Chancellor's Doctoral Fellowship

Established in 2013 by Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little, the Chancellor's Doctoral Fellowship (CDF) support departments in the recruitment of the very best and most talented graduate students to study at the University of Kansas. This prestigious fellowship recognizes students who exemplify the Chancellor’s values for doctoral education, including academic excellence, research productivity, an ability to communicate the value of their research to a broad audience, and a vision for leadership within the Fellow’s field of study.

RECRUITMENT & RETENTION DATA

Cycle 1 | August 21 – September 1, 2023 at 11:59PM CST

Cycle 2 | November 6 – 17, 2023 at 11:59PM CST

CDF NOMINATION PERIOD

December 4, 2023 - January 24, 2024 at 1:00 PM CST

The Chancellor’s Doctoral Fellowship (CDF) provides selected fellows with a yearly $32,550 stipend for four years, in addition to tuition, fees, and a 75% subsidy of the student health insurance plan premium. Tuition support averages $10,000, bringing the total fellowship package to over $42,500. Awards are disbursed as 12-month GRA appointments at 0.50 FTE. The Chancellor’s Doctoral Fellowship employs a cohort model, welcoming four new fellows each year.

The Chancellor's Doctoral 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 Chancellor's Doctoral 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 recruit a diverse applicant pool? Please describe in no more than 500 words.

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.

Cycle 1
Cycle 2

August 21 – September 1, 2023
Open to all graduate departments and programs.

November 6 –17, 2023
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 21 – September 1, 2023
Open to all graduate departments and programs.

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.

Recruitment & Retention Data Form

STEP 2: Student Nominations

Student Eligibility

Nominees 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. 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 2024.
Nominees may be either domestic or international students.

Students funded by the Self Graduate Fellowship, University Graduate Fellowship, or the Bernadette Gray-Little Graduate Fellowship are not eligible.

Nomination Process & Documents

Departments and programs can submit a maximum of five (5) nominations.

Process

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).

Nominations must be submitted through Slate 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 Bernadette Gray-Little 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
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

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 in February.

Decisions regarding the fellowship nominations will be sent to departments/programs in late February.