What already exists in culture is waiting to be named. To name is to bring awareness to it.

The Center for Integrative Relational Health invites applications for our Graduate Summer Research Fellowship program. This intensive 10-week fellowship offers graduate students whose research interests align with understanding models of authentic relational community the opportunity to join a transdisciplinary community of practice.

Understanding and fostering authentic relationships is at the heart of creating healthier communities, organizations, and societies. Fellows will work collaboratively to identify and explore concrete frameworks to develop meaningful human connections between people and within teams, agencies, organizations, and institutions. This research will contribute to an emerging body of knowledge about how intentional relationship-building practices can improve wellbeing and transform communities and organizational cultures.

We seek complexity. We are intentional about creating a diverse cohort whose experiences and interests are complex, bringing breadth and depth to the center of our shared work. As a graduate summer research fellow, you will work with masters and doctoral level graduate students from various academic disciplines focusing on different communities, studying at institutions across the country. This structure encourages you to move beyond siloed research and explore how your individual projects contribute to a broader understanding of integrative relational health and authentic relational communities.

We are curious. Get ready to engage with your cohort to explore critical questions for research. You will share a digital workspace where you can contribute resources and exchange ideas asynchronously, working on your own time. You will also meet regularly with other fellows in collaborative learning sessions we call Co-Labs. During these two-hour community engagements, you will help to develop a shared understanding of practices for integrative relational health across multiple contexts. You will work within this transdisciplinary space to exchange ideas, questions, intersections, and challenges connected to your current research activities, and document the lessons learned from this transdisciplinary research space.

We are “makers” and we like to explore. During this fellowship, you may co-create, revise, or share some of the following resources to contribute to a growing body of knowledge about Integrative Relational Health:

  • A preliminary assessment tool to measure relational authenticity

  • A comprehensive research report documenting findings

  • Case studies highlighting successful implementations

  • An adaptable framework for implementing relational communities

  • Recommendations for future research directions

Summer 2025 Graduate Research Fellowship

  • What structural elements support authentic relationships?

  • How do power dynamics influence the formation of authentic relational communities?

  • What practices facilitate psychological safety and vulnerability within group settings?

  • How do successful relational communities navigate conflict and repair?

  • What metrics can effectively assess the health and impact of relational communities?

  • How do different cultural contexts shape relational practices?

  • What barriers prevent the formation of authentic relational connections in institutional settings?

Critical Questions for Research

100% Virtual June 2 - August 8, 2025

Orientation & Planning: The first few weeks of the program will be dedicated to orientation and research planning. Fellows will review the program schedule, expectations, and foundational materials. At virtual meetings during this time period, fellows will introduce themselves and share their research interests, and the group facilitator will provide an overview of the feedback protocols.

Research & Peer Engagement: In the next few weeks of the program, fellows engage in asynchronous research activities and actively participate in rotating presentations through structured feedback sessions. During collaborative integration sessions, fellows synthesize individual research projects, identify common threads, and explore potential collaborative insights.

Synthesis: The last week of the program will focus on synthesis and culmination, and include finalizing presentations, closing reflections, and planning for future directions.

Fellowship Structure

  • Share your application materials before Wednesday, April 16. If you have any questions or would like to share additional materials, please email info@integrativerelationalhealth.com and indicate Graduate Research Fellowship in the subject line

  • We will review application materials, conduct reference checks, and host interviews to identify final candidates by April 30. Finalists will be acknowledged on the Center for Integrative Relational Health website.

  • The final cohort of graduate research fellows will be selected no later than May 16. This cohort will be featured on the Center for Integrative Relational Health website and social media platforms.

Selection Timeline