www.nationalacademies.org/fellowships
The Ford Foundation seeks to increase the diversity of the nation’s college and university faculties by increasing their ethnic and racial diversity, and to increase the number of professors who can and will use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students.  The fellowships provide up to three years of support for individuals engaged in graduate study leading to a Doctor of Philosophy or Doctor of Science degree.  The fellowship includes an annual stipend of up to $20,000, an award to the institution in lieu of tuition and fees, and all expenses paid to attend at least one Conference of Ford Fellows.

Eligibility Requirements

• U.S. citizen or national.
• Evidence of superior academic achievement.
• Committed to a career in teaching and research at the college or university level.
• Enrolled or planning to enroll in research-based program leading to a Ph.D. or Sc.D. degree at a U.S. educational institution.
• Must not have already earned a doctoral degree at any time, in any field.

General Information

Predoctoral fellowships are awarded in a national competition administered by the National Research Council on behalf of the Ford Foundation.  The following are considered additional positive factors in choosing successful candidates:

• 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 Native (Eskimo/Aleut)
  • Black/African American
  • Mexican American/Chicano
  • Native American Indian
  • Native Pacific Islander (Polynesian/Micronesian)
  • Puerto Rican
    
    

Review panels may also look at additional factors, such as the suitability of the proposed institution of graduate study and the likelihood that the applicant will fully utilize three years of support including a year of coursework.

Awards will be made for study in research-based Ph.D. or Sc.D. programs that include the following major disciplines and related interdisciplinary fields:  American studies, anthropology, archaeology, art and theater history, astronomy, chemistry, communications, computer science, earth sciences, economics, engineering, ethnomusicology, geography, history, international relations, language, life sciences, linguistics, literature, mathematics, performance study, philosophy, physics, political science, psychology, religion, sociology, urban planning, and women’s studies.  Also eligible are interdisciplinary ethnic studies programs, such as African-American studies and Native American studies, and other interdisciplinary programs, such as area studies, peace studies and social justice.

Deadline Dates

November 2013   Completed application and required documentation for Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship must be submitted to the National Research Council.

January 2014   Supplementary materials must be submitted.

April 2014   Awards announced.