Description: The Dean of the SPHHS will offer up to five Ph.D. fellowships 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 is for one year but may be renewed for a second year.
Stipend: Each fellow will receive up to $15,000 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 Pre-doctoral Diversity Fellowship or other nationally-competitive fellowship appropriate to the student’s discipline. More information is provided below.
All funds received from the Dean’s office must be matched by either Departmental funds or faculty grant funds (minimum $10,000 per year) and cannot be from faculty start-up funds or teaching assistantships. 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 up to $10,000/year. (This commitment can be from departmental/division funds, the specific faculty’s grants and/or RTF).
2. Fellows must apply for a nationally-competitive external fellowship in year one.
3. If a fellowship is awarded for a second year and in the event that the above mentioned application is unsuccessful, fellows must apply for nationally-competitive external fellowship in year two.
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.
Application and Evaluation Process:
1. Applications should be sent electronically to Karen Lovely with a copy to Dean Marjorie Aelion (maelion@schoolph.umass.edu) and Associate Dean Catrine Tudor-Locke (ctudorlocke@umass.edu). Review of applications will start no later than December 17, 2018. After that date, applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and funded only if funds are available.
2. A 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 from the chair/faculty committing the funds for the department/faculty share over the course of the fellow’s tenure including specific source.
3. A review committee will consider all applications and provide recommendations to the Dean.
4. 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.
5. 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 external fellowship proposal that was submitted in year 1 and its evaluation (if available) 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 Marjorie Aelion (maelion@schoolph.umass.edu) and Associate Dean Catrine Tudor-Locke (ctudorlocke@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 many 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.
For information on additional opportunities and guidance, graduate students are encouraged to contact the Graduate Student Grant Services Office.
