The Mentoring Fellowship program is intended to assist graduate programs at The University of Texas at Austin in recruiting outstanding new graduate students that add to the diversity of their program and the campus. Mentoring Fellowships are reserved for students who are U.S. citizens (or permanent residents) who are entering graduate school at the university for the first time.
Other goals of the fellowship include:
- Support of students who might otherwise find it difficult to pursue graduate study;
- A mentoring plan between a faculty member in the program and the student who is recruited.
Awards
Mentoring awards have been allocated to the Colleges and Schools, so please contact your Dean’s office to determine if a mentoring fellowship award is available for your program and for nomination details.
Nominations should normally demonstrate:
- The outstanding academic credentials of the student;
- The manner in which the student will contribute to the diverse educational environment of the program; and
- Commitment by program to provide a mentoring plan for the student and explanation of how a faculty member(s) will be identified to mentor the student.
The entering student should be provided with experiences that will be developmental both for the student and to the field of study. Such experiences might include introduction to current literature; exposure to outstanding research problems; engagement in the laboratory and/or with data collection; attendance and/or presentation at seminars or professional meetings; and involvement in a current research project.
A Mentoring Fellow appointment should be carefully distinguished from a graduate research assistant (GRA) appointment. A GRA contracts for a specific number of hours of work each week. This is a fellowship where the training aspect of the appointment is central, not the performance of certain duties.
Funding
Mentoring Fellows receive a stipend of $35,000 for 12 months. In addition, the costs of tuition (9 hours in fall and spring, 3 hours in summer) are covered. An insurance supplement is provided towards the costs of covering medical, dental and vision insurance.