• Provide all information requested on the application web pages. Follow the instructions carefully.
• Prepare and upload essay documents.
  • Essays must be the applicant's original work.
  • Get feedback from advisers, mentors, and colleagues.
  • Carefully proofread all documents.
  • Avoid technical jargon.
• Contact potential letter writers to submit letters of recommendation by the Supplementary Materials deadline.
• Confirm the minimum Supplementary Materials required for complete application submission.

• Save as .pdf files prior to upload. 
• Do not use long file names or special characters in file names.
• Double-space using a standard 12-point font.
• Set margins at 1" (top and bottom) and .5" (left and right sides).
• Do not exceed the maximum page limits.
• Do not exceed the maximum file size limit (4 MB).
• Do not include headers or footers (this includes your name, document titles and page numbers).
• Figures or citations are allowed, but will count towards the total page count.
• Write all materials in English.

1. Profile Information 

2. Application

Proposed Plan of Study: Dissertation Title or Proposed Title for Research Project, Proposed Institution, Department, Adviser/Mentor

For Predoctoral applicants who do not yet have a dissertation title, please enter a tentative title or more general topic of study. This should be a brief phrase describing an area of proposed research; it does not need to be exact or comprehensive of the full plan of the Ph.D. or Sc.D. program.

If you are applying to multiple Ph.D. or Sc.D. programs, enter your first choice of Ph.D. or Sc.D. institution. It is not required to list an Adviser/Mentor if you do not have one at the time of application.

Field of Study:

Primary Field of Study, Secondary Field(s) of Study. This information is used to match applications to appropriate review panels.

Keywords: Enter 3-5 keywords, one at a time. Click Assign new keyword and type the desired keyword in the search field. If your keyword appears, click on it from the list to update your keywords. If your keyword does not appear, click Add to update your keywords.

Personal Statement (maximum two pages, 12-point font, double-spaced) describing the applicant’s background, experience, and commitment to the goals of the Ford Foundation Fellowship Programs by addressing all of the following that apply:

•     the applicant's capacity to respond in pedagogically productive ways to the learning needs of students from diverse backgrounds
• the applicant’s sustained personal engagement with communities that are underrepresented in the academy and ability to bring this asset to learning, teaching, and scholarship at the college or university level
• the applicant’s likelihood of using the diversity of human experience as an educational resource in teaching and scholarship
• the applicant's membership in one or more of the following groups whose underrepresentation in the American professoriate has been severe and longstanding:
  • Alaska Natives (Aleut, Eskimo, or other Indigenous People of Alaska)
  • Black/African Americans
  • Mexican Americans/Chicanas/Chicanos
  • Native American Indians
  • Native Pacific Islanders (Hawaiian/Polynesian/Micronesian)
  • Puerto Ricans     

• Tutoring and mentoring students in challenging environments
• Participation in housing or public service projects
• Leadership and organizational skills that benefit a larger community
  • Campus-based student activities
  • Language teaching
  • Involvement in professional organizations that serve the community

• Membership of a group designated by the Ford Foundation Fellowship Programs as currently underrepresented in the American professoriate
• Membership of another underserved group
• First person or generation in family to achieve college degree or seek advanced degree

Applicants may also cite the following:
 
• Teaching methods and academic interests that are inclusive and sensitive to diversity
• Any successes that can be attributed to using new techniques to create an inclusive and respectful teaching and learning environment
• Personal goals, both long-standing and future-focused, that involve increasing understanding in the college or university setting and are in the broader context
• Employment that demonstrates a long-standing commitment to diversity and depth of understanding of a multicultural society
• Efforts to improve access and opportunity for all, particularly in one's local community (neighborhood, place of worship, geographic region)

Statement of Previous Research and Scholarly Productivity (one document, maximum three pages total, 12-point font), including a summary of previous research (double-spaced) and a list of publications and presentations (single-spaced)

• Description of research as part of coursework or outside of class in an internship or summer research program
• Explanation of methods used and expected results for any significant previous research until the present time

List of publications and presentations for the last five years. Items should be listed in the following order:
    

• Publications in reverse chronological order
• Presentations in reverse chronological order 

Proposed Plan of Graduate Study and Research and the applicant's long-range career goals (maximum two pages, 12-point font, double-spaced)

Applicants should prepare a document describing the proposed plan of graduate study. In general, the more academic experience the applicant has, the more sophisticated the proposal should be.
 
• Description of the chosen area of study and the research issue of interest
• Explanation of why the chosen institution is especially suited to the field of study and the type of study to be undertaken
• Explanation of the relevancy of courses to be taken and how they relate to the proposed plan of study and research
• Description of the research to be conducted including general methods and a timeline
• Explanation of long-range career goals and how this fellowship will advance the applicant's career
• Explanation of how proposed research relates to a larger community and society as a whole and why study will be useful

Applicants may wish to ask their adviser or a professor in their discipline to review the proposed plan (especially for substance, clarity, and organization) prior to submission.

3. Supplementary Materials (required by the Supplementary Materials deadline)

References: Names and contact information of a minimum of three (maximum of five) individuals who will upload a letter of recommendation on the applicant's behalf. 

