Diversity fellowships Special fellowships designed to increase the diversity of Cornell's graduate student population may be available on a competitive basis to U.S. citizens or permanent residents. To be considered for these awards, please submit a supplemental essay with your application that addresses how the following criteria apply to you: 1) a history of overcoming disadvantage; 2) first-generation college student; 3) raised in a single-parent household; 4) member of an underrepresented minority group (American Indian or Alaskan native, Black/African American, Mexican American, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, Puerto Rican, Other Hispanic).

First-year funding, which is merit-based, may be available to members of the underrepresented ethnic groups listed above who are not offered support through other channels:

State University of New York (SUNY) Fellowships are available to Master's and Ph.D. students in those fields connected with the statutory colleges of Agriculture & Life Sciences, Industrial & Labor Relations, Human Ecology, and Veterinary Medicine. These nine-month fellowships (full tuition, a $19,360 stipend, and university-funded health insurance) are awarded for one academic year for students in master's degree programs or up to two academic years for students in doctoral programs, with the second year of funding for Ph.D. students contingent upon satisfactory academic progress, as defined by the graduate field. For Ph.D. students, summer support ($3,425 starting in Summer 2007) for two summers is also provided.

Graduate School Fellowships are available in other fields. These fellowships may be for one academic year (in the Physical, Biological, and Social Sciences) or for two years plus summer support (in the Humanities and Arts, and selected Social Science fields). Subsequent support is provided by the field based on satisfactory academic progress as defined by the field and satisfactory performance in teaching or research responsibilities.

All awards are competitive and are made on the basis of field recommendations. No special financial aid application is required, but complete applications for admission should be received before the field deadline for financial support. For more information, applicants should contact the Office of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the Graduate School (telephone: (607) 255-5235 or e-mail: kle6@cornell.edu).

Several national organizations (Ford, NPSC, and the Lucent Foundation, for example) sponsor fellowships for underrepresented minority graduate students. A listing of such fellowships (including eligibility requirements, application materials, and deadlines) can be found in the Fellowship Database.

*M.Eng. students are not eligible for underrepresented minority fellowships.