Diversity Pre-Doctoral Fellowships
About the Diversity Predoctoral Fellowship
The purpose of the SHASS Diversity Predoctoral Fellowship program is to enhance diversity in the school and to provide fellows with additional professional support and mentoring as they enter the field. Applicants from members of groups that have historically been underrepresented in the humanities and social sciences and from disadvantaged backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
These fellowships support graduate scholars for a 9-month appointment at MIT that generally runs from September through May. They offer an opportunity for scholars who plan a career in higher education and have completed all other PhD requirements to finish their dissertations and have access to libraries and faculty. Each fellow will be affiliated with a department or program in the school. Fellows will not be required to teach while at MIT.
Each fellowship provides a stipend of $37,500, office area, and library privileges.
Applying for the fellowship
How to apply
For your application, you’ll need to prepare:
- A personal statement of no more than 1,000 words. Be sure to mention the academic unit (or units) within SHASS you wish to be affiliated with.
- A description of your dissertation, addressing the dissertation’s aim, methodologies, originality, and contribution to its field.
- One chapter of your dissertation.
- A curriculum vitae and transcript.
- Three letters of recommendation.
- Any additional information you would like to present to the selection committee.
Submit your application here. See Important Dates below for information on our application window.
Eligibility criteria
In order to qualify, you must:
- Be enrolled in a PhD program in the humanities or social sciences at an accredited institution other than MIT.
- Have passed your PhD qualifying examinations.
- Have an approved dissertation proposal.
- Be a student of exceptional academic merit who belongs to a group underrepresented in higher education or who comes from a disadvantaged background.
Be authorized to work in the United States.
Important dates
Applications open in January of 2025 and close in March 2025.
Additional resources
If you have questions about the fund, please email the SHASS Dean’s office at shass-dei@mit.edu.
MIT is an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, ancestry, or national or ethnic origin.
