The John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding is launching a Human Development Fellowship program for four undergraduates beginning in the fall of 2014.

The fellows will receive financial support to spend up to six terms of paid research assistantships on faculty-led projects that focus on field-based research aimed at alleviating poverty in low-income countries.

“This program offers an important experiential learning option for students interested in building a foundation in applied development work,” says project coordinator Kenneth Bauer, a lecturer in writing with the Institute for Writing and Rhetoric.

The program is open to sophomores and juniors in all majors. The application process requires that students put together a specific project proposal that includes having a faculty mentor who is already doing research in the field. The application form is available online on the Dickey Center website, and the application deadline is May 28.

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Bauer says the six terms of support create a solid educational track for students who are interested in development work. In addition to paid research assistantships, the program supports advanced training in development specializations such as data analysis technology and Geographic Information Systems, professional development internships with development organizations, and community building through campus-wide workshops and conferences.

“In contrast to corporate careers, there have been fewer opportunities at Dartmouth for students to develop the technical skills and professional experiences they need to work in international development,” Bauer says. Changing that, he says, “is what this fellowship program is all about."

In addition to the fellowships, the Dickey Center will incorporate a human development specialization in its programs. Current fields of specialization include the environment, gender, global health, and peace and security. The center will also host a human development lecture series in the fall that will bring luminaries in the field to campus, fund additional short-term student engagement in faculty-led projects, and sponsor a human development policy workshop in the spring term.