Funding Subcategory: Diversity Award

In 2013, a group of engaged, committed UW faculty, civic and business leaders joined together to establish the Latinx Scholars Graduate School Fellowship to provide financial assistance to UW graduate students (master’s and doctoral) who have a demonstrated commitment to Latinx communities. GSEE appreciates the community members that have continued to give to this important fund.

For this application cycle, the Latinx Scholars Graduate School Fellowship is a one-time award of $2,000. 

Application deadline: Friday, December 29, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. PT. ***Please note: This application is now closed for the 2023-2024 academic year. It will reopen again for new applications for the 2024-2025 academic year during Fall quarter 2024. 

Eligibility

• Graduate student must be enrolled full-time in a master’s or doctoral degree program at the University of Washington;
• Graduate student’s research, work, and/or service must demonstrate their commitment to Latinx communities.

Application

To be considered for this fellowship, ALL of the following materials must be submitted via the MyGrad Program (Request a Graduate School award).

1. Letter of Recommendation (not to exceed two pages, double-spaced, 12-pt font) The recommender should address the following to the best of their ability:
   • The applicant’s engagement with Latinx communities and issues
   • Obstacles the applicant may have encountered in their academic or personal journey and how they have responded to these challenges
   • The applicant’s academic strengths and/or progress
2. Personal Statement (not to exceed two pages, double-spaced, 12-point font). Statement should address the following:
   • How your personal commitment to Latinx communities has taken shape in your service, research, and/or paid employment
   • Your personal or professional goals and the ways in which your graduate education will enable you to sustain your engagement with Latinx communities
   • How this award would impact your graduate education Winter quarter
3. Curriculum Vitae or Resume

Questions?

Regarding questions about the Latinx Scholars Graduate School Fellowship, please contact Fernando Puga, GSEE’s Fellowships & Awards Specialist at fernp21@uw.edu or GSEE at uwgsee@uw.edu or 206.543.9016.

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Please note:

• GSEE funding is allocated mostly based on departmental nominations. Please contact your department’s Graduate Program Advisor (GPA) for more information on the nomination process and for additional departmental funding opportunities.
• Due to the state-based funding GSEE receives, students in fee-based programs are only eligible to be nominated for the GSEE Graduate Supplemental Awards. They can also individually apply for the Latinx Scholars Graduate School Fellowship if they meet eligibility requirements. To check if you were admitted or are enrolled in a fee-based program, please contact your department or review the Fee-Based Degree Programs List.
• DACAmented students are eligible for GSEE funding opportunities. Undocumented students (without DACA status) are eligible for the GSEE Graduate Supplemental Award, GSEE Graduate Tuition Award, and Latinx Scholars Graduate School Fellowship. If you are DACAmented or undocumented and would like more information, please connect with GSEE (gomap@uw.edu).
• International students and students enrolled in professional programs (School of Dentistry, School of Law, School of Medicine, and School of Pharmacy) are ineligible for most GSEE funding, with a few exceptions. 

Return to List of Fellowships

Overview:

2024–2025 GSEE Graduate Tuition and Graduate Supplemental Awards.
Please note: There are several changes to the nomination process this year, so please read eligibility criteria carefully

GSEE has a limited number of graduate tuition and graduate supplemental awards for prospective and current master’s and doctoral students.

• The GSEE Graduate Tuition Awards are need and merit-based awards ranging from $1,000-$5,000 for one to three quarters of the upcoming 2024-25 academic year. These awards can only be applied towards a student’s tuition balance and cannot be disbursed directly to a student’s account.  
• The GSEE Graduate Supplemental Awards are need and merit-based awards ranging from $1,000-$5,000 for one to three quarters of the 2024-25 academic year. These awards are applied towards a student’s tuition balance but can also be disbursed directly to a student’s account in the event that they have no tuition balance. These awards are made in partnership with the Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA).  

For a prospective or current graduate student to be considered for these need-based, merit awards, nominations must be made by the student’s college/department. 

While there is no individual student application, students may submit a separate personal statement to supplement the departmental nomination. A statement may be especially useful if a department does not require a personal statement as part of their application. This can address factors that the department may not have information on, such as financial hardships, personal adversities, etc.

