Deadline: April 12, 2021.

The Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP) is a nonprofit organization that uses the power of design and art to increase meaningful civic engagement, in partnership with historically marginalized communities. They use design to make important public policy and social justice issues easier to
understand so people impacted by them can more easily navigate and change them.

The Fellowship is an initiative to support the development of a pipeline of talented individuals from historically marginalized communities into the design fields, and to dismantle the systemic biases that stand in the way of their advancement as leaders in these fields. They created the
Fellowship as a way to leverage CUP’s unique position at the confluence of design and social justice to promote change in the design field.

ELIGIBILITY

The ideal candidate will:
1. Identify as a member of community that is historically marginalized in the design professions.
2. Have a background in design, particularly graphic, communication, or UI design. They believe this is a good position for a recent graduate from a design program. However, they recognize that individuals with potential to become great designers may come from a broader range of experiences. Therefore, they do not require a degree in a design field (or
any degree at all). However, we do require evidence, in the form of a portfolio of images, of your skills and abilities as a designer, and your proficiency with design software.
3. Be committed to social justice and racial equity
4. Have good communication skills
5. Be proficient with Adobe Creative Suite software, basic web applications, and Microsoft Office
6. Be friendly, self-directed, detail-oriented, and able to work in a collaborative environment with a broad range of partners.

BEENFITS

The Fellow will:
1. Gain professional experience while learning CUP’s methodology for creating effective and impactful design projects
2. Work in collaboration with grassroots organizations and talented designers on critical social justice issues, and learn the language and skills needed to effectively partner with these different disciplines
3. Be part of CUP’s intensive methodology for bringing community members (“end users”) directly into the design process, learning valuable skills for facilitating design conversations and incorporating feedback in meaningful ways
4. Experience valuable professional development and mentoring opportunities with CUP staff, as well as with established and up-and-coming designers in CUP’s network
5. Gain a broad range of marketable professional skills, particularly around how nonprofits work (such as fundraising, budgeting, and project management)
6. Get hands-on experience with the nuts and bolts of production, particularly print production
7. Work with an amazing staff of professionals and contribute to the growth and development of an exciting, fun, and impactful organization
8. Learn about pressing social justice issues, and how to engage with them, as a designer and an individual

9. The selected Fellow will receive a stipend in the amount of $40,000 (paid in monthly installments).

APPLICATION

– A cover letter saying why you are interested in the Fellowship, what you hope to get out of it, your career goals, and how you meet the Fellowship criteria

– A current resume

– A portfolio of your design work. We’re looking for your skills to work on a range of visuals and with type. Please describe the context that your projects were completed in and your role. Your portfolio will be reviewed on screen and in a print-out. Please format your work so all pages can be printed out at 8.5 × 11in. (Max file size: 5 MB)

– A list of 3 references, with contact information

Submit all materials through Submittable by Monday, April 12th at noon, EST. The application portal will close then, so if you need an extension, please email  siyona@welcometocup.org in advance and they’ll try our best to accommodate.

OFFICIAL LINK