The SRI Experience

Participants describe SRI as:

• "Liberating" — freedom to be your full self while doing rigorous scholarship

• "Grounding" — connection to ancestry, community, and purpose

• "Transformative" — intellectual, emotional, and spiritual restoration

• "A love letter" — intentional care and affirmation for Black women in the academy

 

Apply for Summer 2026

 

The Sankofa Research Intensive is designed for doctoral students who:

• Are conducting research centering Black students, families, faculty, and educators

• Seek a community committed to humanizing scholarship

• Want to develop critical, transformative dissertation research

• Need support navigating institutional spaces

• Desire connection with scholar mentors who understand your journey

 

 

Overview

The Sankofa Research Intensive (SRI) is a one-week doctoral intensive unlike anything else in colleges of education. More than a workshop, more than a seminar—SRI is a home space of community and care.

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For doctoral students committed to liberatory and culturally responsive research centering Black communities, SRI offers what traditional academic spaces cannot: a brave space where you can rest, affirm, celebrate, and transgress. Here, together, we pursue freedom through scholarship.

 

What You Can Expect

Intellectual Rigor Nestled in Love

• Advanced research methodologies, data analysis, and scholarly writing

• Critical theoretical frameworks that challenge status quo

• Practical workshops to refine research questions and dissertation strategies

• Introduction to theories that center Black ways of knowing

A Safe, Supportive Community

• Scholar mentors (Jegnas) who facilitate, not gatekeep

• Peer support from fellow doctoral students centering Black communities

• Relief from the surveillance and scrutiny you experience elsewhere

• Intellectual safety to present your full self and your research unapologetically

Practical Dissertation Support

• Develop substantial drafts of initial dissertation chapters

• Prepare for successful proposal defense

• Navigate academic bureaucracy and institutional structures

• Access hidden curricula needed to thrive in exclusionary academic spaces

Professional Development

• Publishing strategies

• Grant writing guidance

• Career development insights

• Networking with scholars committed to educational justice

 

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