Wikipedia:Visiting Scholars/Apply: Difference between revisions

  Wikipedia Visiting Scholars  

Connecting experienced Wikipedians with academic institutions to improve Wikipedia.

Wikipedia Visiting Scholars are experienced Wikipedians who receive free remote access to resources at an educational institution’s library, and use those resources to improve articles in a particular topic area.

• Scholars are given an institutional account to access library resources from anywhere.
• Scholars are given access for a particular length of time, usually 6–12 months.
• Scholars contribute to Wikipedia in one or more broad topic areas.
• Scholars are volunteer editors, not employees. In some cases, they may receive a small honorarium.
• Scholars improve Wikipedia in a variety of ways, and are asked to write a short blog post about the impact they’ve had at the end of the agreed upon term.

• Any experienced Wikipedian in good standing with the Wikipedia community is welcome to apply.
• Scholars should have a solid understanding of Wikipedia’s policies and guidelines and know what makes for a high-quality article.
• Numeric data has limited importance, but Visiting Scholars typically have at least one year of editing experience and/or 1,000 edits.
• “Visiting” takes place via the Internet. Most Visiting Scholars opportunities are open to Wikipedians anywhere in the world. Geographic proximity may allow for access to the library’s physical holdings, but only in exceptional cases is it required.
• Institutions specify particular topic areas they would like to see improved. To apply for one of them, you should have some interest in one or more of the topics specified. If you don’t see interests like your own, however, you should still apply to participate in the program (see How to become a Visiting Scholar).

Review the openings below to see if your interests overlap with the topic areas specified by the sponsoring institutions. If so, head to the Visiting Scholars application. It will ask you to specify which institution’s posting you’re interested in. You will be asked to explain why you’re interested to be a Visiting Scholar, why you’re a good match for that particular opening, and about your experience editing Wikipedia.

If there aren’t any openings below, or if none are a good fit for you, you should still apply to be a Visiting Scholar. If you indicate on the application that you are not applying for one of the open positions, it will ask you to talk about your editing interests and goals. When we find a library or academic institution that makes a good match, we’ll make the connection and get in touch with you. The process can take a bit longer, since it typically takes time for an institution to set up the program on their end, but the result is worth it.

• Visiting Scholars application
  • Submit the form and e-mail a copy of your resume or CV to visitingscholars@wikiedu.org. Selection is based on experience on Wikipedia and subject matter interests, not credentials or job history, but a resume/CV and the information it contains are commonly required by university administrators in order to grant library access. You will need to provide your real name for the same reason, but tell us if you would like to remain pseudonymous, and we will not use your real name in any publicly accessible communications.

We currently have no openings.