Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Programs and Coursework

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Programs and Coursework

The Morton Schapiro Northwestern Academy for Chicago Public Schools


The Morton Schapiro Northwestern Academy for Chicago Public Schools is a free, multiyear college access and enrichment program for diverse, academically motivated students. The Schapiro Academy for CPS increases access and successful matriculation of underrepresented Chicago Public Schools students to top-tier colleges and universities by providing personal enrichment, leadership development, college advising, and cultural and civic engagement.

Learn about Northwestern Academy

SESP Leadership Institute (SLI)


The SESP Leadership Institute (SLI) is a fall-quarter, two-credit, intensive academic program that runs alongside a student’s other fall coursework. SLI builds a strong sense of intellectual and social community amongst a mixed cohort of first-years, sophomores, and transfer students who identify as first-generation and/or lower-income. The program, administered by SESP, is open to interested and eligible students from any of the undergraduate schools at Northwestern.

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Civic Engagement Certificate


SESP’s Civic Engagement Certificate Program gives students a deeper understanding of the forces that affect communities and the skills needed to achieve positive change. Over two years of community engagement and classroom learning, students develop tools for a lifetime of involvement with communities.

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The TREE Lab


The TREE (Technology, Race, Ethics, and Equity in Education) Lab brings together Northwestern undergraduate students with youth and community members to jointly investigate ethical, social, and racialized dimensions of new technologies.

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Leading Equity and Inclusion in Organizations Certificate


SESP’s four-course, one-year Leading Equity and Inclusion in Organizations certificate program combines research-backed change leadership principles with identity development theories.

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Civic Leadership Institute


The Civic Leadership Institute (CLI) provides students a unique opportunity to explore current social and political issues through service-learning experiences, exchanges with community leaders, and academic study.

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Coughlin Scholars


The Cathy Coughlin STEM Scholars program provides enrichment and accelerated STEM programming and academic guidance through SESP’s Center for Talent Development. Open to girls from the Chicago area currently in grade 6 who are demonstrating interest and exceptional potential in STEM areas and who have financial need, the scholarship covers the cost of all tuition and fees for programming and is renewable for up to three years.

Learn about the scholarship

Northwestern and Chicago Shakespeare Theater Design for Equity


The Chicago Shakespeare Theater partnership with graduate students in SESP’s Master’s in Learning and Organizational Change program to create a more inclusive and equitable workplace for the theater.

Learn about the partnership