Student Profiles

Profile: Courtney Kneupper

Featured Fellowships

Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowships
Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowships

Office of Fellowships Advice

The Rule of 10

Short Announcments

Diversifying Higher Education in Illinois
SBE Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grants

========================================================================

Student Profile: Courtney Kneupper

I'm a PhD candidate in the history department, studying Medieval Europe under Robert Lerner.  My special focus is late-medieval Germany with an emphasis on heresy and prophetic ideas.  I'm in my third year, and am about to complete my qualifying exams.  My DAAD award will be used to spend nine months in Munich researching for my dissertation.  My dissertation is a study of prophecies regarding the birth of Antichrist and the approaching end of the world.  I am interested in these prophecies because they use imagination and prophetic thought to express opinions about religious, social, and political aspects of medieval life.  Before I entered graduate school, I worked as an architect and an artist, and I continue to approach history with an interest in images and visual representations of ideas - an important aspect of life for a majority illiterate society. 

Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowships

Statement of Program Goals 
Through its program of Diversity Fellowships, 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.

Predoctoral Awards

The predoctoral fellowships provide three years of support for individuals engaged in graduate study leading to a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) or Doctor of Science (Sc.D.) degree.  Predoctoral fellowships will be awarded in a national competition administered by the National Research Council (NRC) on behalf of the Ford Foundation. The awards will be made to individuals who, in the judgment of the review panels, 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.

Eligibility to apply for a predoctoral fellowship is limited to:

• All citizens or nationals of the United States regardless of race, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation (must have become a U.S. citizen by November 16, 2006),
• 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 or planning to enroll in an eligible research-based program leading to a Ph.D. or Sc.D. degree at a U.S. educational institution, and
• Individuals who have not earned a doctoral degree at any time, in any field.

(The term “national of the United States” designates a citizen of the United States or a native resident of a possession of the United States. It does not refer to a U.S. permanent resident who is a citizen of another country.)

The following will be considered as positive factors in choosing successful candidates:

• Evidence of superior academic achievement
• Degree of promise of continuing achievement as scholars and teachers
• Membership in one or more of the following groups whose underrepresentation in the American professoriate has been severe and longstanding:
• Alaska Natives (Eskimo or Aleut)
• Black/African Americans
• Mexican Americans/Chicanas/Chicanos
• Native American Indians
• Native Pacific Islanders (Polynesian/Micronesian)
• Puerto RicansCapacity to respond in pedagogically productive ways to the learning needs of students from diverse backgrounds
• Sustained personal engagement with communities that are underrepresented in the academy and an ability to bring this asset to learning, teaching, and scholarship at the college and university level
• Likelihood of using the diversity of human experience as an educational resource in teaching and scholarship.

Review panels may also look at additional factors such as the suitability of the proposed institution for the applicant's plan of graduate study and the likelihood that the applicant will fully utilize three years of support including a year of course work.

Awards will be made for study in research-based Ph.D. or Sc.D. programs that include the following major disciplines and related interdisciplinary fields: American studies, anthropology, archaeology, art and theater history, astronomy, chemistry, communications, computer science, earth sciences, economics, engineering, ethnomusicology, geography, history, international relations, language, life sciences, linguistics, literature, mathematics, performance study, philosophy, physics, political science, psychology, religion, 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.

Individuals enrolled in the following practice-oriented programs will not be supported: business, management, administration, occupational health, nursing, home economics, library and information science, speech pathology, audiology, personnel, guidance, social work, social welfare, public health, physical education, physical therapy, rehabilitation science, education, leadership, fine arts, filmmaking, and performing arts. In addition, awards will not be made for work leading to terminal master’s degrees, the Ed.D. degree, the degrees of Doctor of Fine Arts (D.F.A.) or Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.), or professional degrees in such areas as medicine, law, and public health, or for study in joint degree programs such as the M.D./Ph.D., J.D./Ph.D., and M.F.A./Ph.D.

