Bernadette Gray-Little Fellowship
RECRUITMENT & RETENTION DATA
August 18 – August 29, 2025 at 11:59PM CDT
BGL APPLICATION PERIOD
September 15 - October 3, 2025 at 11:59PM CDT
The Bernadette Gray-Little Fellowship (BGL) is awarded annually to an outstanding student seeking a doctorate at the University of Kansas. The fellow receives a 5-year award with the first year funded through the Office of Graduate Studies, while the remaining four years of the fellow's doctoral program are funded by their academic department.
Award Details
For the 2026-2027 cohort, the Bernadette Gray-Little Fellowship (BGL) starts in the fall semester and provides the selected fellow with a $27,850 stipend for one (1) year and sponsorship of 100% tuition, course fees, and technology fees during the fall and spring semesters, as well as a 75% subsidy of the student health insurance plan premium. Tuition support averages $9,500, bringing the total fellowship package to over $38,000.
The department/program is required to provide financial support for the following four (4) years of the student's program. This funding should ideally be at the same level as the Bernadette Gray-Little Fellowship, but at minimum, it must be comparable to other 3G appointments in the unit.
Mentoring Training Program
Starting in Fall 2024, the student selected for this fellowship and a faculty member from the nominating department will be required to participate in a mentoring training program provided by the Office of Graduate Studies. Details about the program will be shared in the fall semester and sessions will be scheduled based on participant's availability.
For questions regarding this new requirement/mentoring program, please reach out to Nicole Reiz at nreiz@ku.edu. For all other questions, please reach out to graduateawards@ku.edu.
Tuition and Fees
The BGL is structured to provide funding for the fall and spring semester only, covering 100% of required tuition, course fees, student fees, wellness fees, and technology fees. The fellowship does not include summer tuition.
GRA Appointment
The fellowship is administered as a 9-month Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) appointment at 0.50 FTE. No summer appointment funds are available through this fellowship.
Information about the requirements to hold a GRA position is available in the Graduate Research Assistant Appointment Eligibility policy. Please note that per the Remote Work Policy, GRA appointments are not eligible for remote work arrangements unless an exception is approved by the unit leadership and HRM.
Note: Graduate students cannot hold another GTA/GRA/GA appointment while they hold the Bernadette Gray-Little Fellowship.
Nomination Process
The Bernadette Gray-Little Fellowship has a two-tiered process:
- Recruitment and retention data
- Nomination of students for the fellowship
STEP 1: Recruitment & Retention Data
Departments and programs are required to complete this step prior to applying for a University Graduate Fellowship. Information will be accepted in the first two weeks of the fall semester:
August 18 - August 29, 2025
Please prepare the following information pertaining recruitment and retention strategies for graduate students in your department or program.
What tools does the department/program utilize for recruitment efforts (e.g., Slate, GRE score purchases, unsubmitted applicant pool, campus visits, etc.)? Please describe in no more than 500 words.
What strategies does the department/program use to ensure the recruitment of top candidates that enrich the program through their lived experiences and research interests? Please describe in no more than 500 words.
When answering this question, consider current policies, actions or initiatives to ensure that people from all backgrounds perceive that access to the program is possible for talented students from all groups. If no current policies, actions or initiatives are in place, please share any plans to be implemented in this regard prior to the start of the next academic year.
How is the department/program working towards retaining graduate students and supporting them through completion (e.g., strategies, courses, structures, mentoring plans, etc.)? Please describe in no more than 500 words.
The information submitted by each department/program will be reviewed by staff in the Office of Graduate Studies based on the following criteria:
- All three prompts are addressed.
- Reasonable effort is made for each prompt.
- Each prompt indicates either current strategies or plans to be implemented prior to the start of the new academic year.
Departments and programs that meet the criteria will then move on to Step 2 in the process. Notifications will be sent no later than two weeks after the submission deadline for Step 1.
STEP 2: Departmental Application
Please review the following considerations as you prepare to submit your department/program application:
- Department/programs can apply to one or more of the fellowship categories.
- Applications are accepted via the online application form linked at the bottom of this page.
- We highly recommend reviewing the application and drafting responses, as you will not be able to save the information as you go.
The application will ask for the following information:
1) Briefly describe the department's funding strategies for doctoral students (maximum of 500 words). When responding, consider these questions:
- How does the department offer multi-year funding packages?
- The first-year fellowships are required to be the first year of a multi-year funding package. How will the department support graduate students recruited with the UGF in subsequent years at KU?
- Fellows are appointed as Graduate Research Assistants (GRAs). How does the department utilize GRA positions?
- What strategies are used to increase external funding for doctoral education?
- What challenges does the department face in offering funding to doctoral students, and how has the department modified its fundraising strategies to address these?
- How is the department addressing graduate student debt?
- How is the department making doctoral education a priority in its fundraising goals?
2) Briefly describe how the department uses data to inform decisions about doctoral education (maximum of 500 words). When responding, consider these questions:
- What performance standards are in place for doctoral students, and what impact have they had on departmental decision-making about doctoral education?
- How does the department regularly review doctoral students' progress toward a degree?
- How does the department use outcomes assessments in the doctoral dissertation defense?
- What resources are used to review data on the department's doctoral programs (e.g., Tableau data, AIMS, peer information, etc.)?
3) Briefly describe the department's goals and how they are focused on merit, mentoring, and placement (maximum of 500 words). When responding, consider these questions:
- How has the department used the doctoral program profile (DPP), graduate program data in Tableau, or other data reports to shape its doctoral program?
- Does the department have a formal graduate student mentoring program?
- How does the department collect and track student placement data?
- Does the department track job market data to set admission targets for its doctoral program?
4) Does your department have a graduate handbook? If your department does not have a graduate handbook, then please explain how degree requirements are communicated to students, or discuss your plans to develop a graduate handbook in the future. Please include the timeline for the completion and implementation of your student handbook. (maximum of 500 words)
5) Requests for stipends above the level outlined in the Award Details section are allowed, but must be explicitly requested and justified in the proposal. If you are requesting an additional stipend, list the requested stipend and explain why the increase in stipend is justified.
Selection Criteria
The applications will be reviewed by the Executive Council of Graduate Faculty, with each of the following items given equal weight:
- Doctoral education funding model
- Academic program standards
- Program goals
Departments with previous awards will also be evaluated on the success of previous fellowships.