Description: The Dean of the SPHHS will offer up to five Ph.D. fellowships to nationally-competitive new doctoral student applicants. The intent of this program is to facilitate the recruitment of top-quality doctoral students to the SPHHS.
Term of appointment: Each fellowship is for one year but may be renewed for a second year (see instructions below to apply for a 2nd year of funding).
Stipend: Each fellow will receive up to $15,000 per year from the Dean’s office.
All funds received from the Dean’s office must be matched by either Departmental funds or faculty funds (minimum $10,000 per year). Dean’s funding will begin in September and end in May. Additional funding beyond the combined $25,000 is encouraged, such as grant funding during the summer.
Requirements:
1. Each fellow will be recruited by a specific faculty member who will commit to funding two years of the fellow’s program for a minimum of $10,000/year. This commitment can be from departmental funds (including funding as TA), the specific faculty’s grants, RTF, or start-up.
2. During year one of the fellowship, the recipient must maintain excellent academic standing, and either present a poster and/or submit a scientific abstract to a national meeting, or be a coauthor on a manuscript. Presentations at the SPHHS Research Day do not meet this requirement.
3. If a fellowship is awarded for a second year, during that year, the fellow must apply for an external pre-doctoral fellowship. Examples of appropriate grant applications include a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship, the Ford Pre-doctoral Diversity Fellowship or other fellowship appropriate to the student’s discipline. More information is provided below.
4. Preference will be given to potential applicants who are residing in the US at the time of application.
5. Preference will be given to applicants who already have a master’s level degree or equivalent. Students currently enrolled in a UMASS master’s degree program are eligible to apply.
Application and Evaluation Process:
1. Applications should be sent electronically to Karen Lovely with a copy to Dean Anna Maria Siega-Riz (deansiegariz@umass.edu) and Associate Dean Sue Hankinson (sueh@umass.edu ). Applications will be reviewed in two rounds. Initial fellowship requests are due no later than January 6, 2020, and the second round is due no later than February 14, 2020. After that date, applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and funded only if monies are available.
2. A full application to include the following:
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The full Graduate school application packet.
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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.
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A statement from the chair/faculty committing the funds for the department/faculty share over the course of the fellow’s tenure including specific source.
3. Applications will be reviewed by the Dean and the Associate Dean for Research. If possible, final decisions will be made in time to offer the potential student funding along with his or her acceptance into the specific department’s Ph.D. program.
4. To be considered for a continuation of the fellowship into a second year, faculty must electronically submit evidence of excellent academic standing, a copy of the abstract, poster, or manuscript submitted in year 1, and the name of the fellowship program(s) which the applicant intends to apply to in year 2. Email materials to Karen Lovely with a copy to Dean Anna Maria Seiga-Riz (deansiegariz@umass.edu) and Associate Dean Sue Hankinson (sueh@umass.edu ).
Potential indicators of nationally-competitive students:
1. Presentations at national meetings and/or peer-reviewed publications.
2. GRE scores above 1300.
3. Experience in writing for and/or receiving extramural funds.
Potential nationally-competitive fellowship programs:
1. The Fogarty Institute has potential sources for pre-doctoral funding on their website.
2. NIH has funding for diversity in Health related research, including the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for Individual Predoctoral Fellowships to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research.
3. National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program.
4. Additional fellowship opportunities can be found using the following search engine: https://app.grad.illinois.edu/fellowship-finder/
For information on additional opportunities and guidance, graduate students are encouraged to contact the Graduate Student Grant Services Office.