Fellowships are tenable at any fully accredited, nonprofit U.S. institution of higher education offering a Ph.D. or Sc.D. degree in the eligible fields of study. All arrangements for acceptance into a doctoral program at the chosen institution are the responsibility of the applicant. An applicant need not be accepted by the chosen institution at the time of application.

Predoctoral fellowships are intended for students who have enrolled or plan to enroll in a Ph.D. or Sc.D. program no later than fall 2007, including:

• Undergraduates in their senior year,
• Individuals who have completed undergraduate study,
• Individuals who have completed some graduate study, and
• Individuals already enrolled in a Ph.D. or Sc.D. program who provide evidence that they can fully utilize a three-year fellowship award.

Stipend and Benefits:

• Annual stipend: $20,000
• Award to the institution in lieu of tuition and fees: $3,000
• Expenses paid to attend at least one Conference of Ford Fellows (see below)
• Access to Ford Fellow Liaisons, a network of former Ford Fellows who have volunteered to provide mentoring and support to current fellows

Fellowship recipients must begin the first year’s tenure on September 1, 2007, and must remain on tenure full-time for the academic year. After the first year of fellowship tenure, fellows may choose to defer funding for up to two years. All three years of support must be used within a five-year period.

Applications will be evaluated by panels of distinguished scholars selected by the National Academies. The panels will use academic records, essays, letters of recommendation, the application itself, and other appropriate materials as the basis for determining the extent to which candidates meet the eligibility requirements and the selection criteria.

Predoctoral fellows are required to enroll full-time in a program leading to a Ph.D. or Sc.D. degree in an eligible field of study. Students enrolled in a terminal master’s program will not be supported. Those who accept a predoctoral fellowship must agree to the stipulations in the Terms of Appointment for Ford Foundation Fellows that accompanies the award letter. In addition, Ford Fellows must agree to participate in regular updates of the Directory of Ford Fellows, as well as periodic surveys designed to demonstrate the impact of this program.

The on-line fellowship application is available on this site. Applicants must register and establish a personal user ID and password. All application materials become the property of the National Academies and are not returned to applicants. Please note that all application materials must be written in English. (In special circumstances, when an applicant is unable to complete the electronic application, a paper application may be submitted. A paper application may be obtained by submitting a written request to the address listed under Contact Information , see below. Such a request must include a valid, current address and phone number, and must be received by the National Academies no later than November 1, 2006. Instructions for submitting the paper application and supporting materials will be provided with the paper application. The postmark deadline for paper applications is November 16, 2006. No paper application bearing a postmark later than November 16, 2006 will be accepted for review.)

Advance Preparation

• Prepare essays in advance and save each in a separate file so that you are prepared to upload these texts. Get feedback from advisers, mentors, and colleagues.
• Contact potential referees. Be certain that they agree to upload a letter of reference for you and that they can do so by the deadline. The on-line system will require you to provide an e-mail address for each referee.

Conference of Ford Fellows

• A unique national conference of a select group of high-achieving scholars committed to diversifying the professoriate and using diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students
• Networking with peers and “elders”
• Face to face conversations with university and academic presses
• Publication workshops
• Strategies to complete the dissertation
• Planning an academic career
• Career advancement workshops
• Proposal, grant-writing, and research funding advice
• Paper and poster presentations with supportive comments and critiques from colleagues
• Opportunities to identify mentors and peers from across the country
• Opportunities to interact with established and emerging scholars in diverse fields

The Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowships program also provides dissertation fellowships for students who have completed all the requirements for the Ph.D. or Sc.D. except for writing a dissertation, and postdoctoral fellowships for Ph.D. or Sc.D. recipients. Visit our web site for more information.

Fellowships Office, GR 346A 
National Research Council 
500 Fifth Street, NW 
Washington, DC 20001 
202-334-2872 
website: http://national-academies.org/fellowships 
e-mail: infofell@nas.edu

Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowships

Statement of Program Goals 
Through its program of Diversity Fellowships, 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.

Dissertation Awards

The dissertation fellowships provide one year of support for individuals working to complete a dissertation leading to a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) or Doctor of Science (Sc.D.) degree.  Dissertation fellowships will be awarded in a national competition administered by the National Research Council (NRC) on behalf of the Ford Foundation. The awards will be made to individuals who, in the judgment of the review panels, 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.

