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Minority Fellowship Program
Deadline: January 31, 2005About the ASA Minority Fellowship Program About the ASA Minority Fellowship Program Through its Minority Fellowship Program (MFP), the American Sociological Association (ASA) supports the development and training of sociologists of color in mental illness and disorders and related co-morbidities (i.e., alcohol and drug abuse). Funded by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the MFP seeks to attract talented students interested in mental illness and disorders issues and to facilitate their placement, work, and success in graduate programs throughout the U.S. Sociological research on mental health and mental illness is germane to core areas of emphasis within the NIMH specifically, and the National Institutes of Health more generally. Research on the social dimensions of mental illness and disorders includes attention to prevention and to causes, consequences, adaptations, and interventions. MFP applicants can be new or continuing graduate students. However, the MFP is primarily designed for minority students entering a doctoral program in sociology for the first time or for those who are in the early stages of their graduate programs. MFP applicants must be applying to or enrolled in sociology departments that have strong mental illness research programs and/or faculty who are currently engaged in research focusing on mental health issues. MFP Fellows are selected on the basis of their commitment to research in mental illness, academic achievement, scholarship, writing ability, research potential, financial need, and racial/ethnic minority background. Specifically, applicants must be members of one of the following racial/ethnic groups: Blacks/African Americans, Latinos/as (e.g., Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans), American Indians or Alaskan Natives, and Asians (e.g., Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Southeast Asian), or Pacific Islanders (e.g., Hawaiian, Guamanian, Samoan, Filipino). Fellows must be citizens or non-citizen nationals of the United States, or have been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence and have in their possession an Alien Registration Card. Ten Questions Most Frequently Asked 1. Who should apply? Answer: Seniors in colleges or universities, students in master only programs who have been accepted or are applying to doctoral programs, or students in the early stages of their doctoral program who have strong interests in the sociology of mental illness and disorders are encouraged to apply. If you are selected for an award, but not enrolled in an appropriate doctoral program by the time the funding year begins, you will not be eligible to receive the award. 2. Can students already enrolled in a graduate program apply? Answer: Yes, provided that the student fulfills the eligibility criteria and demonstrates strong research interests in mental illness and mental disorders. 3. What criteria are used to select Fellows? Answer: Selection is based upon evidence of: commitment to research in mental illness and disorders; scholarship; writing ability; research potential; financial need; and racial/ethnic minority identification. 4. How are fellowship recipients selected? Answer: Applications are reviewed and evaluated by the Minority Fellowship Program Advisory Committee, and selections are made based on this assessment. 5. When are awards made? Answer: The Advisory Committee convenes annually in the winter to select finalists. Pending funding awards are announced by April 30. 6. How much financial support does the Minority Fellowship provide? Answer: An annual stipend of $20,772 is provided. In addition, arrangements for the payment of tuition will be made with universities or departments. 7. What is the length of the Fellowship? Answer: The Fellowship is awarded for 12 months. However, assuming that a Fellow is making productive and steady progress in the sociology of mental illness, funding may be extended for up to three years. 8. Are Fellows obligated to repay the funds awarded? Answer: Students who accept a Research Training award have no obligation for the first year of award. Beyond the first year, they are obligated to engage in research on mental illness and disorders and/or teaching for a period equal to the length of time they receive the award. For example, if a Fellow receives funding for three years, there is a pay back period of two years in the sociology of mental health and illness. 9. Is there any support to help defray research expenses related to the doctoral dissertation? Answer: While the Minority Fellowship Program does not provide funds to help defray the expenses for doctoral dissertations, the National Institute of Mental Health has a Minority Dissertation Research Grant Program in Mental Health. A number of our Fellows have applied and received funding from this program. The MFP strongly encourages and actively works with students to help them apply to this dissertation research program. 10. What types of professional development activities does the Program provide for its Fellows? Answer: The MFP continues to work to ensure that Fellows are getting strong mental illness research training, to expand their knowledge on mental illness issues and related co-morbidities, and to enhance their methodological and research skills. The Program provides professional development training for Fellows in conjunction with the ASA's Annual Meeting. Summer research internships are used to place Fellows in projects at sites with major, ongoing studies in mental health. The Proposal Development Workshop provides Fellows with the knowledge and skills necessary to develop strong doctoral dissertation proposals. Fellows are also encouraged, and funded, to pursue summer training programs such as the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research Summer Program in Quantitative Methods of Social Research or the Public Health Research Institute on Minority Health, among others. About the ASA Minority Fellowship Program and Graduate Departments The American Sociological Association's Minority Fellowship Program provides a predoctoral training program that delivers national coordination for minority students engaged in mental illness and/or drug and alcohol abuse research in institutions of higher education throughout the U.S. From recruitment and placement to training, mentoring, and monitoring, the MFP Program offers graduate students support that complements and extends the education and professional development provided by their home departments. The MFP takes seriously the need to train and mentor minority graduate students in mental illness and to mobilize sociologists in graduate departments and research settings to make this ambition a reality. In addition to providing financial support, the MFP works with Fellows and their faculty mentors to help prepare the Fellow for a career in the sociology of mental illness. Also, the MFP plans workshops and paper sessions at scholarly meetings, offers travel support to scientific conferences, and fosters the development of formal and informal networks for Fellows in the sociology of mental illness. While the MFP does not select schools for applicants, or place students in particular graduate programs, the Program will work with the applicants in identifying departments with strong research programs in the sociology of mental health. Students are encouraged to examine and apply to doctoral programs as early as possible. Print and carefully review all four of the pdf downloadable files. The four pdf files consist of a letter from the Minority Fellowship Program Director, the MFP application, letters of recommendation form (please print 3 copies), and an expertise form. All application materials must be submitted to our office in one (1) package by the deadline. A complete application package consists of: A. Fellowship application For information on fellowship application, forms, and guidelines, please contact: ASA Minority Affairs Program Last Updated on January 08, 2005 |
