The Digital Knowledge Center oversees two initiatives that offer funding or credit for students taking on ambitious digital projects: Digital Project Grants, which provide funding for the purchase of hardware or software, and Digital Knowledge Fellowships, which offer mentorship and funding for longer or larger-scale projects.
Digital Project Grants
Digital Project Grants are aimed at students who have an idea for a project but need specific software or hardware that is not currently available at UMW. The Digital Knowledge Center will fund the purchase of the necessary technology, and the grantee will share lessons learned from the project in one or more of the following formats:
- Presentations to DKC staff
- Participation in Research and Creativity Day
- Regular public blogging
- A combination of the above
- Other means agreed upon by the Fellow and DKC staff
Digital Knowledge Fellowships
The Digital Knowledge Fellowship program empowers UMW students to deeply engage in a specific area of digital creation. Students accepted into the program will develop skills and a deeper knowledge in their chosen focus area through mentorship from Digital Knowledge Center staff, independent research, and prototype creation, and will share the results of their exploration with the UMW community.
Digital Knowledge Fellows receive a stipend and may apply for additional funding to purchase equipment and tools to facilitate their digital creations.
The Digital Knowledge Fellowship program is a minimum commitment of 4 hours a week for up to one academic year. Interested candidates should take this into consideration when planning the scope of their project proposal.
Fellowships are available for current UMW students only. You can see some past projects on our DKC showcase site.
Fellow Responsibilities
- Submit a project proposal for acceptance into the program
- Sign a fellowship agreement outlining details, timeline, and deliverables of the proposed project
- Dedicate a minimum of 4 hours a week to research and development of the project
- Produce a finished product or polished prototype by the end of their fellowship
- Share lessons learned from the fellowship project with the UMW community. This could be via:
- Presentations to DKC staff
- Participation in Research and Creativity Day
- Regular public blogging
- A combination of the above
- Other means agreed upon by the Fellow and DKC staff
Digital Knowledge Center Staff Responsibilities
- Provide space in the Digital Knowledge Center for the Fellow to work
- Offer mentorship and support throughout the project
- Fund the purchase of tools, software, licenses, or other equipment to support the Fellow’s digital creation project
- Provide the Fellow a stipend, internship credit, or a combination of the two, depending upon the needs of the student and the scope of the fellowship project.
- The stipend amount will be determined by mutual agreement between the Fellow and DKC staff, based on factors such as:
- Length of the fellowship period
- Weekly time commitment
- Complexity of the fellowship project
- ¼ of the stipend will be paid at the start of the fellowship period
- The remaining 3/4 will be paid upon receipt of the agreed upon deliverable at the end of the fellowship period
- In collaboration with DKC staff, the Fellow may make purchase requests at any point in the fellowship period
- Each purchase request will be reviewed and considered by DKC Staff on a case-by-case basis
What Have Previous Fellows Have Done?
- Our showcase site features the work of some of our fellows
- Read the blog posts of fellows to see their process unfold
Ready to submit a proposal?
Applications for Spring 2025 have closed.
All applications submitted after November 1st, 2024 will be considered for Fall 2025.
Have questions?
Contact us at dkc@umw.edu