Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowships

For Achieving Excellence in College and University Teaching

This year the program will award approximately 20 postdoctoral fellowships. The postdoctoral fellowships provide one year of support for individuals engaged in postdoctoral study after the attainment of the Ph.D. or Sc.D. degree.

Postdoctoral fellowships will be awarded in a national competition administered by the National Research Council (NRC) 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.

Postdoctoral Eligibility

In addition to the general eligibility requirements, eligibility to apply for a postdoctoral fellowship is limited to:

• All citizens or nationals of the United States regardless of race, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation (must have become a U.S. citizen by November 17, 2012),
• Individuals with evidence of superior academic achievement (such as grade point average, class rank, honors or other designations),
• Individuals committed to a career in teaching and research at the college or university level, and
• Individuals awarded a Ph.D. or Sc.D. degree no earlier than November 30, 2005 and no later than November 17, 2012 in an eligible research-based field from a U.S. educational institution.

(The term “national of the United States” designates a citizen of the United States or a native resident of a possession of the United States. It does not refer to a U.S. permanent resident who is a citizen of another country.)

Criteria for Selection

The following will be considered as positive factors in choosing successful candidates:

• Evidence of superior academic achievement
• Degree of promise of continuing achievement as scholars and teachers
• Capacity to respond in pedagogically productive ways to the learning needs of students from diverse backgrounds
• Sustained personal engagement with communities that are underrepresented in the academy and an ability to bring this asset to learning, teaching, and scholarship at the college and university level
• Likelihood of using the diversity of human experience as an educational resource in teaching and scholarship
• Membership in one or more of the following groups whose underrepresentation in the American professoriate has been severe and longstanding:
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  • Alaska Natives (Aleut, Eskimo or other Indigenous People of Alaska)
  • Black/African Americans
  • Mexican American/Chicanas/Chicanos
  • Native American Indians
  • Native Pacific Islanders (Polynesian/Micronesian)
  • Puerto Ricans

Review panels may also look at additional factors such as the suitability of the applicant's proposed institution and the likelihood that the applicant will fully utilize 9 to 12 months of postdoctoral support.

Eligible Fields of Study

Awards will be made for study in the following major disciplines and related interdisciplinary fields: American studies, anthropology, archaeology, art and theater history, astronomy, chemistry, communications, computer science, earth sciences, economics, education, engineering, ethnomusicology, geography, history, international relations, language, life sciences, linguistics, literature, mathematics, performance study, philosophy, physics, political science, psychology, religion, 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. The complete list of eligible fields of study supported at the postdoctoral level of the fellowship program is available here: Postdoctoral Fields (.pdf).

Individuals enrolled in the following practice-oriented programs will not be supported: business, management, administration, occupational health, nursing, consumer science, library and information science, speech pathology, audiology, personnel, guidance, social work, social welfare, public health, physical education, physical therapy, kinesiology, rehabilitation science, educational administration and leadership, fine arts, filmmaking, and performing arts.

Location of Work and Proposed Research

Fellowship applicants are encouraged to choose a host institution other than the institution with which they are affiliated at the time of application. Fellowships are awarded for full-time research at appropriate nonprofit institutions of higher education or research, normally in the United States, including universities, museums, libraries, government or national laboratories, privately sponsored nonprofit institutes, government chartered nonprofit research organizations, and centers for advanced study. Each applicant should designate a faculty member or other scholar who will serve as host at the proposed fellowship institution. If affiliating with another institution would create personal hardship, applicants may make special arrangements to travel several times to a research site for data collection or to confer with a chosen adviser.

Each applicant must present a clearly articulated plan of study or research that will further his or her career in higher education and should explain fully the particular benefits that would accrue from affiliation with the proposed institution. A fellow affiliating with a foreign institution may be asked to designate a U.S. institution to act as a liaison between the National Research Council and the foreign institution, particularly for handling the disbursement of fellowship funds.

The applicant is responsible for making all arrangements for affiliation with the proposed host institution prior to submitting an application.

Stipends and Benefits

• One-year Stipend: $40,000
• The stipend may be supplemented by sabbatical leave pay or other sources of support that do not carry with them teaching or other responsibilities. Fellowship funds may be disbursed through the employing institution if necessary for the continuation of health insurance or other benefits. No dependency allowance is available.
• Employing Institution Allowance: $1,500
• This allowance will be paid to the fellow’s employing institution after fellowship tenure is completed. The employing institution will be asked to provide a matching amount and to use the allowance and the match to assist with the fellow’s continuing research expenses.
• Expenses paid to attend one Conference of Ford Fellows
• Access to Ford Fellow Liaisons, a network of former Ford Fellows who have volunteered to provide mentoring and support to current fellows

Tenure

The tenure of a postdoctoral fellowship will be no less than 9 months and no more than 12 months, with tenure beginning no earlier than June 1, 2013 and no later than September 1, 2013. Postdoctoral fellowships may not be deferred or delayed.

Evaluation and Selection of Fellows

Applications will be evaluated by panels of distinguished scholars selected by the National Academies. The panels will use the proposed plan of study, academic records, essays, letters of recommendation, indications of competence, including competence as a teacher, the application itself, and other appropriate materials as the basis for determining the extent to which candidates meet the eligibility requirements and the selection criteria.

The quality of the plan of study or research, the bibliography, the appropriateness of the proposed fellowship activities, the choice of host institution, and the potential for career enhancement will also be carefully reviewed.

Conditions of the Fellowship

Those who accept a postdoctoral fellowship must agree to the stipulations in the Terms of Appointment for Ford Foundation Fellows that accompanies the award letter. In addition, Ford Fellows must agree to participate in regular updates of the Directory of Ford Fellows, as well as periodic surveys designed to demonstrate the impact of this program.

Continue to Application Instructions