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Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship

Who can Apply:

  • All U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, and U.S. permanent residents (holders of a Permanent Resident Card); individuals granted deferred action status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program; Indigenous individuals exercising rights associated with the Jay Treaty of 1794; individuals granted Temporary Protected Status; asylees; and refugees, regardless of race, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation;
  • Individuals with evidence of superior academic achievement (such as grade point average, class rank, honors, or other designations);
  • Individuals committed to a career in teaching and research at the college or university level in the U.S.;
  • Individuals enrolled in or planning to enroll in an eligible research-based (dissertation-required) program leading to a Ph.D. or Sc.D. degree at a non-proprietary (not for profit) U.S. institution of higher education no later than Fall 2022;
  • Individuals who as of the 2022 fall semester require a minimum of three years of study to complete their Ph.D. or Sc.D. degree; and
  • Individuals who have not earned a doctoral degree at any time, in any field.

 

Award Amount

  • Annual stipend: $27,000 for three years
  • An invitation to attend the Conference of Ford Fellows
  • Access to Ford Fellow Regional Liaisons -- a network of former Ford Fellows who have volunteered to provide mentoring and support to current Fellows -- and access to other networking resources

 

Description:

These fellowships provide three years of support for individuals engaged in graduate study leading to a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) or Doctor of Science (Sc.D.) degree.

Predoctoral fellowships will be awarded in a national competition administered by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on behalf of the Ford Foundation. The awards will be made to individuals who, in the judgment of the review panels, have demonstrated superior academic achievement, are committed to a career in teaching and research at the college or university level in the U.S., show promise of future achievement as scholars and teachers, and are well prepared to use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students.  

Program Preferences:

  • Evidence of superior academic achievement
  • Degree of promise of continuing achievement as scholars and teachers
  • Capacity to respond in pedagogically productive ways to the learning needs of students from diverse backgrounds
  • Sustained personal engagement with communities that are underrepresented in the academy and an ability to bring this asset to learning, teaching, and scholarship at the college and university level
  • Likelihood of using the diversity of human experience as an educational resource in teaching and scholarship
  • Membership in one or more of the following groups whose underrepresentation in the American professoriate has been severe and longstanding:
    • Alaska Natives (Aleut, Eskimo, or other Indigenous People of Alaska)
    • Black/African Americans
    • Mexican Americans/Chicanas/Chicanos
    • Native American Indians
    • Native Pacific Islanders (Hawaiian/Polynesian/Micronesian)
    • Puerto Ricans
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