The STRIDE Program
Each year, Smith College offers some of its finest incoming first-year students one of the best perks possible: a scholarship that includes a paid research position—a prestigious job and research opportunity that undergraduates at most liberal arts colleges don’t even hope for.
Through Smith’s Student Research in Departments (STRIDE) Program, students with outstanding academic and personal qualifications receive a scholarship of $22,500 per year (limited to $11,250 per semester of enrollment) for each of their four undergraduate years at Smith, regardless of financial need. In addition to the scholarship, STRIDE Scholars are given an annual stipend of $3,000 for each of their first two years at Smith linked to a position as a research assistant. The total four-year amount of the STRIDE award is $96,000. Continuation of the STRIDE grant each year is contingent upon good academic standing.
How Does STRIDE Work?
Striding Into Action
Current STRIDE scholars Laura Edwards ’25, Emma Nadeu ’26, and Kat Brady ’26, along with Reid Bertone-Johnson, a lecturer in landscape studies, focus on “tactical urbanism”—temporary urban design that helps communities envision uses of public spaces—in their research project. In particular, they’ve developed the “ParKit,” a mobile park that can be carted from place to place with just a bicycle.