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About the Fellowship

UC Office of the President — Graduate, Undergraduate and Equity Affairs (GUEA) and Institutional Research and Academic Planning (IRAP) — and the UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement (“Center”) are excited to announce a pilot fellowship program for UC faculty and policy-covered staff, as part of a systemwide initiative to enhance and expand the teaching of dialogue skills to our students. 

In a pluralistic community such as the University of California, dialogue is essential. It allows us to give voice to our diverse experiences, ideas and opinions, and, importantly, it helps us hear others’ voices as well. In many cases, dialogue can create avenues for the kinds of conversations and the free flow of ideas that we may not always think are possible. Through dialogue, we generate learning, growth and the ability to grapple constructively with challenging ideas. The ability to communicate across differences of perspective, identity and viewpoint is foundational to the process of learning and teaching, as well as to creating a healthy campus climate. 

This fellowship will award $5,000 grants to projects that support the teaching of dialogue skills in the curricular context (e.g., a class focused on dialogue skills, incorporation of dialogue skills practice in any class), or work that supports such teaching (e.g., training for faculty and other instructors on such strategies). It prioritizes projects that not only enhance individual teaching practice, but also produce adaptable, shareable resources and approaches that can be used by other faculty and staff. UC faculty and policy-covered staff are eligible to apply as a Project Lead (PL). We encourage applicants from across the breadth of disciplines and campus roles with the aim of creating a cohort representing all UC campuses. 

The fellowship program will run from October 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027.

Fellowship Details

This fellowship is available to current University of California faculty and policy-covered staff (staff not represented by a collective bargaining agreement). Each project will have one Project Lead (PL) for the project. Per UCOP policy, only one person may serve as the PL, but any UC employee, regardless of UC affiliation (e.g., faculty, policy-covered staff, represented staff) may participate as a team member on a project. The PL or a delegate will serve as a member of the fellowship cohort. 

This fellowship is for applicants who have prior experience teaching, facilitating or supporting the teaching of dialogue skills in the classroom and who are ready to build on that experience to strengthen their work and its impact.

Successful proposals will demonstrate how the work will contribute to expanding campus capacity to teach dialogue skills, beyond a single course or context. 

Proposals may be for individually led projects or collaborative or program-based efforts. (Please note that funding is per proposal regardless of the number of team members and that funding will be transferred to the PL’s home department).

Examples of types of eligible projects (not an exhaustive list):

• Refining and documenting teaching strategies to intentionally infuse course curriculum with dialogue skills instruction and practice, and development of related teaching materials
• Distilling existing strategies and materials into curricular modules for teaching dialogue skills that can be incorporated into courses ranging in subject areas, and producing an adoption guide
• Adapting and refining dialogue-teaching methods for use in a particular discipline
• Expanding the breadth and reach of programs for providing training to Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs) on teaching dialogue skills in their sections

Cohort fellows will support and learn from one another and from other dialogue and pedagogy experts; connect with existing initiatives and programs already in place at each campus; build relationships, resources and programs across campuses; and help shape the systemwide initiative to support campus work and collaboration in this area.

Each selected fellowship project will be awarded a $5,000 grant.       

Fellowship Expectations

The PL or a delegate may serve as a fellow for the purpose of the cohort experience. Fellows will use the first portion of the fellowship period to work on their proposal and the second portion of the fellowship to implement it. 

Fellows will participate in monthly virtual meetings. These meetings will allow cohort members to discuss and receive support on their projects, to learn about various dialogue and pedagogy models and to build a community of practice. Preparation for meetings may involve short readings, reviewing and providing feedback on other fellows’ project work or other relevant activities. Meetings will take place on the following Fridays between 10 a.m.–noon:

• October 23, 2026
• November 20, 2026
• December 7, 2026 (optional for support on project)
• January 22, 2027
• February 19, 2027
• March 19, 2027
• April 23, 2027
• May 7, 2027 

Fellows will also join an in-person meeting, held at UC Office of the President, on May 27, 2027, where some fellows will have an opportunity to share their work with colleagues and university leadership. Travel and accommodations will be covered for up to two members of each project team.

Fellows will submit a midprocess update on their progress for feedback and guidance as well as a final report. Additionally, fellows will provide an account of the project work that was supported by the grant.

As part of the final report, fellows will produce well-documented, shareable resources that support the teaching of dialogue skills and that can be used or adapted by other instructors, staff or programs. These materials will ultimately be shared as resources for the cohort and, more generally, systemwide. The final report should be designed with usability and transferability in mind, and should include:

• Clear description of the approach or model 
• Materials and resources (e.g., assignments, syllabi, modules, curricula)
• Instructions for implementation, including context (course type, student population, format)
• Reflections on effectiveness, including what worked, what did not, impact and recommendations for others
• Any assessment tools or evaluation methods used

Fellows will connect with others at their campus who are working on the teaching of dialogue skills, e.g., Centers for Teaching and Learning.  

Application

Applications will open mid-July and are due August 24, 2026. If you have questions, please feel free to contact UCDialogueFellows@ucop.edu.