Applications for the 8th cohort of the BOLD Women’s Leadership Network will open January 21, 2025.

BOLD is an exciting program that offers selected Scholars financial, advisory, and leadership support during their junior and senior years. In addition, Scholars will work closely with the BOLD Director and the program’s leadership team to develop and implement a leadership project to address an issue of social change during the summer between their junior and senior years. Be sure to check out the profiles of previous cohorts of Scholars to learn more about the projects already implemented through BOLD!

Eligibility

To be eligible for Cohort 8, applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Identify as a woman.
• Be pursuing a bachelor’s degree at UConn, and plan to graduate with that bachelor’s degree in May 2027 or August 2027. This includes students pursuing Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of General Studies, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Science in Engineering, and Bachelor of Social Work degrees.
• Be based at the Storrs campus for the following four semesters (Fall 2025, Spring 2026, Fall 2026, Spring 2027), in order to participate fully in program activities.
• Be enrolled as a full-time student in good standing.
• Have demonstrated exceptional academic promise, strong leadership potential, creative and critical thinking skills, and a commitment to social change
• Be prepared to dedicate the entirety of the summer between their first and second year in the program (summer of 2026) to completing a BOLD Leadership Project. It is possible to take some summer coursework and participate in other part-time pursuits, but fulltime internships, jobs, or other pursuits will not be possible as a BOLD Scholar during that summer.

Priority will be given to applicants who have a demonstrated high financial need for the support the BOLD program provides. Recognizing the complexity of individual’s financial need, this need can be determined by FASFA designation or through a qualitative description by Scholars on their application.

Please be sure to discuss with Emily Schwab (emily.r.schwab@uconn.edu) if you have questions about any of the eligibility requirements.

How to Apply

Applications for Cohort 8 will be due Monday, March 10th, 2025 through the Quest Portal. For guidance on how to use the application management system, please review the Quest Portal User Tips.

Prospective Cohort 8 applicants interested in applying for the 2025 cycle can review the Cohort 8 Application Outline to preview what questions will be on the application prior to the application opening.

Nominate a Student Today!

This year, we are asking students, faculty, and staff to identify and nominate anyone they believe would make a successful BOLD Scholar. A nomination is not required to apply! However, nominations will help us identify applicants who might benefit the most from this program. Nominated students will receive an invitation to apply from the BOLD Director as soon as the application portal is open, as well as invitations to upcoming information sessions.

The ideal BOLD Scholar is creative, innovative, and curious. She is interested in pursuing leadership through research and/or service activities. She wants to contribute to and learn from the peers in her cohort, as well as network with women leaders from across campus and beyond. She embodies the BOLD values of courage, authenticity, and vision. She can be from any school or college on the Storrs campus. If this sounds like someone you know, please review the eligibility requirements (above) and submit a nomination form.