SOM Scholarship Robert L. Wesley Award 2021
In 2020, the SOM Foundation created the Robert L. Wesley Award—named in honor of the first Black partner at SOM—to support BIPOC undergraduate students enrolled in architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, or engineering programs in the United States. Each year, three students will receive a $10,000 award in addition to a yearlong mentorship program that connects the students with leading BIPOC practitioners and educators. The awards are unrestricted in their use to best support the needs of students that might not be covered by traditional scholarships.
Applicants need to be enrolled in a four- or five-year undergraduate program and can be enrolled in any year of their undergraduate program. A recipient of the Robert L. Wesley Award is not excluded from reapplying in subsequent years while enrolled in an undergraduate program.
Learn more about Robert L. Wesley here.
Due Date Monday, November 1, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. CST
Eligibility
The Robert L. Wesley Award is open to BIPOC students enrolled in an accredited architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, or engineering undergraduate program in the United States. Applicants need to be enrolled in a four- or five-year undergraduate program and can be enrolled in any year of their undergraduate program. A recipient of the Robert L. Wesley Award is not excluded from reapplying in subsequent years while enrolled in an undergraduate program.
Application Requirements
• One- to two-page written personal statement describing the applicant’s path in their chosen program, ambitions, challenges, and why they should receive the Robert L. Wesley Award.
• Digital portfolio or visual samples are encouraged but not required.
• Two- to three-minute video statement in addition to the written personal statement is encouraged but not required.
• Letter of support by one faculty member or department chair familiar with the applicant’s work should be sent directly to info@somfoundation.com with the name of the award and applicant on the subject line. The letter of support cannot be provided by a current employee of SOM.
Application Format
• Single PDF format (written personal statement and portfolio)
• 8.5ʺ x 11ʺ, portrait orientation
• 10 pages maximum
• 10 MB maximum
• Video statement can be uploaded separately
Jury
This year’s jury will be led by Robert L. Wesley (Retired Partner, SOM, Chicago) and will include:
• Danei Cesario (Architect and Project Manager, SOM, New York City; Founder, WALLEN + daub, New York City)
• Chris Cornelius (Founding Principal, studio:indigenous, Milwaukee; Associate Professor, School of Architecture & Urban Planning, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
• Joyce Hwang (Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies of Architecture, University at Buffalo, State University of New York; Founder, Ants of the Prairie, Buffalo, NY)
• María Villalobos Hernandez (Assistant Professor, College of Architecture, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago; Co-Founder and Artist Creator, Botanical City, New York City)