Climate Scholars

INTERESTED IN BECOMING A CLIMATE SCHOLAR? 

The application for first-year students who want to be Climate Scholars is now live!

Interested students apply via this link:

Climate Scholars Application Form

The application will be open until May 7, 2023!

The UD Climate Change Hub welcomed the inaugural class of Climate Scholars in the Fall semester of 2021 and another cohort in Fall 2022. The Scholars now have 50 students across 22 majors in all 7 colleges on campus. These engaged students learn from faculty and partners across campus and the region and partner with communities to develop impactful climate change solutions.

Four rows of students lined up on the stairs in front of a columned university building.

The 2022-2023 cohort of students in the Climate Change Scholars program, August 29th, 2022.

Climate scholars complete five milestones to receive recognition on their transcripts:

  1. Community building through a first-year seminar, tea and cookies events, or approved scholars activities,
  2. A climate change fundamentals course,
  3. A climate change seminar course in an area of their choice,
  4. A local community engagement project developing a climate solution, and
  5. A capstone project addressing a climate challenge.

My interest in this program is not just to learn about climate change. I envision it as a program to ignite new ideas, develop solutions and create change. However to be a changemaker there is an aspect of leadership needed to be successful. Creating change and developing solutions has never happened through one person. It takes a group of people collectively focused around one idea. — Carley Goedken

The Climate Scholars program was developed with participation from a Faculty and Staff advisory board. Members are from across UD, (Jake Bowman, McKay Jenkins, Juliana Butler, Saleem Ali, Katharina Billups, Julie Klinger, John Madsen, Chrystalla Mouza, Medina Jackson-Browne, Michael Chajes, Michelle Bennett, Danielle Swallow and Jennifer Merrill).

Interested in meeting the Climate Scholars? Join us for Wednesday Tea and Cookies! (Contact: Dana Veron)

As I am an environmental science major, the Climate Scholars program will be essential to my academic experience at UD. Not only will I be learning the scientific laws that govern the environment, I will be applying those concepts to real-world issues like resource conservation. I believe this program will also give me more insight aside from the classes I will be taking at UD, giving me incentive and critical skills to apply to the real-world issues of climate change and the loss of biodiversity. — Maya Patel

Watch the video below to learn about a student-led project with climate impacts!