Eligibility to apply for a dissertation fellowship is limited to:

• All citizens or nationals of the United States regardless of race, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation (must have become a U.S. citizen by November 30, 2006),
• 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,
• Ph.D. or Sc.D. degree candidates studying in an eligible research-based discipline at a U.S. educational institution, and
• Individuals who have not earned a doctoral degree at any time, in any field.

(The term “national of the United States” designates a citizen of the United States or a native resident of a possession of the United States. It does not refer to a U.S. permanent resident who is a citizen of another country.)

The following will be considered as positive factors in choosing successful candidates:

• Evidence of superior academic achievement
• Degree of promise of continuing achievement as scholars and teachers
• Membership in one or more of the following groups whose underrepresentation in the American professoriate has been severe and longstanding:
• Alaska Native (Eskimo or Aleut)
• Black/African Americans
• Mexican American/Chicana/Chicanos
• Native American Indians
• Native Pacific Islanders (Polynesian/Micronesian)
• Puerto Ricans
• Capacity to respond in pedagogically productive ways to the learning needs of students from diverse backgrounds
• Sustained personal engagement with communities that are underrepresented in the academy and an ability to bring this asset to learning, teaching, and scholarship at the college and university level
• Likelihood of using the diversity of human experience as an educational resource in teaching and scholarship
• Review panels may also look at additional factors such as the suitability of the applicant's proposed institution and the likelihood that the applicant will fully utilize 9 to 12 months of support prior to receiving the Ph.D. or Sc.D.

Awards will be made for study in research-based Ph.D. or Sc.D. programs that include the following major disciplines and related interdisciplinary fields: American studies, anthropology, archaeology, art and theater history, astronomy, chemistry, communications, computer science, earth sciences, economics, education, engineering, ethnomusicology, geography, history, international relations, language, life sciences, linguistics, literature, mathematics, performance study, philosophy, physics, political science, psychology, religion, 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.

Individuals enrolled in the following practice-oriented programs will not be supported: business, management, administration, occupational health, nursing, home economics, library and information science, speech pathology, audiology, personnel, guidance, social work, social welfare, public health, physical education, physical therapy, rehabilitation science, educational administration and leadership, fine arts, filmmaking, and performing arts. In addition, awards will not be made for work leading to terminal master’s degrees, the Ed.D. degree, the degrees of Doctor of Fine Arts (D.F.A.) or Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.), or professional degrees in such areas as medicine, law, and public health, or for study in joint degree programs such as the M.D./Ph.D., J.D./Ph.D., and M.F.A./Ph.D.

Fellowships are tenable at any fully accredited, nonprofit U.S. institution of higher education offering a Ph.D. or Sc.D. degree in the eligible fields of study.

Verification of Doctoral Degree Candidacy

• A valid National Academies Verification of Doctoral Degree Candidacy Form, signed by the adviser or other authorized official, must be received by the Fellowships Office of the National Academies by January 19, 2007 to confirm that an applicant has advanced to doctoral candidacy.
• Applicants should expect to complete the dissertation during the 2007-2008 academic year, but no later than fall 2008.

Stipend and Benefits

• One-year stipend: $21,000
• Expenses paid to attend one Conference of Ford Fellows (see below)
• Access to Ford Fellow Liaisons, a network of former Ford Fellows who have volunteered to provide mentoring and support to current fellows.

Tenure

The tenure of a dissertation fellowship will be no less than 9 months and no more than 12 months.

Evaluation and Selection of Fellows

Applications will be evaluated by panels of distinguished scholars selected by the National Academies. The panels will use academic records, essays, letters of recommendation, the proposed timetable and plan for completion of the doctoral degree, the application itself, and other appropriate materials as the basis for determining the extent to which candidates meet the eligibility requirements and the selection criteria.

