The Graduate School sponsors a competition in the fall semester and again in the spring for an incentive fellowship that is designed to encourage graduate students to apply for externally funded fellowships. Over 40 fellowships are available for students who show promise of making significant contributions to particular areas of education. More information is available from the Office of External Relations and Student Affairs for more information and the College web page. The college and university offer a variety of special programs to provide financial support for qualified graduate students of color. Students must be recommended by their departments, which provide the assistantship in the second and third years.
Funds are sometimes available for awards later in the year.
These fellowships are provided based on a need analysis performed by the Office of Financial Aids. These awards encourage departments to recruit and enroll students of color by paying the first-year assistantship from a central graduate assistantship fund. The department agrees to continue funding in accordance with unit procedures for evaluating graduate assistants. Students must be recommended by their departments to the Associate Dean for External Relations and Student Affairs, who coordinates recommendations to the Urban Affairs Office. In general these assistantships are designed for master's more than doctoral students.