Urban Community Engagement Fellows Program

Program Details

The program provides fellows with dedicated time, resources, and mentorship from faculty and community advisory committees to deepen their engagement with community-based organizations and strengthen collaborative, place based partnerships. The program emphasizes projects and practices that advance food security, elevate community legacy and storytelling, and foster youth entrepreneurship as pathways toward long term community vitality and economic resilience in Southwest Lansing neighborhoods.

Rooted in principles of asset based community development, community participatory action research, shared leadership, and reciprocity, the fellowship supports work that responds directly to community identified priorities and centers local knowledge, histories, and lived experience.

Fellows are encouraged to collaborate closely with Southwest Lansing community based organizations to explore how access to healthy food systems, intergenerational storytelling, and youth led innovation can serve as interconnected strategies for strengthening neighborhoods and cultivating opportunities. Through this program, fellows will join a cohort of practitioners and scholars committed to meaningful civic engagement and collective impact. Fellows will engage in learning sessions, peer exchange, and reflective practice designed to support both individual growth and tangible community benefit.

We invite applications from individuals whose work demonstrates a strong commitment to community engagement and who are eager to collaborate with Southwest Lansing community based organizations in ways that honor community voices while investing in future generations.

Who Can Apply

This fellowship program is for MSU graduate students with an interest in interdisciplinary team approaches to community engagement in urban areas. UCEF welcomes applicants from all colleges and programs. Applicants should be enrolled as full-time graduate students, making good progress toward degree completion, and in good academic standing.

Expectations

Fellows in the program are expected to commit 5-8 hours per week across the fall and spring semesters, including:

• Orientation
• Regular meetings with the program coordinator (2-hour blocks/week)
• Workshops attended as a team/cohort
• Community partner meetings in Lansing
• Completion of a project agreed upon by the community partner(s), students, and the program coordinator.

Fellows are expected to meet in person; this is not a virtual program. Fellows will need to be enrolled in both the fall and spring semesters. Fellows will receive $7,500 total for the two semesters. Fellows will be acknowledged at an end-of-year event.

Application

Prospective fellows should complete an online application, which includes:

• A brief application form
• A C.V. or resume
• A 1–2-page statement of interest
• Provide the names and contact information of two professional references. Letters of support are not needed for the application, although UCEF organizers may contact references.

Apply for UCEF Program

Three to five applicants will be accepted into the program based on the advisory committee’s assessment of prospective fellows’ commitment to community engagement, interest in working on an interdisciplinary team, and potential for the UCEF program to contribute to their personal and professional development.

Applications for the UCEF program are due on April 30, 2026. Application reviews, interviews, and offers will be extended in early May 2026.

Questions

For further information or questions, please contact:

Kevin Brooks
Community Engagement Specialist
Center for Community and Economic Development
University Outreach and Engagement