In addition to merit, awards require a student to be eligible for need-based funds as determined by the Office of Student Financial Aid. Students must have a current and evaluated FAFSA on file unless they are an undocumented student. Undocumented students should contact GSEE directly for more information. 

Important Note: Award amounts vary depending on nomination, student financial need, and funds available.

Deadline: For incoming graduate students, priority consideration will be given to applications received by April 29, 2024 at 11:59 pm PT. The final deadline for nominating all returning and incoming graduate students is June 14, 2024 at 11:59 pm PT.  

Please note: These deadlines are made in consideration of the delays caused by the FAFSA deadlines impacting students this academic year.

Nomination Process: 

Due to limited funds and high demand, it is difficult to allocate multiple awards to any one department. A department will be able to nominate between 1-4 students, depending on cohort size. Please use the following formula to determine your nomination limit for the upcoming academic year. You will need to rank your nominations in order of preference.   

• Anticipated program cohort size 0-50 graduate students = maximum of 2 nominations 
• Anticipated program cohort size 50-100 graduate students = maximum of 3 nominations 
• Anticipated program cohort size 100+ graduate students = maximum of 4 nominations 

Nominations must be made in the MyGrad awards management system. Please log in to nominate a student (please be sure to click on the “MyGrad Department View” tab and not the “Slate” tab).  

After logging in, nominators must then determine which of the following four award profiles to submit the nomination under:  

1. GSEE Graduate Supplemental Awards – Current Student
2. GSEE Graduate Supplemental Awards – Newly Admitted Student
3. GSEE Graduate Tuition Awards – Current Student
4. GSEE Graduate Tuition Awards – Newly Admitted Student

How to determine which profile to submit under?  

First, determine if the student being nominated is:
a. A current student, or
b. A newly admitted student

Next, determine whether they are in:
a. A fee-based graduate program, or
b. A state-funded graduate program

If they are in a fee-based program, please nominate them for a Supplemental Award. If they are in a state-funded graduate program, please nominate them for a Tuition Award. For example: if you are looking to nominate a current graduate student from a state-funded graduate program, you would submit their nomination under the “GSEE Graduate Tuition Awards – Current Student” profile in MyGrad. Finally, be sure to submit the required departmental letter and answer all the additional questions.  
Please note: If you are nominating a student in a state-funded program and they will be receiving an ASE (Academic Student Employee – TA, RA, SA) position throughout the 2024-25 academic year, please nominate them for a Supplemental award.

Departmental letters of nomination must address the following in detail:

Please note: Due to high demand, nominations that do not include detailed information addressing the following three prompts, will not be considered. 

• MERIT: What factors influenced your admission of this student? Where does this student rank among applicants? If known, include competitive offers from other institutions. Please include any additional information you feel is relevant regarding the student’s merit (600 words max).
• DIVERSITY: Provide general statistics on underrepresented students in your program and/or discipline. How will/does this student add to the diversity of your program? What diverse perspectives will/do they bring to your program, by past experiences and achievements, by community involvement, or by scholarship? Please include any additional information you feel is relevant regarding the student’s diverse perspective (600 words max).
• FINANCIAL NEED: Indicate the department’s funding plan for the student. What departmental resources are/have been committed to the student? (If your department is not providing funding, please explain why.) Are there any unique circumstances that add to the student’s need, such as dependents, medical expenses, daycare costs, etc.? Please include any additional information you feel is relevant regarding the student’s financial need (600 words max).

For incoming students, please indicate why this award is important for recruiting this candidate.

The following are ineligible: 

• Professional degree programs (Dentistry, Law, Medicine, Pharmacy) 
• Students who hold a temporary or student visa (F-1 or J-1)  
• Study abroad programs 

Please email Fernando Puga, GSEE’s Fellowships & Awards Specialist at fernp21@uw.edu with any questions.

