University of the Future, Now!

University of the Future Now! Grant Applications invite our students to imagine new objects of study that expand their education– using this fund’s resources to create the university of the future.

Deadline to Apply: December 13, 2024

The University of the Future Now! grants come from Dean Shimizu’s own start-up funds and they are $3000 grants for students to work on re-imagining and re-making our institution of higher education, particularly encouraging our students to participate in the division’s aspirations to lead the nation in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) through the arts. 

A central question we are answering is what should be in place at UC Santa Cruz now, in 2025, so that by 2030 we can create the university of the future. We invite our departments and programs and faculty, staff and students to conduct projects that work towards an inclusive climate, diversifying faculty, broadening the curriculum, improving student success, and creating pipelines and career paths with and for underserved communities.  

Prompts to inspire our projects at the institutional level and through our interpersonal relations include: 

• What are your department /program’s challenges with diversity, equity and inclusion? 

• How can your interpersonal and structural relationships enable our shared goals for equity and inclusion through our abundance of differences? 
• What models or practices exist that may move us toward our shared goals for equity and inclusion?

We hope that students who apply to this program consider: 

• What guides you in your priorities for building equity and inclusion on our campus?
• How have you grappled with your own personal story and used it to motivate your actions toward building campus equity?
• In what ways does your artistic and intellectual work advance our collective knowledge and help our institution grow?
• Where do you believe our goals to diversify campus have fallen short, and what should we do to better achieve them?

Eligibility Information

• Students applying for this award must be currently enrolled at UCSC and in good academic and conduct standing. Undergraduate students in any Arts major and graduate students in any Arts graduate program are eligible to apply. 
• The activity or project must take place within one calendar year of being awarded and conclude prior to the student’s graduation.

Proposal

The proposal should be no longer than 1-2 pages (or up to 500 words on the application) and should address the following: 

• How will your project contribute to creating the university of the future through addressing a specific problem related to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Arts? Concretely, what do you propose to do (addressing representation, bringing voice(s) to campus, creating mentorship opportunities that do not yet exist, etc…)? How are you offering to intervene through your studies/research and/or practice?
• Which scholars, thinkers, artists, performers, or other leading voices have helped to influence you in addressing the problems discussed in your proposal?
• Why do you feel your specific method(s) are  ideal to addressing the problem you identified?

Evaluation

The criteria for evaluating the funding proposal will be evidence of your deep and serious engagement of diversity, equity, and inclusion at the university. How are you analyzing and addressing the specific problem? Is the approach you identified thorough and appropriate to the problem? What literature(s) (scholarship and creative work) are shaping your thinking? A committee of faculty from the Arts Division will review the proposals.

Funds will be awarded as scholarships or fellowships through the financial aid portal.

Required Application Documents

• Application Form 
• 1-2 page proposal
• Proposed budget
• Letter of Support from faculty advisor (required). This can be submitted with your application or emailed by the faculty advisor to: artsdean@ucsc.edu,  with “University of the Future Now! Letter of Support: [Last Name of Applicant]”  as the subject line.

Please complete the application form and submit with all required application attachments. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Reporting

A final report  is required at the conclusion of the project (within 30 days). Please include any relevant photos.