Student Success
Student Success and Engagement
The Institute on Black Life empowers students through leadership opportunities, academic experiences, research engagement, scholarships, and community-building initiatives.
Get Involved with IBL
Southern Griot
Description
The Southern Griot is a graduate student collective dedicated to advancing interdisciplinary research on academic life, history, culture, political struggle, social prejudice, and more. Rooted in the tradition of the griot as historian, storyteller, and truth-keeper, the group cultivates scholarship, intellectual community, and public engagement. Members gather to workshop research, build professional networks, and contribute to conversations that bridge the academy and the broader community.
Student Collective
Description
The Student Collective is an undergraduate community where students come together to explore, research, and reflect on issues impacting academic life across disciplines. Through collaborative learning, discussion, analysis, entertainment, and mentorship, members develop critical thinking, networking, and community engagement skills while building confidence as scholars and leaders. The Collective fosters an inclusive space where students can think deeply, speak boldly, and thrive together.
Explore the JTJ Experience
Journey to Justice (JTJ) provides students with opportunities to explore the history, culture, and lived experiences of Black communities through immersive learning and meaningful engagement.
About the course
This Maymester course provides an in-depth examination of the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. with a focus on Birmingham, Montgomery, and Selma, Alabama, during the tumultuous 1960s. Through interdisciplinary perspectives, students will explore the historical, social, and psychological aspects of this pivotal era in American history. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the strategies, challenges, and triumphs of the movement, with a focus on its contemporary impact on sociopolitical structures, the criminal justice system, and individual lives.
返字心頭 enrolled in Political Science, Africana Studies, and Criminology majors and minors will receive credit toward their degree. We are also working with History and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies to grant automatic credit for those programs. Other students may request credit toward their majors/minors with their respective departments. Otherwise, students will receive general elective credit for their participation in the course.
Applications for the 2027 JTJ Cohort will open in January 2027.
Course Information
Eligibility: Must be an actively enrolled 返字心頭 student at the time of the course
Major: Open to students from all majors
Credits: 3 credit hours
Course Format: In-person on the 返字心頭 Tampa campus
Learn more about the JTJ Course
Explore Research Opportunities
The Institute on Black Life's Racial Justice Initiative (RJI) is committed to student success. RJI recognizes that there are often few opportunities for undergraduate students to access funding for independent projects and has established the Racial Justice Initiative Undergraduate Research Fellows (RJI-URF) program as a resource.
Student Research Impact
Through initiatives such as the AFA/IBL HIV/AIDS Research and Participation Fund, IBL has supported student engagement in meaningful research addressing issues affecting Black communities.