Underrepresented Recruitment Awards

Early Deadline: Friday, January 17, 2025
Late Deadline: Friday, February 21, 2025

The University Graduate School Bloomington(UGSB) is dedicated to promoting excellence in graduate education by fostering and maintaining a diverse community of scholars. Aligned with the Pillar of Student Success and Opportunity in Indiana University's Strategic Plan 2030, we offer five competitive fellowships designed to recruit and retain outstanding graduate students. These are multi-year packages with a stipend, health insurance**, and tuition and fee remission throughout the time the students are working toward their Ph.D., master’s, or M.F.A. degree.

At least one year is a graduate fellowship with no duties beyond continued progress toward the degree. During that year, the stipend level is $25,000-$37,000, depending on the fellowship. The fellowship year stipend and subsidized health insurance are provided by the University Graduate School Bloomington. Tuition and fee remission is provided by the department, college, or school.
For the remaining 2-4 years, funding is the responsibility of the Department* and may be derived from a combination of awards, scholarships, research and/or teaching assistantships (e.g. AIship, RAship, or GAship), plus tuition and subsidized health insurance.
- We encourage departments to put together 3-year packages for MFA or master's students, 4-year packages for PhD students entering with a master's degree, and 5-year packages for PhD students entering with a bachelor's degree.

*UGSB provides multi-year stipends to Herbert Fellows.

** Herbert Master's Fellows do not receive UGSB-funded health insurance.

In nominating the student, the department agrees to support and train that student, and to encourage the student’s participation in campus-wide mentoring activities. Departments must also agree to ensure that award recipients do not accept other graduate awards or employment during the period of funding.

Because the multi-year fellowships are intended primarily as recruitment tools, funds for a recruiting visit to Bloomington are also included.

General Eligibility Criteria

Nominees must be:

a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
new students proposing to enter a Ph.D. or master's degree program
- Current IU graduate students are only eligible if they are newly applying to a Ph.D. or master's degree program.
belong to at least one of the following groups:
- First-generation college students (a student whose legal custodian(s) did not complete a four-year college degree).
- Individuals with disabilities. Under the ADA, an individual is considered to have a disability if they have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of their major life activities and have a record of such impairment. 
- Underrepresented minorities (URM) in their specific discipline. The term URM includes DOMESTIC African Americans, Native American/American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, or Pacific Islanders/Native Hawaiians. 
- Gender minorities (comprising less than 30% of the current graduate population in their department). 
Nominees should also have outstanding academic backgrounds and excellent chances of obtaining their doctoral or master's degree. Therefore, an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.5 is strongly recommended, but postbaccalaureate coursework and other relevant experience will also be recognized.
Please read the additional criteria for each award to ensure a student is eligible to be nominated.

Doctoral Fellowship for Underrepresented Students

Stipend and Benefits:

A 5-year award designed to guarantee the student receives a full stipend, tuition, and health insurance throughout the time they are working toward the PhD degree

Two years of graduate fellowship from UGSB with health insurance and a stipend of $30,000.
Tuition and mandatory fees are provided by the nominating department/school.
For the remaining 3 years, funding is the responsibility of the department/school and must include a full stipend, tuition, and health insurance.
Opportunity to participate in mentoring workshops in the Graduate Mentoring Center and the Preparing Future Faculty and Professionals Program.
Possibility for expenses to be paid to attend the Institute for Teaching and Mentoring, up to 3 years.
Possibility for expenses to be paid to participate in one of the semester-long activities sponsored by the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity.

Graduate Scholars Fellowship

Stipend and Benefits:

A multi-year award designed to guarantee the student receives full stipend, tuition, and health insurance throughout the time they are working toward the PhD degree

1 year of graduate fellowship from UGSB with health insurance and a stipend of $23,000.
Tuition and mandatory fees are funded by the nominating department/school.
For the remaining 3 years, funding is the responsibility of the department/school and must include a full stipend, tuition, and health insurance.

Ronald E McNair Scholars Graduate Fellowship

Stipend and Benefits:

A multi-year award designed to guarantee the student receives full stipend, tuition, and health insurance throughout the time they are working toward the PhD degree.

1 year of graduate fellowship from UGSB with health insurance and a stipend of $25,000. Tuition and mandatory fees are provided by the nominating department/school
For the remaining 3 years, funding is the responsibility of the department and should include a full stipend, tuition, and health insurance

Additional Eligibility Criteria for McNair Scholars Graduate Fellowship:

Nominees must have participated in the Ronald E McNair Postbaccalaureate Scholars Program during their undergraduate career
- Nominee must provide documentation of their undergraduate status as a McNair Scholar
- Applicants to an M.F.A. program are eligible for this fellowship in addition to those entering a doctoral program

Adam W Herbert PhD and Master Fellowship

PhD Fellowship

Stipend and Benefits:

A 4-year fellowship designed to guarantee the student receives a full stipend, tuition and health insurance throughout the time they are working toward their degree

4 years of graduate fellowship from UGSB with health insurance and a stipend of $37,000
Tuition and mandatory fees provided by nominating department/school
Opportunity to participate in mentoring workshops in the Graduate Mentoring Center and the Preparing Future Faculty and Professionals Program
Possibility for expenses to be paid to attend the Institute for Teaching and Mentoring, up to 3 years
Possibility for expenses to be paid to participate in one of the semester-long activities sponsored by the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity

Master's Fellowship

Stipend and Benefits:

A 2-year fellowship designed to guarantee the student receives a stipend and tuition throughout the time they are working toward their degree.

