Dean's Graduate Fellowships

The Dean's Graduate Fellowship program promotes recruitment of outstanding students who are underrepresented in their graduate discipline. It provides broad financial support that includes stipend, tuition, mandatory fees, and a generous health insurance allowance. Graduate programs nominate their best applicants who are from underrepresented groups in their areas of study. Students may be pursuing doctoral or master's degrees (for master's degrees, preference is given to terminal master's degrees). Approximately 30 Dean's Graduate Fellows will matriculate annually to begin their graduate studies, and no more than one-third of the fellowships will be awarded to master's candidates. Fellows receive continued support while they make good progress towards their degree—four years for doctoral students, 2 years for master's students.

• All nominees must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. If the nominee is a permanent resident, he/she must have graduated from a U.S. high school.
• All nominations must be submitted online with required documents uploaded as PDF files.
• Nominations are closed for 2009.

For doctoral Fellows, the Graduate College awards full fellowship (non-service) support in the first and final years, as well as four summer sessions. The award pays tuition and mandatory fees, as outlined in the Tuition and Mandatory Fee Table, for four years of graduate study. Departments are responsible for funding teaching or research assistantships (50% appointments) for two years after the first year of fellowship support. If the student is making good academic progress towards his/her degree, and the program requires additional time, a third year of teaching or research assistantship support must be provided by the department/program.

For master's Fellows, the Graduate College awards half fellowship support over a two-year period of graduate study. The award pays tuition and mandatory fees, as outlined in the Tuition and Mandatory Fee Table, for two years of graduate study. Students may receive stipend and tuition support for two summer sessions. Departments are responsible for funding teaching or research assistantships (25% appointments) for two years. If the student is making good academic progress towards his/her degree, and the program requires additional time, a third year of teaching or research assistantship support must be provided by the department/program.

At the time of nomination, a department/program may propose an alternative schedule for distribution of the student's fellowship support, based on the unique requirements of the graduate program.

Nomination and Selection Criteria—Nomination for a Dean's Graduate Fellow must be submitted by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) of the department/program to which the prospective student is applying. The program's nomination must include:

1. A nomination letter from the DGS describing the nominee's qualifications and preparation for doctoral study. For example, information on previous educational, research, and/or extracurricular experiences should be noted. The DGS should also comment on the standing of the nominee within the pool of minority applicants for graduate study nationally. The DGS must also identify one or more faculty members who are able to serve as mentors for the nominee. If the nominee is not from a traditionally underrepresented group (e.g., African American, Hispanic/Latino, Native American), then the DGS must identify how the nominee is underrepresented in the proposed field of study (e.g., women in engineering, men in nursing). The Graduate College uses a broad definition of diversity.
2. The completed official Application for Admission to the Graduate College. Preliminary, unofficial UI applications are not acceptable.
3. GRE scores, if required by the department (or GMAT, if appropriate).
4. The Recommendation On Graduate Application form showing that the nominee has been admitted by the department.
5. A Statement of Purpose written by the nominee.
6. Transcripts from all higher education institutions that the student has attended.
7. Copies of all letters of recommendation that accompanied the admission application.

A Graduate College committee will review applications on a rolling basis beginning in mid-January. The committee will consider all submitted materials in its assessment of each nominee's potential for academic success. The Graduate College does not use arbitrary test score cutoffs in its assessment. Each department should nominate its best minority applicants from its admissions pool.

For minority students with truly exceptional academic qualities, departments and programs are encouraged to consider nominating these highly qualified students for the Presidential Graduate Fellowship. If the minority nominee is not selected as a Presidential Graduate Fellow, then he/she would be considered for a Dean's Graduate Fellowship.

The department will be notified once the Graduate College selects a nominee for a Dean's Graduate Fellowship. The DGS (or another departmental representative) should personally contact the student as soon as possible by phone or email followed by an official letter copied to the Graduate College. [Sample letter]

After the student has accepted the fellowship offer, the Graduate College will send a confirmation letter to the student from the Dean.

Although students are not required to accept or decline the award until April 15th, they should be encouraged to inform the department of their decision as soon as possible so that additional awards can be extended to other nominees in a timely manner.

Stipends for Dean's Graduate Fellows—In addition to the stipends indicated below, Dean's Graduate Fellows receive funds for tuition, mandatory UI fees, and a health insurance allowance (single student coverage). This scholarship support is automatically adjusted to cover increases in tuition and fees, as outlined in the Tuition and Mandatory Fee Table.

For doctoral Fellows:

First year:	Academic year (AY) $17,500 fellowship	+ summer $4,000
Second year:	AY departmental 50% research/teaching assistantship (RA/TA) stipend	+ summer $4,000
Third year:	AY departmental 50% RA/TA stipend	+ summer $4,000
Fourth year (if needed):	AY departmental 50% RA/TA stipend
Dissertation year:	AY $17,500 fellowship	+ summer $4,000

For master's Fellows:

First year:	$16,500 from half fellowship support + 25% RA/TA	+ summer $3,000
Second year:	$16,500 from half fellowship support + 25% RA/TA	+ summer $3,000
Third year (if needed):	AY departmental 25% RA/TA stipend
Departments/programs may request an alternative distribution schedule of the fellowship that best meets the program requirements; however, it still requires a 50:50 shared cost with the Graduate College during the first two years.

Fellows must be registered during summer periods in order to receive a summer stipend. The amount of the RA/TA stipends is determined by the departments/programs.

Recipients of the Dean's Graduate Fellowship may not hold other University paid positions (e.g., teaching/research assistantships, instructor appointments) during full fellowship years, except in unique situations where it is demonstrated that these appointments contribute substantially to the student's professional development and progress toward the degree. Such appointments must be pre-approved by the Graduate College.

Fellowship Renewal—All Dean's Graduate Fellowship renewals are contingent upon demonstration of good progress toward degree objectives. Departments or programs must review the progress of each Fellow annually and certify to the Graduate College that the Fellow is making good progress. If a Fellow is not in good academic standing and/or the department/program indicates that the Fellow is not making good progress towards the degree, the Fellow will not be certified for continuation in the Dean's Graduate Fellowship Program.

Please call (335-2147) or email if you have additional questions:

• Associate Dean Minnetta Gardinier
• Paul Meintel

Download a PDF copy of this page.

Begin submitting a nomination for the Dean's Graduate Fellowship.