Davis Projects for Peace

Davis Projects for Peace: At a Glance

Eligibility:

• First, second, third and fourth-year students

Selection Criteria:

• Project should demonstrate creativity, innovation, and social entrepreneurship
• Project focuson the promotion of peace, conflict resolutionand related topics

Candidates for Davis Projects can affirm the following: 

• My project is feasible in terms of scope, financing, and timeline
• I have secured letters that document the support of partner institutions and organizations
• My partners and I possess the requisite skills to complete this project on time

Extensive Description

Davis Projects for Peace is an initiative for undergraduates to design their own grassroots project that focuses on conflict resolution, reconciliation, building understanding and breaking down barriers which cause conflict, and finding solutions  for resolving conflict and maintaining peace. Projects may be implemented anywhere in the world during the summer immediately following receipt of the grant. These projects may be designed either by individual students or undertaken collaboratively by a team of UChicago undergraduates.

This program is funded by Kathryn W. Davis, a renowned philanthropist who earned her BA from Wellesley and her PhD from the University of Geneva. The "project for peace" may be defined by the student and should encourage creativity, innovation and social entrepreneurship.

It should be noted that the University does not allow students to travel to countries on the State Department Travel Warning list (https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html).

Responsibilities

Recipients of the award must execute the proposed project during the summer immediately following receipt of the award.

After the conclusion of the project, recipients must submit a final report to the CCRF office by early September of their award year.

Eligibility Requirements

Open to all College students, but first year students may only apply in collaboration with second, third, or fourth year students. Fourth year students can undertake the project the summer after graduation. 

Undergraduates who are residents of International House are also eligible to apply through I-House.

Application Process

Students must apply for university endorsement by the stated campus application deadline.  If you are applying as a group, each member of the group needs to complete the online application. Groups can upload the same proposal, budget, and letter of agreement.  Each member must have two letters of recommendation each as a part of the complete application.  A complete application consists of the following:

• Online Campus Application
• Project proposal (two pages)
• Project Budget (download Davis' Budget Worksheet here; an explanation of their categories is here)
• CV/academic resume for each participant
• Two letters of recommendation submitted through online application portal by stated campus deadline
• Letter of agreement from off-campus groups, agencies, or individuals (strongly recommended)