NextGen Civic Leader Corps

The NextGen Civic Leader Corps, a tri-campus initiative at the University of Washington, encourages undergraduate students to consider careers in government, nonprofit, and social ventures.

Through hands-on learning, coursework, and networking, students strengthen their commitment to public service and community engagement. They gain essential skills for non-profit and government careers, build connections with UW Bothell and the broader community, and work toward a more just and equitable society.

Open to students from all majors, the program invites participants to tackle today’s complex societal challenges.

Eight NextGen students from four member universities participated in the annual NextGen Service Corps (NGSC) Leadership Conference at Arizona State University (ASU). Caleb is the third person from the right. — Eight NextGen students from four member universities participated in the annual NextGen Service Corps (NGSC) Leadership Conference at Arizona State University (ASU). Caleb Rasmussen, a NextGen Civic Leader Corps Ambassador from the University of Washington Bothell, is the third person from the right.

Program overview

Civic Leaders NextGen Patch

The application for the Civic Leaders NextGen patch is now available! The application includes 5 required sections: 1) Your Info; 2) Classes; 3) Signature Events; 4) Service and; 5) Connecting the Dots. Individuals with a UW NetID can access the full application here (pdf).

In 2025 graduating seniors should apply by 5pm Tuesday, May 20 to allow enough time for review. Patches will be available to pick-up on Friday, May 30 at the Connected Learning Senior Send-Off from 11am – 1pm in the Collaboratory. After that date, arrangements can be made to pick up your patch and stole at the Truly House.

Apply for Civic Leaders NextGen Patch

Public Policy and Leadership

NextGen Civic Leader Corps participants are required to take a minimum of one course in the Public Policy AND one Leadership course. This coursework provides an academic anchor for your public service career exploration, builds your understanding of theoretical frameworks, and can prepare you to talk about your community-engagement and leadership experiences in job interviews and/or graduate school applications.

Recommended course offering: Dialogue, Disagreement and Democracy

2024: Dialogue, Disagreement and Democracy, a 1-credit, asynchronous, tri-campus also know as The Course. This class connects students with over a dozen leading scholars to learn what they are doing to meet the moment through their research, teaching, and service – inquiry with insight, action with impact. The Seattle course is 1-credit and asynchronous (which Bothell students can enroll in), and the Bothell course is hybrid.

Learn more about The Course

Signature cohort events

We ask student participants to attend at least two signature cohort events each academic year.
Signature cohort events allow NextGen Civic Leader Corps participants to build their networks, engage with new ideas, and consider how others approach pressing social issues and cultural conversations. Events span varied categories, including direct service, network building, and social/cultural events. Many signature events offer direct connections with notable community leaders, public policy practitioners, and/or elected officials.

UW resources for navigating elections: this page managed by the Office of the Provost shares voting resources, tools, and other useful aids. Reference this page for accurate information on democracy and elections.

Global Engagement Conference

9am – 5pm on May 21, 2025 at William Philip Hall, UW Tacoma
UW Tacoma’s Institute for Innovation and Global Engagement (IIGE) invites undergraduates and graduates to propose academic papers, poster presentations, design projects, and/or spoken word art for the upcoming Global Engagement Conference. The 2025 theme, “Innovation Across Borders,” aims to showcase innovative and globally informative research papers/projects that preserve and prolong value in local and global communities. The submission deadline to present was March 31, 2025.

Learn more and submit to Global Engagement Conference

LLI Civic Conversations Series

Latino Leadership Initiative Empowerment through civic engagement Event Series, Learn from Community members about your rights when navigating legal experiences relating to immigration.

A group of LLI members, connect their Next Gen Civic Leader Corps goals with their partnership with LETI and create a series of events focused on civic engagement in the Latinx Community. These events are open for all, including community members. Registration coming soon!

Equity in Education, Thursday, April 24th 11:00am -1:00pm, Plaza
Latinos in Local Government, Thursday, April 24th 6:00pm -8:00pm, UW2 Commons
Know Your Rights Info Session, Monday, May 5th, 6:00pm-8:00pm, DISC 252

Career-building experiences

NextGen students are encouraged to participate in one non-profit or government career building opportunity. These career building experiences will connect participants with professionals in a field of interest, build personal and professional networks, and in many cases allow students to gain practical experience working in a nonprofit or government organization.

Civic Health Initiatives

A group of civic leaders engages in discussion while seated at a table

The University of Washington establishes the Civic Health Initiatives to revitalize the nation’s civic health through fostering trust, collaboration, and engagement in local communities. It invests in cultivating future civic-minded leaders, renovating/strengthening public institutions, and clearing a path of civic participation in the hope of enhancing civic engagement and confidence in public institutions. UW further develops a concept, the Democracy Test Kitchen, to review core definitions and methodologies from UW centers/labs/initiatives related to community problem-solving and invite staff and faculty to participate in a design session on planning the project layout.

The program provides the Teaching and Curriculum awards ($2,000) and Research awards ($25,000) for faculty and staff across three campuses, and both applications are due on May 1st. Civic Health Initiatives also calls for faculty (tenure/tenure track; teaching; research) or research scientists who are interested in the position as the award reviewers to reach out. The position requires the faculty or scientist to conduct an individual, self-paced evaluation of award applicants between May 5 to May 23.

Student awards will follow in Spring 2025.

Learn more about The UW Civic Health Initiatives