2 years of fellowship from UGSB with a stipend of $10,000
Tuition and mandatory fees funded by nominating department/school
Opportunity to participate in mentoring workshops in the Graduate Mentoring Center and the Preparing Future Faculty and Professionals Program
Possibility for expenses to be paid to attend the Institute for Teaching and Mentoring, up to 3 years
Possibility for expenses to be paid to participate in one of the semester-long activities sponsored by the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity

Additional Eligibility Criteria for Adam W Herbert PhD and Master Degree Fellowships:

Nominees must be:
- graduates of a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) (link to list of 105 HBCUs)
- new students proposing to enter a Ph.D. or master’s degree program in a science, technology, or mathematics (STEM) discipline

Doctoral Fellowship for Native American and Indigenous Graduate Students

The University Graduate School Bloomington is committed to advancing excellence through the transformative power of educational programs, recruitment, and outreach for students of all races and ethnicities. To that end, we are excited to introduce our new fellowship designed to actively support the recruitment and retention of Native and Indigenous students at IU Bloomington.

Stipend and Benefits

A 5-year award designed to guarantee the student receives full stipend, tuition, and health insurance throughout the time they are working toward their doctoral degree

One year of graduate fellowship from UGSB with health insurance and a stipend of $25,000.
Tuition and mandatory fees are provided by the nominating department/school.
For the remaining 4 years, funding will be the responsibility of the department or school and must include tuition, health insurance, and a minimum stipend of $23,000.
Opportunity to participate in mentoring workshops in the Graduate Mentoring Center and the Preparing Future Faculty and Professionals Program
Possibility for expenses to be paid to attend the Institute for Teaching and Mentoring, up to 3 years.
Possibility for expenses to be paid to participate in one of the semester-long activities sponsored by the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity

Additional Eligibility Criteria for Doctoral Fellowship for Native American and Indigenous Graduate Students

Nominees must be:
- admitted to a doctoral program based on the Bloomington campus;
- an enrolled member of a federally recognized tribal entity or Pacific Islander of a U.S. territory (Hawai'i, Guam, and American Samoa.)

Go to the Nomination Form

Nomination Guidelines

Each department (not program) may nominate up to four (4) students in total for all recruitment fellowships. The University Graduate School Bloomington Fellowship Review Committee will evaluate all nominations using a uniform set of criteria to create a ranked list. This new process is designed to reduce the substantial workload on the review committee and eliminate duplicate nominations across different fellowships. Fellowships will be awarded to the top nominees based on their ranking and eligibility. 

Top nominees who are graduates of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) will first be considered for the Herbert Fellowship. If a nominee is not selected for the Herbert Fellowship, they will automatically be considered, along with other candidates, for the Doctoral Fellowship for Underrepresented Students. 

If a nominee is not selected for either the Herbert or the Doctoral Fellowship for Underrepresented Students, they will then be considered for the Graduate Scholars Fellowship. Finally, any remaining nominees who are McNair Fellows will be reviewed for the McNair Fellowship.

Nomination Materials

The Chair of Graduate Admissions, Director of Graduate Studies, Department Chair, or Associate Dean of Graduate Studies must complete and upload the following documents using the links on our website: 

Online Nomination Form Link
1. A Funding Statement (using the provided template) outlining how the department plans to support the student during the years when they are not receiving fellowship funds. This should include anticipated stipend amounts for SAAs, any available funding for subsequent fellowship years, potential funding from the school or college, professional development funds, and any funding available through training or research grants. Please note that any funding the department provides must cover health insurance and fee remission. When considering funding for students in future years, develop three-year packages for incoming M.F.A. students, four-year packages for Ph.D.-seeking students entering with a master’s degree, and five-year packages for Ph.D.-seeking students entering with a bachelor’s degree. You may submit one funding outline for all nominations. Below are funding templates that can be submitted.

Funding Template for Other Schools and Colleges not in the College

a. Link to PDF

b. Link to DOCX

Funding Template for Departments in the College of Arts and Sciences

a. Link to PDF

b. Link to DOCX

2. A Supporting Statement (no more than one page) addressing the following points:
a. Why this candidate is outstanding;
b. How well matched the candidate's interests are to the strengths of the department;
c. How the department recruited the students (how much contact and by which faculty);
d. The likelihood the candidate will choose IU over competing offers.

3. A Departmental Statement of Inclusion and Belonging (no more than two pages.) You may submit one statement for all nominations. The statement should include:
a. A description of current and planned initiatives to increase recruitment and retention of a more diverse graduate student population;
b. The department's success and challenges in recruiting underrepresented students over the past five years without relying on the University Graduate School Bloomington fellowships;
c. A description of mentoring activities, professional skills training, and career development opportunities specifically available to underrepresented students in your department.

4. A complete copy of the student application for admission to Indiana University as a single PDF or WORD document in this order:
a. Application form
b. Statement of purpose
c. Recommendation letters
d. Transcripts
e. McNair Scholars Certification (if applicable)

Underrepresented Recruitment Awards