The Social Justice Initiative’s Pipeline to Justice Scholarship and Mentoring Program (P2J) is designed to support community organizers and activists in completing undergraduate degrees at University of Illinois Chicago. Since 2012, the P2J program has been an academic conduit for students with non-traditional backgrounds who have a dedicated practice of community organizing and commitments to social justice. This program is committed to increasing education access for students who are engaged in leadership and activism in national and local justice-based movements.

P2J works to enable and empower students to continue their activism in service to their home communities, and to view their college training as another asset in their activist toolkit rather than a distraction from it. The Social Justice Initiative facilitates connection among P2J scholars through a cohort-based model, a renewable scholarship, mentoring and participation in SJI’s programs.

INFORMATION ABOUT APPLYING

P2J scholars can expect to receive the scholarship annually by the beginning of the winter semester–while the scholarship is not a tuition stipend, past recipients have been awarded up to $5000.

Ideal candidates for the Pipeline to Justice program will have had a demonstrable impact as community organizers or activists with respect to social justice movements in their communities––locally, nationally or internationally––and must be one of the following:

• Incoming undergraduate UIC student
• Current undergraduate UIC student
• Returning undergraduate student to UIC

To be considered for the Pipeline to Justice program, a student statement of interest and a letter of recommendation must be sent to msilva28@uic.edu

Deadline for applying for 2023 academic year is Monday, May 1, 2023

If you are self-nominating, please submit each of the following to msilva28@uic.edu.

Required:

• Student Statement of Interest. Why do you want to be a Pipeline to Justice (P2J) Scholar (300 words)
• Letter of recommendation from a teacher, coworker, or mentor including their relationship to the student (300-500 words)

Optional:

• Resume
• Supplemental materials re: activist or organizing work

If faculty or staff are nominating a student, please submit the following to msilva28@uic.edu :

• Required: please submit a (300-500 word) nomination letter including the student’s contact information
• Optional: Supplemental materials re: activist or organizing work of the nominee

FINAL DECISIONS

Expect to hear back from the nominations committee by the end of May 2023.

If you have any questions please contact: msilva28@uic.edu