The program is open to any graduating high school senior admitted to Vanderbilt and any rising sophomore or junior student of Vanderbilt University. A cumulative B grade point average is required to apply and remain in the Ingram Scholarship Program. Students can pursue study in any major. The career goals of Ingram Scholars will represent the full spectrum of business and business related possibilities including the professional fields.

The Ingram Scholarship Program is an innovative example of how a university can prepare students for responsible careers as well as for a lifetime of useful contributions to the well-being of others. If you are committed to positive social change you should consider this rewarding program.

20 hours monthly service commitment

Throughout the Ingram Program, Scholars are required to fulfill a twenty-hour monthly service commitment. Each Scholar uses this time to explore areas of interest and eventually work toward the planning and implementation of a significant service project of the Scholar’s own initiative. A Scholar’s individual interests and abilities determine the issues his or her work will address. Accordingly, a Scholar may create a new project that has never been done or create a new idea that will augment the mission of an established organization (on the Vanderbilt campus or in the Nashville community). Scholars entering the Program as freshmen must implement a project no later than the second semester of the sophomore year, while new Scholars who are already students at Vanderbilt carry out their projects after one semester of full participation in the Ingram Program. While working towards the implementation of the Scholar project, make certain that you are also involved in hands-on service. Many Scholars find that creating a project involves a lot of planning and meeting time. Taking time to serve directly helps keep them inspired and provides a balance to their service lives.

During the academic year, monies may be available for Scholars who need financial assistance for executing their projects. Each proposed budget is not to exceed $1,000. The amount of allocation is determined by the nature of the project. In order to receive funding, each Scholar must submit a description of his or her project along with the proposed budget. Project descriptions and budgets are first submitted to the Scholar’s Community Service Advisor, who then sends it forward (with recommendation) to the Program Director.

Weekly Meetings
Each Wednesday, Scholars come together as a group. These mandatory weekly meetings include:

1. All Scholars Meeting: Scholars meet to discuss both individual and collective progress -- part of the ongoing refinement and self-examination integral to developing a successful program. At the conclusion of each semester, Scholars select one member to be the student facilitator.

2. Facilitation Groups: This is an opportunity for Scholars to give and receive feedback in a less formal atmosphere. Scholars are divided into small groups and assigned a community service advisor. We have found that these meetings are particularly useful in facilitating the development and implementation of individual projects. Scholars also meet with their advisor on an individual basis one each month (these appointments are up to each Scholar to schedule).

3. Academic Seminars: Ingram Scholars strive to build an environment where critical questions are raised and Scholars are challenged to understand, through the lenses of different disciplines, the implications and effects of community service. The Ingram Scholars actively participate in seminars in order to broaden their understanding of the issues that concern their projects and the context in which they serve. The seminars inform and influence their work as students in service to the community.

4. Reflection Groups: The final Ingram meeting each moth is spent in groups of eight scholars each with the purpose of reviewing monthly reports and providing support and feedback to each other. Each group has two members of each class and juniors lead the discussions.

Monthly Report
The monthly report traces the past month’s service project developments and provides an opportunity for future goal setting. The report is also designed to allow community service advisors to offer resources and guidance to current and future Scholars.

Comprehensive Year-end Report
For sophomore, junior and senior Scholars, the year-end report thoroughly documents the creation of an Ingram service project and guides future Scholars by providing a source for ideas and references. For freshman Scholars, the report reviews the service work completed in preparation for the implementation of an Ingram Project (this includes all service opportunities sought within both the Vanderbilt campus and the Nashville community). All year-end reports highlight the observations of monthly reports and present solidifying conclusions and future goals by narrating and evaluating the service work from the current academic year.

Summer Service Project
Scholars are required to complete at least one but not more than two summer service projects. A summer project affords Scholars the opportunity to devote at least eight weeks of their summer to a project that particularly interests them. Topics need not relate to the Scholar’s academic-year service. Scholars submit a written summer project proposal and/or budget that extensively outlines the objectives of their work. Upon approval, Scholars receive a taxable stipend of up to $5,000 in lieu of the salary they would be earning in summer employment. The exact amount of the stipend is directly proportional to the time (during the summer) that will be invested in the project. During the orientation program, Scholars who completed a summer service project will present a summer service report describing their work and the realization of their projects.