Note to PIs: The following program summary is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It does not replace the sponsor’s actual funding opportunity announcement. Always review the most recent version of the sponsor’s full announcement to verify that the deadline has not changed and to identify the most current program requirements.
About the fellowship
Through its fellowship programs, 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. Awards are offered at the predoctoral, dissertation, and postdoctoral levels to individuals who 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.
Awards will be made for study in research-based Ph.D. or Sc.D. programs. Examples include: American studies, anthropology, archaeology, art and theater history, astronomy, chemistry, communications, computer science, cultural studies, earth sciences, economics, education, engineering, ethnic studies, ethnomusicology, geography, history, international relations, language, life sciences, linguistics, literature, mathematics, performance study, philosophy, physics, political science, psychology, religious studies, 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. Research-based fields of education are eligible if the major field of study is listed above and is used to describe the Ph.D. or Sc.D. program of the applicant (e.g., sociology of education, anthropology and education).
Eligibility
- 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, 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,
- Individuals enrolled in an eligible research-based (dissertation-required) program leading to a Ph.D. or Sc.D. degree at a non-proprietary (not for profit) U.S. institution of higher education who will complete the dissertation in a period of 9-12 months during the 2020-2021 academic year,
- Individuals who, by December 10, 2019, have completed all departmental and institutional requirements for their degree, except for writing and defense of the dissertation, and
- Individuals who have not earned a doctoral degree at any time, in any field.
1Eligibility includes individuals with current status under the DACA Program, as well as individuals whose status may have lapsed but who continue to meet all the USCIS guidelines for DACA available here.
Award amount
$28,000 per year for one year; in addition, expenses will be paid to attend at least one Conference of Ford Fellows, and access will be given to Ford Fellow Regional Liaisons, a network of former Ford Fellows who have volunteered to provide mentoring and support to current fellows.
Award period
One (1) year.
Application deadline
December 9, 2021. Status: Closed.
Learn more
Visit http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/FordFellowships/PGA_171939.
Also see the Dissertation Fact Sheet at https://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/FordFellowships/PGA_047959.
Last updated: July 2021.