Apply to First Wave

PLEASE NOTE: In order to access the First Wave application in the Wisconsin Scholarship Hub (WiSH) portal, applicants must submit their complete application and required materials to the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Once an applicant has submitted their complete UW application, they will be issued a Campus ID within 48 hours. An active UW-Madison Campus ID is required to access the WiSH student portal for their First Wave application submission.

Please note that First Wave deadlines are BEFORE the ones established by the Office of Admissions and Recruitment:

First Wave Applicants must apply to UW-Madison no later than Friday, October 23, 2026.

First Wave Applicants must apply to UW-Madison no later than Friday, January 8, 2027.

First Wave Applicants must apply to UW-Madison no later than Friday, January 8, 2027

Please click here to begin your application to the University of Wisconsin-Madison and retrieve your Campus ID.

For applicants seeking to prepare their essays ahead of their submission in the WiSH portal, the questions on the First Wave application are the following:

1. The First Wave Hip Hop & Urban Arts Scholarship Program is founded on three pillars — Academics, Arts, and Activism. In your essay, describe how you can contribute to the First Wave community and uphold its pillars as a student at UW-Madison. Please provide examples or share an experience that highlights how your interests align with all three program pillars.
2. Describe the evolution in your artistry. What art form(s) are you interested in, how did you get involved in these craft(s), and what are your goals with your art? If possible, highlight UW-Madison resources (courses, faculty, certificate programs and/or majors, etc) you think may be helpful to your evolution as an artist.
3. Please define activism and what it means to you. In your essay, address how you have worked collaboratively with others to contribute to the greater good of a community. You may also highlight any of your experience in civic engagement (in your school community, after-school communities, volunteer or mentorship work, etc).
4. The First Wave scholarship program is grounded in a particular form of interdisciplinary Hip Hop theater, as developed by founding OMAI/FW Artistic Director, Chris Walker, and coined as the “First Wave Pedagogy.” The first year of the program in particular focuses on collaborating across artistic disciplines to create a multidisciplinary performance, often blending the various art forms practiced among all of the FW scholars represented in the first-year cohort (visual arts, movement, music, performance poetry, etc). Explain why you want to be a part of the First Wave Program, and highlight why exploration through Hip Hop/urban arts and collaborative art-making may be beneficial to your trajectory as a scholar, artist, and community leader.
5. Is there anything else we need to consider when reviewing your First Wave application?
6. Here you are required to submit THREE artistic samples.
7. If you would like to submit a video sample(s), please upload the video to YouTube, Vimeo, or Google Drive and share the link with us in the space provided. Please ensure that the privacy settings on the video are set to allow anyone with the link to view.

For all other file types, please upload the sample(s) using the “Add a New File” options provided below.

Please note that only three samples will be considered as a part of your First Wave application. If you submit more than three samples, only the first three will be reviewed.

8. Please upload your most current unofficial high school transcript.
9. Please list two references below.