Conditions of Fellowships

Dissertation fellows are expected to be engaged in a full-time program leading to a Ph.D. or Sc.D. degree in an eligible field of study. Those who accept a dissertation fellowship must agree to the stipulations in the Terms of Appointment for Ford Foundation Fellows that accompanies the award letter. In addition, Ford Fellows must agree to participate in regular updates of the Directory of Ford Fellows, as well as periodic surveys designed to demonstrate the impact of this program.

How to Apply

The on-line fellowship application is available on this site. Applicants must register and establish a personal user ID and password. All application materials become the property of the National Academies and are not returned to applicants. Please note that all application materials must be written in English. (In special circumstances, when an applicant is unable to complete the electronic application, a paper application may be submitted. A paper application may be obtained by submitting a written request to the address listed under Contact Information, see below. Such a request must include a valid, current address and phone number, and must be received by the National Academies no later than November 1, 2006. Instructions for submitting the paper application and supporting materials will be provided with the paper application. The postmark deadline for paper applications is November 30, 2006. No paper application bearing a postmark later than November 30, 2006 will be accepted for review.)

On-line Application

• Personal information, contact information, educational background (names of all institutions attended, years attended, degrees received), list of any honors, awards, fellowships, employment, and publications,
• Statement of previous research (two-page limit, double-spaced ),
• Annotated bibliography (two to three sentences for no more than ten key items),
• Abstract of dissertation (one-page limit)
• Essay explaining the plan and timeline for completing the dissertation and describing the applicant’s long-range career goals (four-page limit, double-spaced, avoid technical jargon),
• Personal statement (not to exceed fours pages, double-spaced) that describes the applicant’s background and experience and commitment to the goals of the Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowships program by addressing all of the following that apply:
• Membership in one or more of the following groups whose underrepresentation in the American professoriate has been severe and longstanding:
• Alaska Natives (Eskimo/Aleut)
• Black/African Americans
• Mexican American/Chicanas/Chicanos
• Native American Indians
• Native Pacific Islanders (Polynesian/Micronesian)
• Puerto Ricans
• the applicant’s capacity to respond in pedagogically productive ways to the learning needs of students from diverse backgrounds
• the applicant’s sustained personal engagement with communities that are underrepresented in the academy and ability to bring this asset to learning, teaching and scholarship at the college or university level
• the applicant’s likelihood of using the diversity of human experience as an educational resource in teaching and scholarship, and
• Names and contact information of four professors who will upload a letter of reference on your behalf (two reference letters are required).

Supplementary Materials

• Transcript showing receipt of baccalaureate degree,
• Graduate School Transcript(s),
• Letters of reference (All letters must be submitted electronically. Applications with a minimum of two letters will be reviewed), and
• Verification of Doctoral Degree Candidacy Form. (The adviser or another appropriate official must submit a standard National Academies Verification of Doctoral Degree Status Form verifying that the applicant has completed all requirements for a Ph.D. or Sc.D. degree except for writing the dissertation.)

Advance Preparation

• Prepare essays and annotated bibliography in advance and save each in a separate file so that you are prepared to upload these texts. Get feedback from advisers, mentors, and colleagues.
• Contact potential referees. Be certain that they agree to upload a letter of reference for you and that they can do so by the deadline of January 19, 2007. The on-line system will require you to provide an e-mail address for each referee.

Conference of Ford Fellows

• A unique national conference of a select group of high-achieving scholars committed to diversifying the professoriate and using diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students
• Networking with peers and “elders”
• Face to face conversations with university and academic presses
• Publication workshops
• Strategies to complete the dissertation
• Planning an academic career
• Career advancement workshops
• Proposal, grant-writing, and research funding advice
• Paper and poster presentations with supportive comments and critiques from colleagues
• Opportunities to identify mentors and peers from across the country
• Opportunities to interact with established and emerging scholars in diverse fields

The Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowships program also provides predoctoral fellowships for students working toward a Ph.D. or Sc.D., and postdoctoral fellowships for Ph.D. or Sc.D. recipients. Visit our web site for more information.

