Funding Priority

Community Service Scholarships

Community Service Scholarships provide financial and programmatic support for students interested in growing their public service experience at Carolina and are an important demonstration of Carolina’s commitment to personalized and experiential student learning. They provide deeper engagement and help meet the challenge of meaningful and mutually beneficial partnerships between our students, the University and communities in North Carolina and beyond.

Scholarships and Student Aid

    Forging a brighter future through public service

    For more than two centuries, students have come to Chapel Hill to pursue their passions and develop their talents. In addition to their academic and athletic pursuits, thousands of Tar Heels devote their time, energy and knowledge to myriad causes that affect people around the world. Community Service Scholars are provided tuition support and also have access to a variety of programs that support high-impact service and engagement. This unique scholarship provides selected students with ways to explore service opportunities while they learn new skills and link their academic endeavors to bring about change in their communities.

    Awarded at the beginning of the sophomore year, the Community Service Scholarship provides programming that enhances leadership and organizational skills and enables recipients to develop and implement a capstone project prior to their graduation.

    Students succeed through service

    The Carolina Center for Public Service (CCPS) provides support to Community Service Scholars through mentorship, advising and several of its programs. As participants in the Buckley Public Service Scholars program, Community Service Scholars also receive structured training and build portfolios that reflect their learning and service work. Scholars are introduced to social innovation, community-based research, policy and philanthropy as important forms of public service. The MacDonald Fellowship program provides additional training and support for their capstone projects. The result is enhanced engagement with communities and transformative experiences that will forever change how these students view their work and the world.

    The Community Service Scholarship is one of the most prestigious offerings at Carolina. Therefore, recipients are carefully chosen by the Office of Scholarships Student Aid and CCPS through a diligent process of review and recommendation. Candidates who have financial need are selected from among those who have demonstrated a strong commitment to service during their first year through efforts such as the First-Year Service Corps and completion of a significant number of focused service hours.

    To discuss establishing a named fund please contact the Office of Development for Scholarships and Student Aid at SupportScholarships@unc.eduOpens in new window or 919-445-0933.

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