Civic Scholars Program

The Civic Scholars Program offers students a scholarship and pairs them with leaders in their community to cultivate the next generation of civic, community, and business leaders.

Beyond receiving financial support, students in the Civic Scholars Program:

  • enjoy opportunities to engage in public service
  • develop leadership skills
  • gain practical experience that complements your academic studies

The program focuses on three main components:

  • Mentoring: Make connections with local community leaders, such as mentorship and shadowing opportunities with local leaders.
  • Personal Development: Creating a professional development plan tailored to each student, such as a plan that allows for progressively increasing responsibilities regarding civic outreach and organizations.
  • Programming: Learning what’s necessary to produce successful programs, such as orientation events, local community events, and more.

Criteria

To be eligible, students must:

  • be admitted to Whittier College as a first-year student
  • be a United States resident and graduate from a U.S. high school
  • have maintained a minimum GPA of 3.4

Strong applicants should also:

  • Show a desire to be active citizens and effective communicators who act with integrity
  • Demonstrate commitment to service
  • Display leadership ability (e.g., volunteer work, co-curricular activities in high school, athletics, etc.)

Apply

The deadline to apply is March 15 at 5 p.m. Pacific.

Apply now

About the Program

This initiative reflects Whittier College’s ongoing commitment to advancing social mobility and student success.

In fact, Whittier has been named the 14th best liberal arts colleges in the country for social mobility, in addition to placing in the top 100 liberal arts colleges nationwide, per U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 Best Colleges rankings.

“The Civic Scholars Program is a cornerstone of our mission to empower students to become passionate leaders in our communities, state, and nation.” - President Kristine E. Dillon '73, Ph.D.

Although the Civic Scholar Program began as a partnership with the City of Whittier to support local students, generous support from the Fletcher Jones Foundation allowed the program to expand to other communities.