Contact information:

Fellowships Office, GR 346A 
National Research Council 
500 Fifth Street, NW 
Washington, DC 20001 
202-334-2872 
web site: http://national-academies.org/fellowships 
e-mail: infofell@nas.edu

Office of Fellowships Advice

THE RULE OF 10

REVIEWERS SPEND 10 MINUTES PER APPLICATION

INTRODUCE YOUR MAJOR POINTS IN FEWER THAN 10 SENTENCES

WRITE AT LEAST 10 DRAFTS

A FONT SMALLER THAN 10 PT WILL DISQUALIFY YOU

Short Announcements

Diversifying Higher Education Faculty in Illinois

Vision: The purpose of DFI is to increase the number of underrepresented faculty and staff in Illinois institutions of higher education and higher education governing boards.

Terms of the Award
Upon graduation or separation from the DFI institution, an award recipient must agree to actively seek and accept when offered a teaching or non-teaching full-time appointment at an Illinois postsecondary educational institution, or accept a position as an employee of this state in an administrative, educational-related position equal to the number of years for which he or she receives the DFI fellowship. Students failing to fulfill this condition of the award shall be required to repay 20 percent of their cumulative award amount, subject to revision by the DFI Program Board. Stipends vary. Awards are made for no longer than 4 years total.

Eligibility Requirements

• ADMISSION. Applicants must be admitted to a Master's or Doctoral program at a participating institution at the time of application; and, if awarded, enroll as a full-time student as defined by the institution. Application deadline is February 15th for the following academic year, although individual institutions may set an internal deadline prior to that date for processing purposes. Please check with your institutional representative to determine the actual application deadline.

• ILLINOIS RESIDENCY. To be classified as an Illinois resident, an applicant must have received a high school diploma or post-secondary degree from an educational institution in Illinois or have lived in illinois for the past three years.

• UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS. African American, Hispanic American, Native American or Asian American. "Traditionally underrepresented minority group" means any of the minority groups designated in the Act which are represented in Illinois post-baccalaureate enrollment at a percentage rate less than the percentage of the minority group's representation in the total Illinois population. The Illinois Board of Higher Education shall determine annually which groups are underrepresented based upon census data and annual graduate enrollment reports from Illinois institutions of higher education.

• ACADEMIC ABILITY. Applicants must possess above average academic ability as evidenced by:

1. An earned baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution of higher learning;
2. A minimum grade point average of 2.75 (scale 4.0 = A) in the last sixty hours of undergraduate work or over a 3.2 (scale 4.0 = A) in at least 9 hours of graduate study;
3. Unconditional admission to a post-baccalaureate degree program.

• ACADEMIC PURSUIT. Applicants in all academic disciplines are eligible. Applicants must be pursuing a doctorate or master's degree. Applicants must plan on pursuing a career in teaching or administration at an Illinois post-secondary institution or Illinois higher education governing board.

• FINANCIAL NEED. Applicants must demonstrate financial need. A FAFSA must be filed each year to maintain eligibility.

http://www.dfi.siu.edu/

SBE Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant

DUE DATES: Vary across Divisions. Please consult the relevant program’s website (direct links located in the Summary of Program Requirements section of this solicitation).

SYNOPSIS:
The National Science Foundation's Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences (BCS), Division of Social and Economic Sciences (SES), and Division of Science Resources Statistics (SRS) award grants to doctoral students to improve the quality of dissertation research. These grants provide funds for items not normally available through the student's university. Additionally, these grants allow doctoral students to undertake significant data-gathering projects and to conduct field research in settings away from their campus that would not otherwise be possible. Proposals are judged on the basis of their scientific merit, including the theoretical importance of the research question and the appropriateness of the proposed data and methodology to be used in addressing the question.

In an effort to improve the quality of dissertation research, many programs in BCS, SES, and the Research on Science and Technology Surveys and Statistics Program within SRS accept doctoral dissertation improvement grant proposals. Items such as budget limitations, target dates and/or deadlines, page length restrictions, and review procedures vary widely across programs. Please consult the relevant program's webpage for specific information and contact the program director if necessary.