Dana Scholar Program Requirements
Learn more about how students are selected as a Dana Scholar and what they must maintain and complete in order to remain in the program.
About the Program
Each summer, Muhlenberg College awards about thirty high school seniors with this honor, one of the most prestigious honors that the College offers.
In offering this merit award, the College desires not only to support individual students but also to endorse excellence within the student body as a whole. The Dana Scholars Program offers a $5,000 annual stipend for incoming first-year students. Dana Scholars are eligible for additional need-based or merit assistance, and need-based financial aid packages are also preferential for this group in that they are weighted toward grants as opposed to loans.
The goal of the Dana Program is to develop citizen-scholars who will pursue lives of service and leadership in diverse areas of civic and professional activity. Dana Scholars attend their First Year Seminar as a cohort; they then participate in a Sophomore Seminar that introduces them to the meaning and practice of civic discourse; in their junior year, they conduct independent research in a field of study of their choice under the mentorship of a Muhlenberg faculty member; and, finally, in their senior year, they develop the vocabulary and communication skills necessary to turn their ongoing research into public-facing work in a year-long forum that brings the cohort back together. The Program offers a robust pre-orientation experience as well as multiple opportunities for social gatherings that bring all cohorts together and create a strong sense of community and belonging.
Participation in the Dana Scholars Program provides an enriched academic experience. Students are invited to apply for this program via a special application that is sent out in late January to likely candidates based on a preliminary review of the admissions application.
Dana Mentorships
Dana Mentorships are similar to an independent study and can take place in research labs or through an independent study project supervised by a Muhlenberg faculty member.
Dana Scholar Mission Statement
The Dana Program offers outstanding, intellectually versatile students an opportunity to belong to a community of scholars that promotes engaged citizenship and leadership, fosters conversations across disciplines and pursues rigorous academic inquiry. Each Dana scholar can major in any academic department or program. Over the course of four years, Dana scholars participate in shared seminars, independent research projects and unique internship experiences. All Dana seniors engage in collaborative research projects on issues of public concern and interest.
Our Alumni
Past Dana Scholars reflect on how the program influenced their time at Muhlenberg and beyond.
Betty Ben Dor ’22
“Being a Dana Scholar has been an instrumental component of my time here at Muhlenberg as it has allowed me to broaden my horizons past the realm of scientific inquiry and interact with peers from across the multitude of disciplines. To me, a distinction such as this one signifies an important aspect of the liberal arts philosophy in which students are urged not just to think of how issues and debates affect them personally, but what their influence is on the world at large. Throughout the seminars I have had as a Dana, I have really seen this at play and have been able to better understand what it means to not only gain knowledge in a certain sphere but also how that information can be viewed through a broader lens.”
Andrew Leahy ’21
“Being a Dana Scholar has encouraged me to think deliberately about the relationships between my majors and social justice. The program reminds me to think critically not just within my majors, but about how the skills and sensibilities I am cultivating can be employed in the context of citizenship. Thus, as I pursued my summer research on the intersections between writing and critical thinking, the intellectual spirit of the Dana program was always in the back of my mind - how can my work be leveraged to help others? How will the language I am accumulating for talking about writing stake its relevance in real-world issues and applications? I am grateful for the frequent reminders that accompany the Dana ethos, to think expansively, and to always consider how my work matters (or should matter) beyond the institution.”
Jona Lieberman ’20
“My favorite part of being in the Dana program was the opportunity to work with professors outside of my discipline who I would not have otherwise had the chance to meet. It truly speaks to the interdisciplinary nature of the program, and I feel that my education has been more well-rounded as a result. Additionally, having the chance to do two independent studies was meaningful as it allowed me to further explore areas of interest beyond the traditional classroom. My first mentorship was on Blackness in France and my professor, Professor Ioanna Chatzidimitriou and I focused on literature and philosophy on race in the United States and in France as a way to further our understanding of race in France. My second mentorship led me to Muhlenberg's archives, where I worked with a memoir written by Muhlenberg graduate of 1914, Martin Fetherolf. My work with Professor Grant Scott and archival librarian Susan Falciani-Maldonado ultimately led to the creation of a digital map that tracked Fetherolf's service in World War I.”
