Fellowships

A limited number of fellowships are available to nationally-competitive new doctoral students through the Dean’s Ph.D. Fellowship Program.

Dean’s Ph.D. Fellowship Program

Description:

The Dean of the School of Public Health and Health Sciences will offer up to ten (10) Ph.D. non-working fellowship appointments to nationally-competitive new graduate student applicants. The intent of this program is to facilitate the recruitment of top-quality doctoral students, and not to support students currently in the SPHHS.

Term of Appointment:

Each fellowship will be for a maximum of 2 years.

Stipend:

Each fellow will receive $10,000 per year from the Dean’s office. The recipient must maintain excellent academic standing, and apply for an externally-funded graduate student fellowship such as a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship, the Ford Predoctoral Diversity Fellowship, or other nationally-competitive fellowships appropriate to the student’s discipline to be eligible to receive the second year of funding.  More information is provided below.

All funds received from the Dean’s office must be matched by either Departmental funds or faculty grant funds (a minimum of $10,000 per year) and cannot be from a teaching assistantship. Additional funding beyond the combined $20,000 amount is encouraged, from additional faculty grant funding during the academic year or a summer stipend.

Requirements:

• Each fellow will be recruited by a specific faculty member who will commit to funding 2 years of the fellow’s program for $10,000/year.  (This commitment can be from departmental/division funds, the specific faculty’s grants and/or RTF or start up funds).
  Fellows must apply for a nationally-competitive external fellowship in year 1.
  In the event that the above mentioned application is unsuccessful, fellows  must apply for nationally-competitive external fellowship in year 2.
  Preference will be given to potential applicants who are residing in the U.S. at the time of application.
  Preference will be given to applicants who already have a master’s level degree or equivalent.

Application Process:

1. Applications are due in Dean’s office no later than February 28 of each year.
2. Full application to include the following:

• The full Graduate school application packet.
• A statement from the nominating faculty member of how this applicant will complement the faculty’s research with a plan as to what the student will be contributing.
• A statement committing the funds for the department/faculty share over the course of the fellow’s tenure including specific source.

3. A review panel will consider all applications and provide recommendations to the Dean.
4. All candidates who pass the panel review will be interviewed (either in person or via phone) by the Dean or her representative.
5. The Dean or the Dean’s committee will make a final decision in time to offer the potential student funding along with his or her acceptance into the specific department’s Ph.D. program.
6. Applicants must submit evidence of excellent academic standing and a copy of their external fellowship proposal and its evaluation (if available) to the Dean’s office to be considered for second (continuation) year funding.

Potential indicators of nationally-competitive students:

• Presentations at national meetings and peer-reviewed publications
• GRE scores above 1300
• Experience in writing for and/or receiving extramural fund

Potential nationally-competitive fellowship programs:

The Fogarty Institute has many potential sources for pre-doctoral funding on their website.

The NIH has funding for diversity in Health-related research:

• Information about Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA Individual Fellowship Funding Opportunities
• Additional Information about the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for Individual Predoctoral Fellowships to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research

The National Science Foundation offers a Graduate Research Fellowship Program.

For information on additional opportunities and guidance, graduate students may contact the university's Graduate Student Grant Services Office and Linda Sopp in the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations, or the School's Associate Dean for Research, Dr. Elaine Puleo, at epuleo@schoolph.umass.edu.