• While it is at the discretion of the applicant to select individuals to write letters on their behalf, it is recommended (not required) that the following letter writers be included in the application if applicable:
     
  • At least one letter writer should be a faculty member whom the applicant has worked with in their present (or most recent) department.
  •  If the applicant has entered a new graduate program in Fall 2022, at least one letter writer should be the applicant's faculty adviser or other faculty member in the applicant's current department. 
  • If the applicant has participated in an undergraduate or summer research program, a letter from the adviser or mentor could be particularly valuable.
  • Letters of recommendation from faculty members who know the applicant well are the most useful.
  •  Letters of recommendation from personal friends, clergy, medical doctors, and family members are not appropriate.
•  
  Requesting four or five letters is recommended to ensure the minimum number of three letters is received.
• Applicants should provide each letter writer a copy of their essays and any other relevant information which will enable the writer to submit a strong letter on their behalf. 
    
      
• Letters must be saved in .pdf format and must not exceed 4MB.
• It is the responsibility of the applicant to notify their letter writers through the online application system. Once applicants take this action, letter writers will receive an e-mail notification from FordApplications@nas.edu with a link to instructions on the content of their letters. Letter writers must upload their letters via the online application module. Letters sent via postal mail or e-mail will not be accepted.
• It is the practice of the Ford Foundation Fellowships Program that letters of recommendation are not made available to applicants.


PLEASE NOTE:
It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that each letter writer has received the notification containing the link to the letter upload page and that the minimum number of letters are successfully uploaded to the online application portal by the deadline. Applications with fewer than three letters of recommendation successfully uploaded by letter writers by the January 5, 2023, 5 PM EST deadline will not be reviewed.

Transcripts and GPAs
 
• Baccalaureate degree transcript(s) showing all undergraduate coursework completed or in progress as of Fall 2022, grades, and baccalaureate degree award date (if awarded) as well as GPA. (Note: If an institution does not calculate a GPA or the applicant prefers not to enter it, it is not required.) Transcripts for Associate degrees, non-degree coursework, or study abroad programs are not required.
• Graduate school transcript(s) showing all graduate coursework completed or in progress as of Fall 2022 as well as GPA. (Note: If an institution does not calculate a GPA or the applicant prefers not to enter it, it is not required.) If an applicant does not have a transcript yet for a program started in Fall 2022, an unofficial grade report must be uploaded to show coursework in progress.
   
• Unofficial transcripts or grade reports are acceptable for the review of applications. If offered a fellowship award, awardees will be required to submit official transcripts to verify the accuracy of the unofficial transcripts or grade reports. 
• Transcripts uploaded to the application should not be secured, password protected, or encrypted files as reviewers will not be able to view and evaluate these documents. To avoid locked versions of official transcripts, it is recommended that applicants first print and scan these documents prior to uploading them.
• Transcripts issued in a language other than English must be accompanied by a certified translation into English and must include a description of the institution’s grading system.
• Transcripts should not include Personal Identifying Information (PII) such as a Social Security number and date of birth (names are acceptable). Staff may delete transcripts from your application if these data are present. Applicants should redact, cover, or remove PII prior to uploading the document.
• It is the responsibility of the applicant to upload all transcripts and to ensure transcript legibility and degree attainment dates after each document has been uploaded. Transcripts sent via postal mail or e-mail will not be accepted.   


PLEASE NOTE:
- Applicants must ensure that the Education History section is accurate, prior to application submission, to ensure that all required transcript upload fields are available.
- It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that all transcripts include the most up-to-date information. Applicants re-applying to the fellowship should note that transcripts uploaded for a previous competition will NOT carry over into the current competition. All applicants must upload all required transcript documents for the current competition.
- Any changes to the education record may result in a loss of transcripts; it is the applicant's responsibility to verify that all materials are included in the application prior to the supplementary materials deadline. 

Verification of Doctoral Degree Status (VS) Form 

The VS Form is required for all predoctoral applicants who are already enrolled in a doctoral program as of Fall 2022. The applicant's graduate Adviser or department Chair must sign the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Verification of Doctoral Degree Status Form confirming that the applicant has a minimum of three years of predoctoral study and research toward the Ph.D. or Sc.D. remaining as of the 2023-2024 academic year and will be able to use a full three years of fellowship support. The verification form for the current competition (applicants who are re-applying may not use a form from a previous year) must be uploaded to the fellowship application as a .pdf document before the January 5, 2023, 5:00 PM EST supplementary materials deadline.


PLEASE NOTE:
Applicants must ensure that the Eligibility and Education History sections are accurate, prior to application submission, to ensure that a verification form upload field is available, if required, on the Supplementary Materials section of the application. Note that applicants who are not currently in a doctoral program will not require a verification form.


Applicants will not be able to upload transcripts and verification forms (if required) until AFTER they have submitted the main portion on their online application. Letter writers will be able to upload letters as soon as they have received the notification link sent by the applicant up until the Supplementary Materials deadline.

• All application materials become the property of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and will not be returned. Applicants should retain copies of all submitted application materials for their personal records.
• Visit the Helpful Resources page for more information regarding preparing an application.
• For additional information or questions, contact FordApplications@nas.edu.