Eligibility
To be considered for an ICGC Doctoral Fellowship, applicants must:
- Have applied and been admitted to a PhD program at the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota in CBS, CEHD, CFANS, CLA, HHH, & SPH
- Receive a nomination for these fellowships by the program, department or college in which they will be enrolled
In reviewing nominees ICGC gives priority to students with academic interests related to equity, justice, and global change, particularly as they apply to the Global South*; potential for scholarly excellence; and a commitment to interdisciplinary work.
*Please note that ICGC interprets the Global South broadly, in terms of social and material conditions that may also be found in the northern hemisphere, rather than solely as a geographical location.
Nomination Process
Applicants must be nominated by their departments to be considered for fellowship.
Departments must nominate students through the Graduate School Application System.
Note: Prospective students may also express interest in nomination by sending the Request for Departmental Nomination form, along with their application for admission to graduate study, to their department or school of intended enrollment (generally before mid-December).
Doctoral Fellowship Tracks: Standard & Alternative Tracks
ICGC Fellowships are supported jointly by ICGC and the student’s home department. Fellowship award terms vary depending upon the program/department, category of fellowship and whether students have other funding. ICGC’s support is in the form of fellowship stipends with an expectation that the student’s home department provides support in the form of tuition and health insurance during fellowship years and graduate assistantships or other forms of support during subsequent years.
We are pleased to note that the Provost has again provided support to partially offset departmental costs (tuition, health insurance) of supporting ICGC Scholar awards for doctoral students. Depending upon the terms for the individual student, ICGC will use this funding to provide partial matching support to the home department of students receiving and accepting ICGC fellowships. Please consult with ICGC Director if you have questions concerning funding package details or how an ICGC award might be coordinated with other sources of funding for students.
ICGC offers two fellowship tracks; see details below.
Standard ICGC doctoral funding package
For students enrolling in doctoral programs, the academic department of the award winner is expected to guarantee support in the form of 50% teaching or research assistantships in the second and third year of study, and tuition and health insurance benefits for four years.
Note: For fellowship nominees who receive an alternate graduate fellowship in their first academic year, the alternate fellowship will replace the ICGC stipend for that year.
| First Academic Year | Summer | Research Year |
|---|---|---|
| ICGC provides a $25,000 academic-year fellowship, OR Alternate Fellowship Terms apply (e.g. DOVE, CLA-GF or other graduate fellowship). | ICGC provides a $4,000 pre-dissertation grant for exploratory fieldwork on student’s dissertation project that will be granted upon approval of the student’s advisor and receipt of a proposal acceptable to the ICGC faculty committee. | ICGC provides dissertation research funding for a single semester ($12,500) matched by a second semester of support from the student’s home department. |
Alternative ICGC doctoral funding package (reduced departmental financial commitment)
This alternative fellowship track reduces the departmental financial commitment while enabling recipients to participate fully as ICGC Scholars. The terms below outline alternative track minimum funding requirements. While this track does not require departments to provide support in years 2 and 3, we strongly recommend it.
| First Academic Year | Summer | Research Year |
|---|---|---|
| ICGC provides a single semester fellowship of $12,500 for fall, department provides tuition and health insurance. Department provides 50% Assistantship (RA or TA) for spring semester including tuition coverage up to 14 credits and health insurance benefits. | ICGC provides a $4,000 pre-dissertation grant for exploratory fieldwork on student’s dissertation project that will be granted upon approval of the student’s advisor and receipt of a proposal acceptable to the ICGC faculty committee. | ICGC provides dissertation research funding for a single semester ($12,500) matched by a second semester of support from the student’s home department. If possible, the department will provide tuition coverage up to the required 1 credit FTE registration each semester of the research year and subsidized health insurance for the academic year. |
Notification Timeline
ICGC will begin to notify departments of awards in March. Please be aware that our fellowship awards process continues on a rolling basis if fellowships are declined in the initial round. The notification timeline for alternates can and typically does take place over several weeks, sometimes as late as April.
Questions Frequently Asked by DGSs & GPCs
Can we nominate a student for an ICGC Fellowship if they are currently in a master's program at the U & are continuing to a PhD program within the same department?
Yes, current UMN students who are newly matriculating into PhD programs in the upcoming academic year are eligible to be nominated for the ICGC Fellowship.
This can include a student who is about to complete their master's (or undergraduate) degree & plans to continue to the PhD program within the same department, as long as the PhD program they are entering will nominate them.
Can we nominate a current doctoral student for an ICGC Fellowship?
No, current PhD students at the U are not eligible to apply for the ICGC Fellowship.
ICGC Fellowships are only available for graduate students who are newly entering their programs in the upcoming academic year, and we don't have funding to offer students who are already in their doctoral programs at the U.
Current UMN students may consider getting involved in the ICGC community in other ways, such as:
- Taking courses in our graduate minor in Development Studies and Social Change
- Attending our public events
- Applying for the Graduate School's Interdisciplinary Doctoral Fellowship with ICGC as the host
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact ICGC at [email protected].