Fellowships in Support of Diversity and Inclusion in the Behavioral and Social Sciences

The College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSOS) values diversity and inclusion and believes science and science teams benefit from diverse groups of faculty and trainees who bring diverse interests, perspectives, interpretations of, and solutions to human problems. Therefore, BSOS offers recruitment fellowships designed to enhance the diversity of our doctoral student population.  Applicants must be U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents.

Students who wish to be considered for these recruitment fellowships must submit diversity and inclusion essays with their application material.  Instructions for submitting the essays can be found in the on-line application forms.  Students awarded fellowships in support of diversity and inclusion will receive supplemental monetary/financial support.  The amount, type of support, and timing of the disbursement of the support will be determined by the training department on a case-by-case basis with the students' experiences, training goals, and departmental resources taken into consideration.  However, the supplemental support is generally no less than a total of $10,000 over the course of the doctoral training period. This funding will be in addition to the standard funding offered by the department.  Students will also be recognized as BSOS Dean's Diversity and Inclusion Doctoral Scholars.

Diversity and Inclusion Essay

The diversity and inclusion essay must detail how one or more of the following criteria applies to the applicant and the applicant must respond to the essay prompt (below):

1. First generation college student.

2. Member of a group historically underrepresented in the behavioral and social sciences (African American, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, Mexican American, Puerto Rican, or other Hispanic. Permanent Residents whose ethnicities corresponds to one or more of these groups also meet this criteria).

3. Person with a disability as defined in the Americans with Disabilities Act. Qualified individuals with disabilities are those who, with reasonable accommodation for their disability, are capable of entering a research career after appropriate experience and training.

4. Person who identifies as a member of the LGBTQ community.

5. Any individual whose career will relate to, or emphasize sociocultural diversity and inclusion, serving diverse communities, or advancing/promoting/increasing diversity in behavioral and social sciences or STEM through research, teaching, mentoring, and/or service. 

Diversity and Inclusion Essay Prompt:  Please describe either your interest in addressing issues related to sociocultural diversity and inclusion, your commitment to serving diverse communities, or your interest in advancing/promoting/increasing diversity in the behavioral and social sciences or STEM through your research, teaching, mentoring, and/or service.  Please be sure to describe your past and ongoing experiences in these areas, as well as your future plans and how you will use your doctoral training and career to promote excellence through diversity and inclusion.

Formatting Instructions- Page Limit – 1 page. Times New Roman 12 font, 1-inch margins or 550 words

How to Upload your Essay:  If you are interested in being considered for this support, please upload your essay into your online application on TGS’s website.  Upload it into section 4.  Supplemental Application.  Please note that completing an essay for this funding is not a requirement for your admissions application.  Also, please note that applicants who do decide to be considered by submitting an essay are not guaranteed support under this program.