***BGSA Scholar Activist and Professional Development Award application cycles are currently closed. We look forward to receiving your applications in Spring 2023!***
BGSA Funding Opportunities
The BGSA has partnered with the Institute for Urban Policy Research & Analysis (IUPRA) to provide Professional Development Funds and Scholar Activist Awards to BGSA members. Please review the awards applications and consult the “Frequently Asked Questions” section below for further clarification. Please send any additional questions to utbgsa@gmail.com.
BGSA Professional Development Award
BGSA Professional Development Award
The BGSA has partnered with the Institute for Urban Policy Research & Analysis (IUPRA) to provide financial support for BGSA members pursuing professional development opportunities beyond the classroom. These are opportunities that broaden intellectual understanding, hone professional practice, facilitate professional connections and allow networking with colleagues and peers.
BGSA Scholar Activist Award
BGSA Scholar Activist Award
The BGSA has partnered with the Institute for Urban Policy Research & Analysis (IUPRA) to promote scholar-activists representing the BGSA through financial support in recognition of their advocacy and social justice contributions at UT and the Greater Austin community. Scholar activism is the cornerstone of the Black experience in academia, and the natural answer to the call of injustice and discrimination Black people face interpersonally, socially, and institutionally. A scholar-activist is rooted in the rich history of Black activism, with the ambition and vision to enact change for their community.
The BGSA is the primary hub for community building, professional development, and institutional advocacy for Black graduate students. Supporting our members’ dedication and determination to dismantling oppressive systems and advancing Black graduate resources is of the utmost importance. It is our continued mission to promote academic excellence and provide opportunities for professional development, networking, and support for Black graduate students. In order to be able to do this successfully, we must first and foremost stand for the equitable and just treatment of Black graduate students. The primary charge of IUPRA is to strengthen Black communities, promote social justice, and combat anti-Black racism using a racial equity framework through policies that value, support, and advance Black communities. With our shared missions, the Scholar activist award will support further advancement in a) academic discovery, b) campus leadership, and c) community engagement.
Scholar activism has many definitions and modalities, all aimed toward social justice and advocacy. This may entail academic discovery as a teacher, sharing general knowledge about social justice, or a researcher, collecting and analyzing data about the social and political climate. Scholar activists might find themselves involved in community engagement as an expert, sharing their expert knowledge of particular social institutions, social practices, or social policies; or as a public intellectual, sharing the stories and motivation surrounding a particular social movement. Scholar activists may engage in campus leadership through, grassroots organizing, community-based leadership, or outreach targeting historically underrepresented and marginalized communities on campus and in the Diaspora broadly
FREQUENCY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. How do I become a full or affiliate member?
You can find out more about our membership tiers by going to https://diversity.utexas.edu/bgsa/ and clicking on our membership tab. Here you can join our general body, pay membership dues, and learn about the BGSA at UT Austin!
2. Do you need my GPA or GRE score?
NO. We are proud to move forward with dismantling merit-based fellowship and awards1. The purpose of scholar activism is to move through the present with the wisdom of the past and the vision of the future. Standardized testing does not communicate the BGSA mission of promoting indiscriminate academic excellence and breaking down barriers to equitable educational achievement
3. Does ______ count as Scholar-Activism?
YES. There is no one definition of Scholar activism. Advocacy comes in many forms, and we are proud to celebrate the intersectionality and diversity of scholar-activist identities here at the University of Texas.
4. I am a first-year student/not living in Austin?
Please apply! In your application, connect the community engagement work you are doing in your home community with the activism work that needs to be done in the Greater Austin area. You can also connect the campus leadership and academic discovery activism work that you have done at your past institution to the work you plan to do at UT.