to incremental) for you. What do you hope to learn through this experience?
    • Describe how your unique experiences, perspectives, and/or skills could contribute to the collaborative learning that happens in the Graham Scholars Program.
    • Describe how you have and/or intend to contribute towards fostering just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive pathways to sustainability.
  • Curriculum vitae or resume (up to 2 pages)
  • Transcripts of all undergraduate coursework. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable.

All applications are treated confidentially. Applications are accepted between March and April and decisions are made in May.


Application Review Criteria:
A review panel will be asked to consider the following review criteria when reviewing your application:

  • Transformative experience potential: How well does the applicant demonstrate that their participation in the Graham Sustainability Scholars Program will be transformative for the student in terms of their educational and/or professional goals? Or will it be an incremental experience? Consider evidence that engagement with multiple disciplines and external organizations will be a unique experience for the applicant and/or that the applicant will provide a unique perspective to the rest of the cohort.
  • Commitment to collaborating with an interdisciplinary team and diverse cohort: How well does the applicant demonstrate the potential to proactively contribute to an interdisciplinary and collaborative team? 
  • Commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion: How well does the applicant demonstrate their contribution to just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive pathways to sustainability? Does the applicant include clear examples of commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in action? Does the applicant express interest in learning more about justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion integration?
  • Sustainability leadership potential: Does the applicant have leadership experience or show potential for being a successful leader? Does the applicant demonstrate an ability to collaborate on a sustainability project with a student team and an external partner? Graham Sustainability Scholars will learn the following sustainability leadership competencies as part of the program: collaboration, communication, adaptability, shared visioning, self-awareness, anticipatory.

Graham Sustainability Institute Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement 

At the Graham Sustainability Institute, our dedication to academic excellence for the public good is inseparable from our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our mission of engaging, empowering, and supporting faculty, staff, and students to foster sustainability solutions includes ensuring that each member of our community thrives. We believe that diversity, equity, and inclusion are key to empowerment, and the advancement of sustainability knowledge, learning, and leadership, see our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion page.