Minority Scholar Dissertation Assistance

A number of funding programs specifically offer support to graduate students at the dissertation stage. Below we have listed a number of such programs for minority students. Please be aware that this is not an exhaustive list; you will probably need to do some research on your own in order to find the right program for you. Most require that you finish your dissertation during the award period.

American Association of University Women Educational Foundation
American Dissertation Fellowships
http://www.aauw.org/fga/fellowships_grants/american.cfm

Available to women pursuing Ph.D. in all fields of study (excluding engineering), the AAUW American Dissertation Fellowships provides a stipend for individuals in the final year of doctoral program. Fifty-one are available.

Consortium for a Strong Minority Presence at Liberal Arts Colleges
Dissertation Fellowships
http://www.depauw.edu/admin/acadaffairs/CFD/program.asp

Aims to helps individuals complete final requirements for degree. Scholars receive a stipend and are expected to teach one semester course.

Dartmouth College
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~gradstdy/funding/fellowships/index.html

Ceasar E. Chavez Dissertation Fellowship for Latino/a Scholars
Charles A. Eastman Dissertation Fellowship for Native American Scholars
Thurgood Marshall Dissertation Fellowship for African American Scholars.

Offers three dissertation fellowships to minority students in final stages of the Ph.d: The Ceasar E. Chavez Dissertation Fellowship for Latino/a scholars; The Charles A. Eastman Dissertation Fellowship for Native American Scholars; and The Thurgood Marshall Dissertation Fellowship for African American Scholars. Each provides a stipend, office space, library privileges and computing facilities plus a research allowance.

Five Colleges
Five College Fellowship for Minority Scholars
http://www.fivecolleges.edu/academic_programs/academprog_fellowship.html

Programs goals are to enable scholars to complete their dissertation, and encourage minorities to teach at university level. Stipend, office space, library privileges and housing assistance provided. Fellows are expected to also do a limited amount of teaching.

National Research Council
Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowships for Minorities  
http://www7.nationalacademies.org/FORDfellowships/forddiss.html

Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowships for Minorities are one-year fellowships in selected academic fields for doctoral candidates in the final year of dissertation writing. Each fellowship includes a $21,000 stipend for a tenure of no less than 9 months and no more than 12 months, beginning no earlier than June 1, 2004, and no later than September 1, 2004. Approximately 35 Dissertation Fellowships will be awarded.

Open to individuals who are members of the following groups: Alaska Natives (Eskimo or Aleut), Native American Indians, Black/African Americans, Puerto Ricans, Mexican Americans/Chicanas/Chicanos, and Native Pacific Islanders (Polynesian or Micronesian). Only Ph.D. or Sc.D. candidates in U.S. research-based doctoral programs whose studies will lead to careers in teaching and research at the university or college level are eligible. Applicants must have completed all requirements for their degree except for the writing and defense of their dissertation. Applicants must be U.S. citizens by the application deadline of December 3, 2003. Eligible Fields Include: Research-based areas of the social and behavioral sciences, education, engineering, humanities, life sciences, mathematics, and physical sciences. Awards will not be made in practice- based fields such as business, public health, and fine arts.

The University of Notre Dame
Erskine A. Peters Dissertation Year Fellowship
http://africana.nd.edu/erskine/

The fellowship period extends from August to May and carries a stipend of $25,000 plus a $2000 research budget.  The fellowship has two overall goals: (1) to enable outstanding African American doctoral candidates at the ABD level to devote their full energies to the completion of the dissertation, and (2) to provide opportunities for African American scholars to experience life at the University of Notre Dame, a major Catholic research institution.

Southern Regional Education Board Doctoral Scholars and Dissertation Scholars Programs (SREB)
Dissertation Year Fellowships
http://www.sreb.org/programs/dsp/process/about_the_program.asp 

For doctoral scholars who have reached the dissertation stage, a limited number of single-year fellowships are available. These fellowships are available only to minority scholars who plan to become full-time faculty members upon completion of their doctoral program. Applicants must meet the same eligibility requirements as Doctoral Scholars Program applicants and must have completed all program requirements, including successful defense of the dissertation proposal. Applicants also must be able to devote full time to completing the dissertation. Each Dissertation Year Fellowship recipient receives a one-year stipend of $12,000; a waiver of tuition and fees; a small stipend for research expenses; and expenses associated with the Doctoral Scholars Program annual meeting.

Williams College
Gaius Charles Bolin Fellowships for Minority Graduate Students 
http://www.williams.edu/admin/deanfac/fellowships/bolin.php

Awards enables two scholars to focus on the completion of dissertation work in humanities, natural, social or behavioral sciences. Provides stipend housing assistance, academic support and research allowance.

Tell APSA About a Minority Resource

Does your organization sponsor a minority scholar resource? Please send the information to us at web@apsanet.org.