Program for Community-Engaged Scholarship (ProCES)

What is community-engaged scholarship (CES)? 

CES is a transdisciplinary field that connects academic teaching and research with community knowledge and practice.  

“Community-engaged scholarship encompasses mutually beneficial partnerships between universities and communities that seek to collaboratively develop and apply knowledge to address consequential public issues in our democracy.”  

-Cynthia Gordon da Cruz. “Community-Engaged Scholarship: Toward a Shared Understanding of Practice.” The Review of Higher Education, Volume 41, Number 2, Winter 2018, pp.147-167

 

The Program for Community-Engaged Scholarship (ProCES) supports academic courses and research collaborations grounded in Princeton's commitment to research and education that benefit humanity. ProCES fosters relationships that bring community-identified priorities and interests into conversation with academic learning goals through experiential learning, including: community-based research, empirical analysis, service learning, citizen science, participant observation, public humanities, practicing arts, and other collaborative modalities and methods of knowledge co-creation. Our main program areas include:

  • Support for 80+ ProCES-designated courses during the academic year through community partnership cultivation, experiential learning course enhancements, and faculty development;
  • The Derian Summer Internship Program, a faculty-mentored and community-informed research internship supporting collaborations between faculty, undergraduate interns, and community experts;
  • Funding and support for community-engaged independent and thesis research and the Dean Hank Dobin Prize in Community-Based Independent Work;
  • Partnership with the Pace Center for Civic Engagement to support the integration of academic and co-curricular community-based learning through Service Focus, a university program that connects service and learning for students during their sophomore year. 

 

Community Leader behind laptop discussing content of screen with student.

Announcements

Apply for senior thesis research funding from ProCES by Friday, March 22nd

Through the Barfield Fund for Community-Engaged Independent Work and other sources, the Program for Community-Engaged Scholarship (ProCES) funds senior thesis research that employs community-based research methods. While the student's home department may serve as the primary funder for independent research, ProCES can provide additional funding…

Dean Hank Dobin Thesis Prize

ProCES is proud to award the Dean Hank Dobin Prize in Community-Engaged Independent Work to students whose outstanding thesis best engages a community audience, whether through extensive research, policy recommendations, or new information and analysis. 

The prize is named after former Dean Dobin, who…

for Faculty

Professor talking with student at Medical Humanities Fair

Community-engaged teaching enhances student learning through engagement with diverse perspectives, helping to communicate disciplinary knowledge to the broader public, and equipping students to be service-oriented scholars and leaders. ProCES resources support faculty in teaching community-engaged courses across disciplines.

for Students

Students and guest speaker stand in classroom engaged in discussion.

From your first semester at Princeton through your senior thesis, ProCES can help you connect your academic pursuits with community experience through community-engaged courses, internships, and funding for community-based independent research.

for Community Partners

Community leader talking with student.

ProCES works with non-profit, NGO, and public sector partners locally in Princeton and greater Mercer County, regionally, and globally to help advance community-identified priorities and provide meaningful learning experiences for Princeton students.