SPCUNY Student Fellows Application and FAQ

For questions not addressed below, please write spcuny@gmail.com. We promise we’ll get back to you.

What is SPCUNY?

Social Practice CUNY (SPCUNY) is an educational network that amplifies the collective power of socially engaged artists, scholars, and advocates throughout the City University of New York’s rich tapestry of faculty, staff, and students working for social justice. Based at the CUNY Graduate Center and working with students and faculty across CUNY’s 25 campuses, SPCUNY’s theory of educational transformation fosters structures for diverse creative leaders who will empower New York City as an inclusive, justice-driven cultural landscape.

What are Student Fellows?

Student Fellows are graduate students with a serious art practice, matriculated at any CUNY campus (often but not always from MFA programs), who are working to develop an independent project at the intersection of art and social justice. Selected through an open call, this group will be part of a wider SPCUNY 2025-26 cohort, which includes CUNY faculty/practitioners, all of whom are also developing their own projects. Student Fellows participate in a required weekly seminar in the Fall and Spring semesters and make significant progress towards (or complete) their independent project. They receive an unrestricted $4,000 stipend in the form of CUNY fellowships. (Please be aware that the way your SPCUNY payment is processed may vary from campus to campus.)

You will benefit the most from being a Student Fellow with SPCUNY if you are a CUNY graduate student who is:

• Working towards one or more socially-engaged art projects, and has an existing basic knowledge of social practice art
• Interested in furthering your engagement with social practice and public-facing art beyond the requirements of an academic program
• Interested in discussions around social practice’s core issues while developing a project independently
• Based in NYC for the majority of the academic year

What do you mean by social practice and what kind of projects do you support?

While the term has many possible definitions, and our own understanding of the term is always evolving, SPCUNY is focused on work that has both an artistic component (in any discipline of the arts) and a social justice component. We are open to many different forms of artistic practice and of social justice/community involvement, but we do prioritize projects that work directly with people and with communities outside of CUNY classrooms. The best way to get an idea of what we consider to be social practice is to check out examples of past and current projects from our Fellows by visiting our Projects page and our Events page. You can hear from our Fellows in their own words on episodes of our podcast, Part of the Practice. We encourage work within communities where our Fellows are already connected—no need to reinvent the wheel. We want to celebrate what you are already working on.

What will be required of SPCUNY Student Fellows?

Student Fellows will need to commit to the full academic year of participation in the SPCUNY cohort, which includes:

• Enrolling in a weekly, in-person, 3-credit seminar held at The Graduate Center during two consecutive semesters (Fall 2025: Monday afternoons from 2–4pm / Spring 2026: schedule will be announced in the fall semester), led by a rotating group of faculty and guest lecturers—more on the seminars here; 
• Meeting with the larger SPCUNY cohort twice per semester, generally in-person at The Graduate Center (dates and times will be determined via poll once the cohort is assembled); 
• Independently working on and publicly presenting their own socially-engaged work by the end of the academic year.

Who is eligible? 

SPCUNY is accepting applications from interested students who are currently enrolled in a CUNY graduate program, who will have completed at least one year of study by the end of the Spring 2025 semester, and who can commit to participation in the SPCUNY program for the full 2025–26 academic year. This program is aimed at applicants who have evidence of an existing artistic practice, which includes MFA students as well as applicants from other types of graduate programs who can provide evidence of such. Please be aware that the required graduate seminars for SPCUNY Student Fellows is designed to be taught to a mix of MFA, MA, and Ph.D. students who will make up the cohort, and therefore the nature/structure of this seminar is likely to provide a different experience from your home program’s coursework. Our website showcases work from previous cohorts that will give you an idea of appropriate projects. If you think this program might be a fit for you but you are unsure of your eligibility, please contact us!

A special note for Ph.D. students: In order to be eligible to apply as a Student Fellow, PhD students must still be in coursework for the entire 2025–26 academic year. If you will no longer be in coursework next year, you should apply for a Faculty Fellowship. Faculty Fellow applications will open in May; we will still consider your application for a Faculty Fellowship even if you are a non-teaching doctoral student.

How would being a Student Fellow affect my current studies and program?

The SPCUNY Student Fellow position is not a certificate or degree program. Overlap between thesis projects and SPCUNY student projects is welcome, though not required. Student Fellows must register for two semesters of the in-person seminar as electives (6 credits total); this is a requirement for participation in the SPCUNY cohort. As a rule, students matriculated at The Graduate Center or at Queens College will be able to enroll directly in the seminar, while students from other campuses will need to register via ePermit. This may have financial and/or academic implications based on your home program, your credit load and allowances. For specific questions about how participation will figure into your progress to degree, speak with your advisor or program head.

Please note: SPCUNY cannot advise you on whether or not the SPCUNY Fellowship fits within the constraints of your particular degree program. We strongly encourage you to ask your home campus and advisor the following questions as you consider your application:

• Will I be able to count the two SPCUNY seminars as electives towards my degree?
• Will conducting an independent, socially-engaged art project be possible within my existing academic requirements?
• Are there any fees associated with enrolling in the SPCUNY seminars that go beyond my usual tuition load if I cannot count these courses as electives for my program?

How do I apply?

Required application materials will all be submitted via the application form, and include:

• CV/Resume
• Statement of Interest (max. 3000 characters or 3 minutes of video/audio)
• Tentative Project Proposal (max. 500 words, plus images)
• Work Samples (1-3, each sample may include up to a page of writing and/or up to 5 images and/or up to 3 minutes of video or audio)

You can preview all application questions in this PDF document.