Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowship

National deadline: November 14, 2012,  online application
                               January 9, 2013, supplemental materials receipt date

Eligibility requirements:

• U.S. citizen or native resident of U.S. possession
• Superior academic achievement-gpa, class rank, honors
• Committed to a career in teaching and researching at the college/university level
• Planning to enroll or enrolled in an eligible research-based program leading to a Ph.D or Sc.D degree at U.S. educational institution
• Individuals who do not have a Ph.D
• Study in an eligible major (see application particulars)

Award summary and conditions: Foundation seeks to increase the diversity of the nation's college and university faculties by increasing their ethnic and racial diversity, to maximize the educational benefits of diversity, and to increase the number of professors who can and will use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students.

• annual stipend of $20,000/year
• award to the institution in lieu of tuition and fees, $2,000
• expenses for one Conference of Ford Fellows
• access to Ford Fellow Liaisons for mentoring and support

Fellows must begin in September of the year of award and remain full-time for the academic year. After first year, funding may be deferred for up to two years but all three years of support must be used in five years.

Application process: electronic and paper submission

Application materials to be completed online by November 14, 2012

• Personal information, contact information, educational background, degrees received, etc.
• Statement of previous research (two page limit, double-spaced)
• Essay describing education plans and long range career goals (two page limit, double-spaced)
• Personal statement (not to exceed two pages, double-spaced) that describes the applicant’s background and experience and commitment to the goals of the Ford Foundation Fellowship Program by addressing all of the following that apply:
  
  •  The applicant’s capacity to respond in pedagogically productive ways to the learning needs of students from diverse backgrounds
  • The applicant’s sustained personal engagement with communities that are underrepresented in the academy and ability to bring this asset to learning, teaching and scholarship at the college or university level
  • The applicant’s likelihood of using the diversity of human experience as an educational resource in teaching and scholarship, and
  • 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 American/Chicanas/Chicanos
    • Native American Indians
    • Native Pacific Islanders (Hawaiian/Polynesian/Micronesian)
    • Puerto Ricans

• Names and contact information of four professors who will upload a letter of recommendation on your behalf.

Supplemental application materials to be mailed by January 9, 2013

• Official baccalaureate degree transcript showing grades and baccalaureate completion date or undergraduate work completed prior to fall 2012 (for those who have not yet completed a baccalaureate degree).
• Official graduate school transcript(s) (if applicable): Applicants who entered graduate school in fall 2012 should submit a graduate transcript that indicates grades received in fall 2012. If this is not possible, a letter from the graduate institution attesting to progress made must be submitted.
• Letters of recommendation (All letters must be submitted using the online system. Applications with less than the minimum of three letters submitted in support of the fellowship application will not be included in the review).
• Verification of Predoctoral Status Form and one-page (maximum) essay. Applicants already enrolled in a Ph.D or Sc.D program at the time of fellowship application must certify via submission of the signed form and essay that as of the fall 2013 term they have at least three years of full-time study remaining before they would be eligible to receive their Ph.D. degree and at least one of the three years must be comprised of full-time course work. The official NRC Verification of Doctoral Degree Status form must be signed by the advisor and the one-page essay attached to the form with submission.
• GRE General Test Scores. (While the National Academies Fellowships Office encourages submission of GRE General Test scores for applicants who are not yet admitted into the Ph.D/Sc.D programs for which Ford Foundation support is sought, submitting GRE scores is optional for these applicants. GRE scores should not be submitted, and will not be accepted, from applicants already enrolled in Ph.D/Sc.D programs. See on-line application instructions for details.)

Faculty Representative: Keith Raether

Selection process: Applications are evaluated by panels of distinguished scholars. Academic records, essays, letters of recommendation, the application and other appropriate materials are all considered as well as the appropriateness of the chosen institution for the plan of graduate study and the likelihood of using all three years of support.

Contact information: http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/FordFellowships/PGA_048001

National Research Council of the National Academies
500 Fifth Street, NW, K576
Washington, DC 20001
202.334.2872

Email:  infofell@nas.edu