Graduate School Diversity Mentoring Awards to Faculty

The purpose of the Diversity Mentoring Fellowship program is to help faculty members at The University of Texas at Austin bring outstanding new graduate students to campus that add to the diversity of our campus and mentor them.

The Mentoring Fellowship will be "awarded" to a faculty member who applies during fall 2010. During the recruiting season from January to early April, the faculty member will be able to nominate a student for their fellowship. The Fellowship Program in the Graduate School will verify that the student nominated has been admitted to the faculty member's program and satisfies the citizenship condition. Diversity Mentoring Fellowships are reserved for students who are U.S. citizens (or permanent residents) who are entering graduate school at the university for the first time in summer or fall 2011 (current undergraduates are eligible). The intent of these merit fellowships is to provide access to higher education for students who might otherwise find it difficult to pursue graduate study. The nomination must demonstrate:

• the outstanding academic credentials of the student, and
• how the student might contribute to the diverse educational environment of that program.

During the academic year 2011-2012, a Diversity Mentoring Fellow will receive a stipend of $16,000, plus an additional amount to help with medical insurance expenses.  During each long semester the Fellow will also receive up to the maximum Tuition Benefit Assistance (currently $3784) toward tuition and required fees.  A student entering in spring 2012 can continue the fellowship in the summer or the fall.  Students will be expected to carry 9 hours of course work. 

The essence of this award is the mentoring relationship between the faculty member and the student who is recruited, and a serious commitment of time and energy are involved.  An application will have a much better chance for funding if it contains clear evidence of careful planning for the mentorship.  The entering student should be provided with experiences that will be developmental for someone new to the university and to their field of study.  Such experiences might include, but would not be limited to, introduction to the current literature; exposure to outstanding research problems; laboratory experience and data collection; attending and giving seminars or professional meetings; and involvement in a current research project of the faculty mentor.  After the mentorship period, the research relationship between the student and the mentor may or may not be pursued.

A Diversity Mentoring Fellow appointment should be carefully distinguished from a Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) appointment. A GRA contracts for a specific number of hours of work each week.  This is a fellowship where the training aspect of the appointment is central, not the performance of certain duties. 

Beginning fall 2010, faculty will use the Graduate School Online Awards System to apply for these awards using UTDirect - no hard copies involved. In this process, you will be asked to answer three short questions, provide the contact information and email address of your reference letter writer, and be prepared to upload two supporting documents:

• a three-page CV;
• a one-page project description of your proposed mentoring plan for the recruited student.

We encourage eligible faculty to apply for these fellowships (you must be a member of your program's Graduate Studies Committee to apply).  We think that mentoring a student will be a very rewarding experience, but also a demanding one.