Through its program of 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.
This year the program will award approximately 24 postdoctoral fellowships. These fellowships provide one year of support for individuals engaged in postdoctoral study after the attainment of the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) or Doctor of Science (Sc.D.) degree.
Postdoctoral fellowships will be awarded in a national competition administered by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (the National Academies) 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.
Deadline: Dec. 12, 2023
Awards will be made for study in research-based programs. Examples include: American studies, anthropology, archaeology, art and theater history, astronomy, chemistry, communications, computer science, cultural studies, earth sciences, economics, education, engineering, ethnic studies, ethnomusicology, geography, history, international relations, language, life sciences, linguistics, literature, mathematics, performance study, philosophy, physics, political science, psychology, religious studies, 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. Research-based fields of education are eligible if the major field of study is listed above and is used to describe the Ph.D. or Sc.D. program of the applicant (e.g., sociology of education, anthropology and education).
All applicants must:
- Confirm holding a previous Ford Foundation Fellowship;
- Regardless of race, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation, confirm being one of the following:
- U.S. citizen or U.S. national
- U.S. permanent resident (holder of a Permanent Resident Card)
- Individual granted deferred action status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program,1 Indigenous individual exercising rights associated with the Jay Treaty of 1794, individual granted Temporary Protected Status, asylee, or refugee
- Demonstrate an intent to pursue a career that includes teaching and research at a U.S. institution of higher education;
- Have completed all departmental and institutional requirements for their degree, including successful defense of the dissertation, no earlier than December 12, 2016 and no later than December 12, 2023 in a research-based field from a U.S. institution of higher education; and
- Provide evidence of superior academic achievement (such as grade point average, class rank, honors, or other designations).
Receipt of the fellowship award is conditioned upon each awardee providing satisfactory documentation that they meet all the eligibility requirements.