Image of ENLACE graduation with students from the program.
Image of ENLACE graduation with students and professors from the program.
Image of ENLACE alumni with professors at graduation event.
Image of cohort eleven, ENLACE alumni at school event.
Image of cohort five members, ENLACE alumni in front of community service building.

About ENLACE

ENLACE, in Spanish, stands for ENgaging Latinx Communities for Education. ENLACE began in 2000 with an initial $1.5 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation as part of the national ENLACE Initiative. The grants were awarded to increase opportunities for Latinx to enter and complete college. The Northeastern Illinois University grant for ENLACE was one of 13 sites selected across the United States and was the only one funded in the Midwest. Additional financial and in-kind support has supported the program's continued success along with the ongoing commitment of Northeastern Illinois University. The program was recognized in 2016 as a finalist for the national Examples of Excelencia award, which recognizes evidence-based practices that increase Latinx student success in higher education.

ENLACE's Mission

The mission of the ENLACE Higher Education Master’s Program is to invest in the preparation of leadership in higher education that will create change responsive to the educational needs of Latinx students and an increasingly diverse college student population. The program aims to support promising students to work as culturally competent and critical staff and administrators at institutions of higher education immediately after they graduate, aiding first-generation college students, economically challenged students, immigrant students, and students from underrepresented groups. The program emphasizes on the Latinx experience and provides knowledge and skills related to the history and development of post-secondary institutions and effective administrative practices at that level. It also stresses an understanding of administrative and supervisory skills for the development and support of instructional systems at the collegiate level. Lastly, the program also prepares highly qualified students for further graduate study and research in doctoral programs so they may pursue a path to tenured faculty and senior administrator positions at colleges and universities across the nation.

ENLACE Fellowship

The program also offers the ENLACE fellowship on a limited basis to students with a demonstrated commitment to careers working at Hispanic Serving Institutions, with Latinx communities, first-generation college students, immigrant students, and/or other members of under-represented groups. Candidates are selected by their personal statement submission and its relevancy to the program’s mission. Contact the program facilitator for more information.

The deadline for the ENLACE fellowship is July 15, 2023. Recipients will be informed at the end of July and the amount of scholarship funding will be available until early September.

Financial Support

Students must fill out a FAFSA form or the Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid form (applicable to DACA students) in order to be eligible for loans, merit scholarships, and graduate assistantships which are often available to help you fund your graduate education.

Please contact the director for more information.

View ENLACE student cohort autobiographies.