Applications are now open for the Community Data Fellowship program for the 2025-2026 academic year. This fellowship is offered by the UVA Center for Community Partnerships and the UVA School of Data Science.
The Community Data Fellowship supports a small cohort of UVA graduate students who together will develop their skills in community-engaged data science. Under the guidance of the Center for Community Partnerships and Data Science staff and faculty, fellows will work in small teams to apply this learning to a data project developed in collaboration with a local community partner. Over the course of the year, we’ll explore the use of data to advance community benefit, learn from and with our community experts, and leverage the talent within the University for the benefit of our local community.
The specific project work completed during the fellowship will vary based on community needs, but the skills we’ll emphasize include:
- Understanding ethical and justice-oriented approaches to data analytics
- Communicating with community organizations to collaboratively scope and plan data projects
- Deepening knowledge of data sources, data computation, data analysis, data visualization and communications
- Practice with open and reproducible data workflows
Fellows are expected to devote 8-10 hours per week, and will be provided a stipend of $7,000 for the academic year.
All full-time graduate students at the University of Virginia are eligible to apply. Applicants must be capable of attending weekly meetings in both the fall and spring semesters of the fellowship year and have the capacity to complete project work. These commitments include weekly project planning meetings and/or training sessions, and a monthly meeting to discuss readings relevant to our work.
In addition, our work is primarily done using R for data wrangling, analysis, and visualization. Applicants are not required to have prior experience with R or any other technical tools – we can provide learning opportunities to develop these skills over the course of the year. If you want to learn R and other data tools and workflows, this is a great opportunity!
How to Apply
To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to Beth Mitchell (eam5hc@virginia.edu). Your cover letter should include:
- Why you’re interested in this fellowship program
- How you approach working collaboratively with diverse groups – those with different ideas, identities, experiences, or disciplinary backgrounds
- Your relevant educational and work experience with community-engaged and/or data-oriented research
- What you’re hoping to gain as a Community Data Fellow
Any questions about the Community Data Fellows program can be directed to Beth Mitchell (eam5hc@virginia.edu). We will begin reviewing applications in April 2025. Review of applicants will be ongoing, so please reach out if interested. Email application materials to Beth Mitchell (eam5hc@virginia.edu).
Data Fellowships
