Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Opportunities
The Department of International and Area Studies seeks to advance a diverse, equitable and inclusive university community by embracing each person’s unique contributions, background and perspectives. In order to facilitate this endeavor, the IAS Department sponsors the following opportunities as a means to not only enhance the diversity of our programs, but also to encourage our students to think seriously and thoughtfully about the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education and society, more broadly.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Graduate Fellowship
The DEI Graduate Fellowship is a $2,000 grant awarded to an Master of Arts in International Studies (MAIS) applicant on the basis of a 500-word essay included in the student’s application to the MA program. The essay should reflect on how the applicant’s educational and life experiences uniquely relate to diversity, equity, and inclusion and address the following prompt:
This grant is intended to foster a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable student body, broadly defined. In your statement, please reflect on how your educational and life experiences uniquely relate to diversity, inclusion, and equity (DEI).
Decisions on awarding the DEI Graduate Fellowship shall be made in conjunction with graduate admissions and assistantship funding decisions in early March each year.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Research Project Award
The DEI Research Award is a $500 grant intended to encourage undergraduate students to undertake research on DEI-related topics. This research may be conducted in the context of an Independent Study, Directed Readings, Senior Capstone project, Honors research or term paper for a course.
To be eligible for the DEI Research Award, please submit a 200-word summary of your proposed research project that explains how your research project will address issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Summaries must be submitted to the IAS DEI Committee Chair (amel.khalfaoui@ou.edu) by September 15 for the fall semester and February 15 for the spring semester.
For both of these initiatives, students are encouraged to conceptualize DEI broadly, including but not limited to age, class, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, gender identity, national origin, race, religion and socioeconomic status.
