Delta Scholars Program

The Delta Scholars Program July 9-18, 2018

Application Deadline: January 25, 2018

Eligibility: The Delta Scholars Program is open to sophomores enrolled full-time in a two or four-year Mississippi college or university (or are legal residents of Mississippi).

Applicants must submit the following:

A statement of interest in the Delta Scholars Program, including personal connections with issues in the Delta region (max 1000 words).
One letter of recommendation from a faculty member.
Unofficial copies of college transcripts.

The Delta Scholars Summer Institute is a ten-day immersion program for about 12 undergraduates committed to improving the lived experience of residents in the Mississippi Delta. Working in conjunction with the Harvard Law School Mississippi Delta Fellow, the Institute will be held at the Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College on the campus of Mississippi State University. The Institute will feature informational meetings with academics, policymakers, and non-profit organizations in the Delta. Scholars will be mentored by the Harvard Delta Fellow and by faculty advisors who conduct research that focuses on food security, education, and economic development in the region. As Scholars learn the history of an issue from multi-disciplinary perspectives, they will also learn how to advocate local public officials, non-governmental agencies, business leaders, and state representatives in support of an approach that helps remedy the issue. Scholars selected for the Delta Scholars Summer Initiative will receive a scholarship that covers housing, room and board, and travel across the state.

Harvard Week

In the fall or spring of their junior year, Delta Scholars will attend a five-day leadership symposium at Harvard University where they will reconnect as a cohort, meet with their mentors, and tour Cambridge and Boston. Guided by discussions among scholars and mentors will be a time to reflect on lessons learned from the program and to promote policy-centered dialogue that transcends social, political, and demographic boundaries. Harvard Law students who participate in the Mississippi Delta Project will lead small discussion groups throughout the duration of the symposium. Harvard professors representing multiple disciplines will address the Scholars and discuss graduate/professional school opportunities at Harvard. The Scholars will be advised about graduate application procedures as well as national scholarship opportunities available to them (e.g., the Truman, Rhodes, and Marshall Scholarships). Representatives from the SSRC and the Shackouls Honors College will accompany the Scholars to Cambridge.