Environmental Justice Fellowship

The mission of the Environmental Justice Fellowship at Whittier College centers on social and racial justice and diverse peoples’ cultural relationships and understandings of land, ecologies, and the environment.

Fellows further our understanding of the historical and historically rooted contemporary ways of being one with nature against environmental colonialism and racism. They decolonize mainstream understandings of environmentalism and focus their work on the effects of the global climate emergency and racist environmental policies that are disproportionately felt and lived by marginalized peoples. The Environmental Justice Fellowship empowers students to participate in a project or experience that will allow them to seek meaningful and effective redress for environmental harms that disproportionately impact indigenous peoples and low-income and communities of color around the globe. As part of the fellowship experience, fellows should also develop skills, knowledge, and purpose and seek to create impactful and reciprocal partnerships with the geographic and cultural communities in which Whittier College exists.

Eligibility Criteria

  • First-years, sophomores or juniors with good academic standing
  • Open to students of any major or academic program

Selection Criteria

  • How well the proposed project or experience aligns with the mission of the Environmental Justice Fellowship.
  • How well the proposed project or experience aligns with the student’s academic and/or career goals.
  • The feasibility of successfully completing the project or experience within the proposed timeframe.

Benefits

The value of awards will be determined by a faculty committee of the Environmental Justice Fellowship. The distribution of the fellowship award funds will be as follows:

  • The fellow will receive a stipend of $4,000.
  • The faculty mentor will receive $500 upon completion of the project.

Application Documents