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Please note:

• GSEE funding is allocated mostly based on departmental nominations. Please contact your department’s Graduate Program Advisor (GPA) for more information on the nomination process and for additional departmental funding opportunities.
• Due to the state-based funding GSEE receives, students in fee-based programs are only eligible to be nominated for the GSEE Graduate Supplemental Awards. They can also individually apply for the Latinx Scholars Graduate School Fellowship if they meet eligibility requirements. To check if you were admitted or are enrolled in a fee-based program, please contact your department or review the Fee-Based Degree Programs List.
• DACAmented students are eligible for GSEE funding opportunities. Undocumented students (without DACA status) are eligible for the GSEE Graduate Supplemental Award, GSEE Graduate Tuition Award, and Latinx Scholars Graduate School Fellowship. If you are DACAmented or undocumented and would like more information, please connect with GSEE (gomap@uw.edu).
• International students and students enrolled in professional programs (School of Dentistry, School of Law, School of Medicine, and School of Pharmacy) are ineligible for GSEE funding.

Return to List of Fellowships

Nominations are open for the 2024–25 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. 

Deadline extended to: Monday, March 11, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. PT. No exceptions will be made. 

Student Eligibility 

• Admitted and to be enrolled full-time in a state-funded doctoral program starting Autumn 2024 
• 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 

Questions?

Please contact Fernando Puga, GSEE’s Fellowships & Awards Specialist at fernp21@uw.edu, the GSEE inbox at uwgsee@uw.edu, or by phone at 206.543.9016.

---

Please note:

• GSEE funding is allocated mostly based on departmental nominations. Please contact your department’s Graduate Program Advisor (GPA) for more information on the nomination process and for additional departmental funding opportunities.
• Due to the state-based funding GSEE receives, students in fee-based programs are only eligible to be nominated for the GSEE Graduate Supplemental Awards. They can also individually apply for the Latinx Scholars Graduate School Fellowship if they meet eligibility requirements. To check if you were admitted or are enrolled in a fee-based program, please contact your department or review the Fee-Based Degree Programs List.
• DACAmented students are eligible for GSEE funding opportunities. Undocumented students (without DACA status) are eligible for the GSEE Graduate Supplemental Award, GSEE Graduate Tuition Award, and Latinx Scholars Graduate School Fellowship. If you are DACAmented or undocumented and would like more information, please connect with GSEE (uwgsee@uw.edu).
• International students and students enrolled in professional programs (School of Dentistry, School of Law, School of Medicine, and School of Pharmacy) are ineligible for most GSEE funding.

Return to List of Fellowships

The GSEE Graduate Excellence Award (GEA) is a three-quarter merit-based research assistantship that will be awarded to individual departments based on departmental diversity, equity, inclusion and justice (DEIJ) efforts. This award aims to assist departments in recruiting, developing and supporting a diverse community of graduate scholars across graduate programs at the University of Washington with emphasis on promoting rich, culturally responsive educational opportunities.  

This award is not open for student applications. If you are a student and have questions about this award, please reach out to your department. 

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Friday, December 15, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. PST. ***Please note: This application is now closed for the 2024-2025 academic year. It will reopen again for new applications for the 2025-2026 academic year during Fall quarter 2024. 

Award Details

• It is an expectation that this state-funded award is used to recruit historically underrepresented graduate students to University of Washington master’s and doctoral programs.  
• Departments must provide a match of comparable funding for the second year of graduate studies. The matching funds cannot come from other Graduate School funding resources.  
• In total, this award will offer at minimum two years/six quarters of guaranteed funding to incoming historically underrepresented graduate students.   

Eligibility

Departments with state-based master’s and/or doctoral programs are eligible to apply. 

The following are ineligible: 

• Professional degree programs (Dentistry, Law, Medicine, Pharmacy) 
• Self-sustaining/fee-based programs (evening degree or extension programs) 
• Study abroad programs 
• Students who hold a temporary or student visa (F-1 or J-1)  

Application

All materials must be submitted electronically using MyGrad Program. No exceptions will be made. If all application materials are not submitted via MGP, the application will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed. 

Please ensure the person submitting the application has the correct MGP access at least a week before the deadline. 

The following questions should be answered with input from faculty, staff and/or relevant departmental committee members.

DEI Professional Development (2,000 character limit for each question) 

• How does your department promote dialoguing across difference (e.g. workshops, discussions, series)?  
• Does your department take advantage of Graduate School programming and/or field-specific programming and resources to further diversity, equity, inclusion and justice (DEIJ) efforts? If so, describe how.

