Help students make a real-world impact through their work

In Wiki Education’s Wikipedia Student Program, college and university instructors assign students to write Wikipedia articles, empowering them to share knowledge with the world. Students research course-related topics that are missing or underrepresented, synthesize the available literature, and use our free tools and trainings to add the information to Wikipedia.

We are now accepting applications to participate in the Summer and Fall 2021 program. To apply, click the button below. Applications will be accepted until August 1, 2021.

With more than 10 years of experience helping instructors in the U.S. and Canada to run Wikipedia assignments, we know that students can have a powerful impact on Wikipedia and that Wikipedia can have a powerful impact on students. For more information on impact, see this post.

How the Wikipedia Student Program worksInfographic showing how Student Program works

Course instructors use their subject-matter expertise to guide and evaluate student contributions to Wikipedia.

Students research their topic, learn to write for an international audience, and gain information literacy skills.

Wiki Education provides teaching resources for faculty and trainings for students — all through our course Dashboard tool. And you’ll have a human point of contact to assist you and your students along the way.

Wikipedia’s millions of readers get access to reliable, fact-based information on previously under-developed topics on Wikipedia.

The Wikipedia Student Program is free for participants, funded by generous donations to Wiki Education.

Powerful learning for students 

As students write Wikipedia articles through our program, they learn how to collaborate with their peers, frame academic research to the public, and convey knowledge to a non-expert audience. Essentially, they do work that really matters! And faculty notice:

  • 97% of instructors agree that a Wikipedia assignment improved their students’ digital and media literacy skills.
  • 96% of instructors agree that a Wikipedia assignment helped their students develop a sense of digital citizenship (e.g., a desire to contribute to and ensure the accuracy and accessibility of information).
  • 93% of instructors agree that a Wikipedia assignment improved their students’ research skills
  • 77% of instructors agree that a Wikipedia assignment helped their students to become more socially and culturally aware (e.g., the ability to identify underrepresentation and other content gaps stemming from bias).

Hear from instructors who have used our tools here!

Learn more

Interested in teaching with Wikipedia in your college or university class in the United States or Canada? The first step of the application process is an online orientation for instructors. Click the button below to start your application.

We are now accepting applications to participate in the Summer and Fall 2021 program. To apply, click the button below. Applications will be accepted until August 1, 2021.

Interested in teaching with Wikipedia later on?

Please fill out the form below if you would like to hear from us about the Wikipedia Student Program.

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[contact-field label=”Name” type=”name” required=”1″]
[contact-field label=”Email” type=”email” required=”1″]
[contact-field label=”Institution” type=”text”]
[contact-field label=”How did you hear about Wiki Education?” type=”text”]
[contact-field label=”What term are you interested in?” type=”text”]
[contact-field label=”Anything else you’d like to share?” type=”textarea”]
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Testimonials

Sarah Lirley

Sarah Lirley, Columbia College

“Students’ Wikipedia pages and presentations also showed me that they achieved everything that a traditional research paper is supposed to do and more—they conducted research, analyzed it, wrote effectively about their topics, but also shared their work in a meaningful way with each other and with the public.” Read more…

Delia Steverson

Delia Steverson, University of Florida

“My students wrestled with their status as quasi-gatekeepers to particular information. I believe this revelation made their commitment to and belief in free and accessible information even more poignant. We used this project to reconsider power and privilege in the academy and exercised our positionality as a driving force in contributing to the Wikipedia articles.” Read more…

Ben Karney

Ben Karney, University of California Los Angeles

“By the end of the quarter, they realize that their work has been affecting people, something that rarely happens with a standard term paper. In their evaluations of the course, students routinely mention the Wikipedia assignment as their favorite part.” Read more…

Heather Sharkey

Heather Sharkey, University of Pennsylvania

“In the past two years, writing for Wikipedia has added intellectual substance and verve to my courses, while giving me and my students a sense of accomplishment as we produce and disseminate knowledge.” Read more…