Bernadette Gray-Little Fellowship
RECRUITMENT & RETENTION DATA
Cycle 1 | August 19 – August 30, 2024 at 11:59PM CST
Cycle 2 | November 4 – 15, 2024 at 11:59PM CST
BGL NOMINATION PERIOD
December 2, 2024 - January 31, 2025 at 1:00 PM CST
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 2025-2026 cohort, the Bernadette Gray-Little Fellowship (BGL) starts in the fall semester and provides the selected fellow with a $26,906 stipend for one (1) year and sponsorship of up to nine (9) hours of 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 $8,300, bringing the total fellowship package to over $35,200.
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.
Tuition and Fees
The BGL is structured to provide funding for the fall and spring semester only, covering up to nine (9) hours of tuition, course fees, and technology fees.
The fellowship does not include funding for any additional fees (e.g., required campus fees, international student fees, additional tuition fees required by the schools), nor does it include a summer tuition.
Departments/programs may choose to supplement fees and/or costs not included in the original award with their own funding sources.
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 nominating students for the Bernadette Gray-Little Fellowship.
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.
Departments and programs will have two opportunities to complete this step.
August 19 – 30, 2024
Open to all graduate departments and programs.
November 4 –15, 2024
Optional submission open to all graduate departments and programs that either did not submit their information in Cycle 1 or wish to resubmit due to updates in their recruitment and/or retention plans.
August 19 – 30, 2024
Open to all graduate departments and programs.
November 4 –15, 2024
Optional submission open to all graduate departments and programs that either did not submit their information in Cycle 1 or wish to resubmit due to updates in their recruitment and/or retention plans.
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: Student Nominations
Student Eligibility
- Nominees may be new and incoming Ph.D. students or first-year Ph.D. students at the time of nomination. These Ph.D. students may be from any area of doctoral study in a program on the Lawrence or Edwards campus and the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in the Biomedical Sciences at the KU Medical Center campus.
- Prospective students are qualified for nomination if they are applying to start their first year in a doctoral program in the Fall 2025 semester. Students who have completed a bachelor’s degree or master’s degree at KU are eligible if they will be starting their doctoral program in Fall 2025.
- Nominees may be either domestic or international students.
- Nominees are expected to be enrolled full-time in their doctoral program for the duration of the fellowship.
- Recipients of the Self Memorial Scholarship are eligible for nomination.
Students funded by the Self Graduate Fellowship, University Graduate Fellowship, or the Chancellor’s Doctoral Fellowship are not eligible.
The Bernadette Gray-Little Fellowship is disbursed through a 9-month Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) appointment. Therefore, please keep in mind that per the Remote Work Policy, student employees (including GRAs) are not eligible for remote work arrangements unless an exception is approved by the unit leadership and HRM.
Considerations & Nomination Documents
Departments and programs can submit a maximum of five (5) nominations. These nominations must be submitted by graduate staff with administrator access to Slate for the department/program.
Considerations
Please review the following considerations as you prepare to submit your nomination:
- Departments/programs can submit up to five (5) nominations.
- Nominees should be outstanding candidates who meet the eligibility criteria for this fellowship.
- Departments/programs should work with their nominees as needed to prepare the nomination packet(s).
- If the candidate requires accommodations for remote work, departments/programs should work with HRM to request an exception to the Remote Work policy prior to submitting the nomination.
- Nominations must be submitted through Slate by graduate staff in the department/program during the nomination period. Instructions for submitting nomination materials will be provided to departments/programs prior to the start of the nomination period.
Note: The nomination for this award matches the nomination process for the Chancellor's Doctoral Fellowship. Individuals nominated will be reviewed for both the Bernadette Gray-Little Doctoral Fellowship and the Chancellor’s Doctoral Fellowship.
Documents
The nomination must include the following:
- The candidate's graduate application
- Copy of the confirmation email received from the Office of Graduate Studies indicating that Step 1 - Recruitment & Retention Data Submission was successfully completed. The email must be uploaded as a PDF.
- A departmental letter of nomination that addresses:
- the candidate's academic excellence and research productivity (publications, creative works, awards, scholarships, and funding will be highly valued)
- how the candidate shows their vision for their field of study and how they plan to use a doctoral education from KU to launch themselves into a leadership role in their field
- If the candidate requires accommodations for a remote GRA appointment, the nomination must also include a PDF of HRM's email granting an exception for the candidate.
- If the candidate has a master's application, but not a doctoral application in Slate, the nomination must include an additional letter explaining the situation (e.g., transition from master's to doctoral program) and any additional documentation to be considered for the review.
Selection Criteria
The nominations will be reviewed by the Executive Council of Graduate Faculty and assessed on the following criteria:
- Documentation of academic excellence and research productivity
- Clarity of vision for their field and leadership potential
- Potential impact of research
The top ranked nominations will constitute the pool from which fellowship awards will be offered. Please note that this is an ongoing process, as some of the offers may be declined by the nominee, in which case the next top ranked nomination will receive a fellowship offer.
Timeline
Nominations are open between December and January.
Nominations will be reviewed by the Executive Council of Graduate Faculty between February and March.
Decisions regarding the fellowship nominations will be sent to departments/programs in early March.
Nominations are open between December and January.
Nominations will be reviewed by the Executive Council of Graduate Faculty between February and March.
Decisions regarding the fellowship nominations will be sent to departments/programs in early March.
Specific dates for the nomination, review, and notification periods will be provided through the annual awards calendar that is available in the OGS Resource Team in Microsoft Teams. Staff and faculty can request access to this Team via graduateawards@ku.edu