Mentorship of Underrepresented Graduate Students (2,000 character limit for each question)

• Describe if, and how, faculty are encouraged, supported and/or measured in mentoring underrepresented graduate students. 
• How are faculty/staff being prepared to best meet the needs of all students as demographics change? How is this preparation and its efficacy being measured? 

Departmental Funding Match (2,000 character limit)

• Please describe your department’s plan for a comparable funding match for the second year of graduate studies.

Statement from the School/College Dean or the Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC) (maximum two pages, double-spaced, 12-point font)

• The purpose of this statement is to reflect on how your department’s approach to diversity, equity, inclusion and justice (DEIJ) efforts are built into departmental structures and systems, as well as how your department works to address inequities within your field. You may use the following guiding questions as you see fit: How does your department move beyond dialogue into meaningful change? Include how efforts are measured and assessed. If they are not being measured, please share that information and how progress is being made in those efforts. 
• How does your department use DEIJ principles to inform policies impacting graduate students? If policies are not yet informed by DEIJ principles, please share that information and how policies may begin to reflect DEIJ principles. 
• Please also lay out a plan for meeting the funding match requirement of this award in the statement.
• At the end of the statement, please include contact information (department, name, title, email, and phone number) of the person(s) completing the application. 

Questions?

Please email Fernando Puga, GSEE’s Fellowships & Awards Specialist at fernp21@uw.edu or uwgsee@uw.edu or call 206.543.9016 with any questions.

---

Please note:

• GSEE funding is allocated mostly based on departmental nominations. Please contact your department’s Graduate Program Advisor (GPA) for more information on the nomination process and for additional departmental funding opportunities.
• Due to the state-based funding GSEE receives, students in fee-based programs are only eligible to be nominated for the GSEE Graduate Supplemental Awards. They can also individually apply for the Latinx Scholars Graduate School Fellowship if they meet eligibility requirements. To check if you were admitted or are enrolled in a fee-based program, please contact your department or review the Fee-Based Degree Programs List.
• DACAmented students are eligible for GSEE funding opportunities. Undocumented students (without DACA status) are eligible for the GSEE Graduate Supplemental Award, GSEE Graduate Tuition Award, and Latinx Scholars Graduate School Fellowship. If you are DACAmented or undocumented and would like more information, please connect with GSEE (gomap@uw.edu).
• International students and students enrolled in professional programs (School of Dentistry, School of Law, School of Medicine, and School of Pharmacy) are ineligible for most GSEE funding, with a few exceptions.

Return to List of Fellowships

The Peña Graduate Fellowship was established to provide support to graduate students engaged in research and/or activities related to wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ (Intellectual House). Awardees must have financial need and an interest in and a commitment to addressing social and environmental issues impacting American Indian, Alaska Native, and/or other Indigenous communities.

Deadline: Monday, July 8, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. PDT. No exceptions will be made.

Eligibility

• Graduate students enrolling in a full-time master’s or doctoral program (10+ credits per quarter) for the 2024-25 academic year, and previously enrolled in the 2023-24 academic year as a graduate student.
• Demonstrated financial need (FAFSA, WASFA or equivalent)
• US citizen, DACAmented, undocumented or hold permanent resident status
• Tribal enrollment verification or proof of lineage for American Indian and Alaska Native students
• Students in fee-based programs are eligible for the $20,000 stipend and GAIP coverage (no tuition coverage)
• The following are ineligible:
  • Students who hold an F1 or J1 visa or will be enrolled in a foreign study, study abroad or international program or exchange
  • Students enrolled in MD/JD/DDS/PharmD programs
  • 1st-year graduate students

Nomination Process

Nominations must be made by the department in the MyGrad awards management system. Please login to nominate a student and submit the following:

• Letter of nomination from Department Chair or GPC describing how the graduate student meets the eligibility for the Peña Graduate Fellowship, the department’s plan for the second year of funding and how the department will provide support (outside of funding) to the student throughout their graduate studies at the University of Washington.
• Statement from student addressing their interest in and commitment to addressing social and environmental issues impacting American Indian, Alaska Native and/or indigenous communities

Questions?

Regarding questions about the Alfonso Carlos Peña Graduate Fellowship, please contact GSEE at uwgsee@uw.edu or 206.543.9016.

Return to List of Fellowships