GSEE Graduate Diversity Fellowships & GSEE Top-Off Awards

Nominations are open for the 2023–24 GSEE Graduate Diversity Fellowships and GSEE Top-Off Awards.      

These GSEE awards are intended to increase the number of University of Washington doctoral degrees granted to students who demonstrate a commitment to promoting diversity and the advancement of communities of color through their work, research, and/or scholarship. 

Two categories of awards are available: Fellowships and Top-Off Awards.  

  • Departments are to nominate one student total (not per category).  
  • If your department offers multiple-year funding packages for incoming doctoral students, please only apply for the Top-Off award.    
  • To enhance recruitment efforts, please only nominate students who have not yet accepted their offer of admission. 

Student Eligibility

  • Admitted and to be enrolled full-time in a state-funded doctoral program starting autumn 2023 
  • Strong academic achievement in the face of social, economic, or educational disadvantages 
  • US citizen, DACAmented, or hold permanent resident status 

The following are ineligible: 

  • Professional degree programs (Dentistry, Law, Medicine, Pharmacy) 
  • Students who hold a temporary or student visa (F-1 or J-1) 
  • Students admitted only for master’s study  
  • Foreign study, study abroad, or international program or exchange 

Award Descriptions

GSEE Graduate Diversity Fellowship  

  • This is a three-quarter award (Autumn, Winter, Spring) with a total stipend of $24,000. This award includes coverage of tuition, fees, and GAIP benefits (excluding the U-PASS). 
  • Departments must provide a match of funding for at least three additional years. Funding should be commensurate with the level of TA/RA rates, including GAIP benefits. Matching funds for years 2+ cannot come from other Graduate School funding resources.  
  • Students awarded a GSEE Graduate Diversity Fellowship cannot be assigned formal TA/RA responsibilities in the first year of this award. 

Allocated awards include the Bank of America Fellowship, Endowed Fellowship for Native Americans in Humanities and Social Sciences, Presidential Fellowship, and the Ronald E. McNair Fellowship. If awarded, GSEE will determine the assigned fellowship.  

GSEE Top-Off Awards

  • This is a one-time award with a lump-sum of $5,000 in Autumn quarter of the first year of graduate studies. Top-off awards are designed to enhance, not replace, a department’s offer of full funding (commensurate with the level of TA/RA rates, including GAIP benefits). 

Nomination Process

Nominations must be made in the MyGrad awards management system.  

Please login to nominate a student and submit a letter of nomination from the Department Chair or GPC describing the following (no more than two pages, double-spaced): 

  1. How this award will enhance your department’s efforts in diversifying your graduate program 
  2. Why fellowship funding is important for recruiting this candidate 
  3. The student’s academic merit and their demonstrated commitment to promoting diversity and the advancement of communities of color through their work, research, and/or scholarship 
  4. The department’s plan for three years of commensurate funding 

Important Dates 

Deadline: Monday, February 27, 2023 at 12:00 p.m. (Noon) PT. No exceptions will be made.  

Award notifications: Mid- to late March 2023  

Questions?

Please contact uwgsee@uw.edu or 206.543.9016.