The Community Service Fellows (CSF) Program is a premier, four-year undergraduate merit scholarship designed for incoming freshmen who have a robust background and prior engagement in ethical community service.
Established in 2007, the CSF program has over 18 years of longevity at Tulane University. Fellows are immediately integrated into a structured, supportive cohort, engaging in monthly leadership development sessions and diving deep into critical social issues such as housing and food security, civic engagement, environmental justice, and cultural heritage preservation. The program's core is sustained, hands-on community engagement, transforming high school volunteers into effective, equity-driven community leaders.
Key Program Commitments
Financial Award: A partial tuition merit scholarship of $15,000 to $20,000 annually, designed to help cover tuition, fees, books, supplies, room, board, and personal expenses.
Service Requirement: Approximately 100 hours annually of public service.
Academic Standard: Maintain a minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA.
First-Year Seminar: We offer a first-year seminar course tailored to service-minded students that satisfies the ½ of the public service degree requirement. You may enroll in TIDE-1984: Identity, Power, and Community Engagement during the freshman fall semester.
The CSF Advantage- Your Gateway to Impact
Through the CSF program, students don’t just receive financial support; they are deeply connected to a powerful network of Center resources designed to launch their civic and professional careers. As a Fellow, you will access:
Individualized Student Leader Development: Work one-on-one with Center staff to cultivate your unique leadership style, map out personal civic goals, and navigate your individual growth as a community advocate.
New Orleans Non-Profit Networks: Build strong relationships with local community leaders, mutual aid networks, and service-minded non-profit organizations across the Greater New Orleans area.
On-Campus Leadership: Seamlessly connect with student-led campus service organizations to collaborate, lead, and organize peer-to-peer initiatives.
Public Service Internships: Gain priority pipelines and pathways to high-impact public service internships locally and nationally.
Post-Graduate Fellowships: Establish early pathways to prestigious post-graduate fellowships focused on civic engagement, policy, advocacy, and community leadership.
Diverse Service Portfolio: With a commitment of ~100 annual service hours, Fellows have the flexibility to partner with multiple community organizations, building a diverse, well-rounded portfolio of local civic engagement.
Peer Leadership Development: Our curriculum focuses on turning high school volunteers into active service ambassadors. You will receive training designed to help you lead peer-to-peer initiatives, manage campus volunteer programs, and model ethical, reciprocal service to the broader Tulane community.
Students apply for the Community Service Fellowship concurrently while applying for admission to Tulane University.
First Step: Complete your Common Application or Tulane Admission Application.
Scholarship Application: Submit the Tulane Scholarship Application via your Green Wave Portal to be considered for the CSF cohort.
Deadlines: Align with standard Tulane Early Action/Early Decision and Regular Decision merit deadlines.
Student apply for this fellowship while they are applying for admission. For more information about how to apply, please contact Tulane Admissions or see their scholarship page. For programmatic information, please contact Anfernee Murray
What to Expect as a First-Year Fellow
Transitioning to college is easier when you arrive with a dedicated group of peers who share your values. You'll meet your cohort immediately upon arriving in August. In your first semester, you can enroll in TIDE-1984: Identity, Power, and Community Engagement. This seminar provides the historical, cultural, and ethical foundation needed to do meaningful, reciprocal service in New Orleans.
Beyond the classroom, monthly cohort meetings and individual check-ins ensure you have a structured sounding board as you balance academics, social life, and community leadership. We also organize group service events to go off-campus into the Greater New Orleans area; learning from and serving with our community partners to give back to our local community.
