Details

Undergraduate Global Scholars are student leaders in the campus community. Join our next cohort of students to contribute to the campus conversation on building democracy.

This competitive fellowship program is open to students from all colleges and majors with a passion for big global questions and speaking across differences. The Global Scholars program provides a toolkit of resources for weighing challenging questions and builds your practical skills in public debates. 

For the 2024-25 school year, scholars will bring their skills as writers, scholars, activists and artists, poets, hands-on practitioners, and more to study and promote building democracy. By the end of the program, you'll be an active global citizen and champion for social impact.

Building Democracy

This is a big year for democracy on a global scale, with roughly half the world’s population casting votes in local, regional, legislative, and presidential elections. The Einaudi Center’s democracy researchers have found that democratic backsliding is occurring in an unprecedented number of wealthy countries once thought immune to such forces—the United States among them. 

Polarization, disinformation, election fatigue, interference, and challenges to freedom of the press and free expression are among the barriers to protecting democratic freedoms, strengthening democratic institutions, and expanding political participation. 

What You'll Learn

The Global Scholars program creates a space for studying and practicing how individuals and communities can engage about, with, and across difference and disagreement to work toward collective understanding and action on challenging global issues. Our focus will be on skills of discourse, empowering you to thoughtfully address big questions on campus and beyond. You will learn how to:

• Determine the nature of complex global issues.
• Understand crucial issues from multiple perspectives.
• Test your ideas through research.
• Respectfully interact with communities impacted by an issue.
• Responsibly engage in advocacy to create valuable public discourse.
• Craft and share a capstone project with the campus community. 

Mentors and Networking

As a Global Scholar, you'll meet and engage with prominent experts and leaders visiting the Einaudi Center, including this year's speakers at the Bartels World Affairs Lecture and Lund Critical Debate. 

You'll attend participatory workshops led by our democratic threats and resilience faculty fellow and Lund Practitioner in Residence —who are expert researchers and practitioners on building democracy. You'll also help plan and contribute to a campus showcase producing public commentary and perspectives on global democracy.

Spring 2024: Global Free Speech

Scholars in spring 2024 made their voices heard as student leaders in Cornell's freedom of expression theme year. Bringing their creativity, research, and community-building skills, they advocated for freedom of speech on campus and around the world.

Global Scholars Amplify Free Expression

Throughout the spring semester, our first cohort of 10 scholars attended workshops and collaborated with the Einaudi Center’s Global Public Voices faculty fellows.

Their projects explored topics like suppression of resistance movements, preservation of Indigenous languages and questions of national identity and self-censorship. They presented their final paintings, poems, op-eds, zines and research papers on May 2 at a student showcase.

Deadline

Applications for 2024-25 are due September 20, 2024.

Amount

$500 stipend

How to Apply

Fill out the online application. Selected students will be notified by early October and the program will begin mid-October.  

Questions?

Join us for an Information Session on Wednesday, September 4. 

If you have questions about the Global Scholars program or your application, email Einaudi Center academic programs. Check out the range of opportunities for undergraduates at Einaudi.