FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

The program eligibility requirements state that the program is open to U.S. citizens and "nationals" only. What does the term "nationals" mean?

I am enrolled in a program that awards a doctoral degree other than a Ph.D. or Sc.D. degree. Am I eligible to apply?

I do not see my field of study in the list of eligible fields of study. Is my program eligible for support?

I see that the program is divided into three competition levels, predoctoral, dissertation and postdoctoral. Can you briefly explain the difference between the eligibility requirements for each level?

I notice that Ph.D. study in some fields in education are supported at the dissertation and postdoctoral levels of the program, but are not included in the fields supported at the predoctoral level. Is that correct?

I am not currently enrolled in my Ph.D. program and plan to apply for the predoctoral fellowship. I have currently applied to more than one Ph.D. institution and see that you can only enter one proposed fellowship institution in the fellowship application. What should I do?

How are letters of recommendation submitted?

What is a host letter? Is submission of a host letter required for all three levels of the fellowship competition (predoctoral, dissertation and postdoctoral)?

The program eligibility requirements state that the program is open to U.S. citizens and "nationals" only. What does the term "nationals" mean?

In terms of fellowship program eligibility, the term “national of the United States” designates a citizen of the United States or a native resident of a territory of the United States. Some examples would be natives of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, etc. The term does not refer to a U.S. permanent resident alien who is a citizen of another country.

I am enrolled in a program that awards a doctoral degree other than a Ph.D. or Sc.D. degree. Am I eligible to apply?

The program supports study leading to the award of Ph.D. or Sc.D. degrees only. Those whose study will lead to the award of other doctoral degrees are not eligible for this program.

I do not see my field of study in the list of eligible fields of study. Is my program eligible for support?

Eligible applicants must be able to choose one or more of the fields of study included in the eligible field list. If you are not able to choose at least one of the fields of study in the list, it is most likely an indication that your field of study is not supported by the fellowship program. We sometimes leave final eligibility decisions up to the review panelists which would require a complete application submission. It is the applicant's decision as to whether they choose to take the time required to submit a complete fellowship application to determine their eligibility status.

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I see that the program is divided into three competition levels, predoctoral, dissertation and postdoctoral. Can you briefly explain the difference between the eligibility requirements for each level?

The predoctoral level of the fellowship is intended for those Ph.D. students about to enroll in a Ph.D. program by the following fall term and for those who are in the early stages of their Ph.D. study. Since the predoctoral fellowship provides three years of support, as of the following fall term, eligible applicants must have at least three years remaining before they would receive their Ph.D. degree.

The dissertation level of the fellowship is intended to support the final (9 months to one) year of writing and defense of the dissertation. Eligible dissertation applicants must be A.B.D. (all but dissertation) by the January supporting document deadline and must submit an NRC Verification of Doctoral Degree Status form attesting to this status signed by their department chair or advisor.

The postdoctoral level of the fellowship is a career-enhancement award for recent Ph.D. recipients (eligible applicants must have received their Ph.D. degree within the past seven years). It is intended to provide the opportunity for recent Ph.D.s to take a year off from their teaching responsibilities so they can conduct research at a host institution of their choice.

I notice that Ph.D. study in some fields in education are supported at the dissertation and postdoctoral levels of the program, but are not included in the fields supported at the predoctoral level. Is that correct?

That is correct. The fellowship program does not support study in the field of education at the predoctoral level; however, research-based Ph.D. study in specific fields in education are supported at the dissertation and postdoctoral levels of the program. Please refer to the eligible fields of study document for the complete list.

I am not currently enrolled in my Ph.D. program and plan to apply for the predoctoral fellowship. I have currently applied to more than one Ph.D. institution and see that you can only enter one proposed fellowship institution in the fellowship application. What should I do?

Enter your first choice of Ph.D. institution in your fellowship application. The review panelists do often factor in their application review the suitability of choice of the proposed Ph.D. institution for the proposed area of study. If you are notified that you have been chosen as a fellowship awardee and will not be attending the proposed fellowship institution indicated in your fellowship application, it should not be a problem as long as you have been accepted in a similar program at another fully-accredited Ph.D. degree granting institution in the U.S. Those decisions are made on a case-by-case basis.

How are letters of recommendation submitted?

Letters of recommendation are submitted using the writer notification tool in the online fellowship application. Once the applicant enters and saves the required information for each letter writer in the Reference Information page of their fellowship application, they then click on the "notify" function next to each writer's name. This action results in the writer receiving an e-mail notification with a unique login ID and password required to logon to the system and submit their letter directly to the applicant's online fellowship application. The e-mail notification, which comes from "Ford Content Support" also includes links to technical help and instructions on desired content of the letter of recommendation. The writer then uploads the document file of their letter, views it after upload and activates the submit function to submit their letter.

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What is a host letter? Is submission of a host letter required for all three levels of the fellowship competition (predoctoral, dissertation and postdoctoral)?

Submission of the host letter is a requirement only for postdoctoral fellowship applicants. The host letter must state the willingness of the proposed mentor and the research site to serve as the applicant’s host during their fellowship tenure. This letter is in addition to the required minimum of three letters of recommendation.