Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship
Through its program of Fellowships, the Ford 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.
This year, the program will award approximately 36 dissertation fellowships. These dissertation fellowships provide one year of support for individuals working to complete a dissertation leading to a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) or Doctor of Science (Sc.D.) degree. The Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship is intended to support the final year of writing and defense of the dissertation.
Dissertation fellowships will be awarded in a national competition administered by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (the National Academies) on behalf of the Ford Foundation. The awards will be made to individuals who, in the judgment of the review panels, have demonstrated superior academic achievement, are committed to a career in teaching and research at the college or university level, show promise of future achievement as scholars and teachers, and are well prepared to use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students.
1 year
$25,000
Eligibility to apply for a dissertation fellowship is limited to:
• All U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, and U.S. permanent
residents (holders of a Permanent Resident Card), as well as individuals granted deferred action status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program1, Indigenous individuals exercising rights associated with the Jay Treaty of 1794, political asylees and refugees, regardless of race, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation,
• Individuals with evidence of superior academic achievement (such as grade point average, class rank, honors, or other designations),
• Individuals committed to a career in teaching and research at the college or university level,
• Ph.D. or Sc.D. degree candidates studying in an eligible research-based discipline in a dissertation-required program at a U.S. non-proprietary (not for profit) institution of higher education who will complete the dissertation during the 2020-2021 academic year, but no later than fall 2021,
• Individuals who have not earned a doctoral degree at any time, in any field, and
• Individuals who, by December 10, 2019, have completed all departmental and institutional requirements for their degree, except for writing and defense of the dissertation.