Dialogue across Difference Faculty Fellows Program

Program Overview

Instructors play a critical role in establishing an inclusive learning environment and equipping students with tools to engage in complex conversations across differences in lived experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives. The year-long Dialogue across Difference Faculty Fellows program supports instructors of record in integrating the UCLA DaD Initiative’s five values of intellectual engagement, curiosity, empathy, active listening, and critical thinking into their course materials and teaching practices. Faculty Fellows engage with best practices in evidence-based, inclusive teaching and practice dialogic frameworks to foster learning environments where open dialogue thrives.

As participants in the Dialogue across Difference Faculty Fellows program, Fellows will: 

• Form collaborative relationships with a community of colleagues across campus who share a commitment to engaging in meaningful dialogue across difference in the classroom; 
• Practice a range of dialogue frameworks, gaining the ability to discern when to employ strategies from each to meet pedagogical goals and learning objectives;
• Leverage pedagogical best practices to create supportive contexts for dialogue in the classroom;
• Create multiple opportunities in one’s course for the DaD Initiative’s five values of intellectual engagement, curiosity, empathy, active listening, and critical thinking to appear when addressing differences in the classroom.

Apply for the 2026-2027 Cohort

Applications are now open for the third cohort of the Dialogue across Difference (DaD) Faculty Fellows Program, which will run during the 2026-2027 academic year. Participants have the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues from across the university and build capacity for supporting dialogue across difference on campus and in their classrooms. 

Applications are due April 1 at 5 p.m.

Information Sessions

4–5 p.m., March 10 | Zoom | Register 
11 a.m.–noon, March 16 | Zoom | Register 

Interested instructors are encouraged  to attend one of the information sessions hosted over Zoom. Colleagues from the DaD initiative and the TLC will provide an overview of the program. Presentations will be the same for both sessions.

Visit the program information page to learn more about eligibility requirements and program expectations and apply for the next cohort