Mellon Mays Predoctoral Research Grants 2017 for Doctoral Students

The Mellon Mays Predoctoral Research Grants (Graduate Initiative Program) offers three modest predoctoral grants designed to meet specific needs during the doctoral degree process including support for travel, equipment and technology costs, and professional association membership fees.

Application Deadline: 1st November 2017

Offered Annually? Yes

Eligible Fields of Study: Anthropology and Archaeology, Area/Cultural/Ethnic/Gender Studies, Art History, Classics, Computer Science, Geography and Population Studies, Earth/Environmental/Geological Science and Ecology, English, Film, Cinema and Media Studies (theoretical focus), Foreign Languages and Literatures, History, Linguistics, Literature, Mathematics, Musicology and Ethnomusicology, Oceanographic/Marine/Atmospheric/Planetary Science, Performance Studies (theoretical focus), Philosophy and Political Theory, Physics and Astronomy, Religion and Theology, Sociology, Theater (non-performance focus), Interdisciplinary Studies.

Fellows who enter Ph.D. programs in a field not listed above must formally petition for recognition of the graduate program.

About the Award: The Mellon Mays Graduate Initiatives Program aims to address, over time, the problem of underrepresentation in the academy at the level of college and university faculties. Funded by grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the program provides support for scholars from all backgrounds with a demonstrated commitment to this goal. To date, over 600 fellows have received doctoral degrees and nearly 700 fellows are in Ph.D. programs.

The Graduate Initiatives Program builds upon the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program (MMUF) by supporting MMUF fellows from the early stages of graduate school to the post-Ph.D. years. It is only open to Ph.D. students who were selected as Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellows. Fellows must enroll in doctoral programs within 39 months of receiving their undergraduate degrees, and they must be in one of the fields listed above.

The Graduate Initiatives Program offers three predoctoral grant opportunities:

1. the Graduate Studies Enhancement Grant (GSE),
2. the Predoctoral Research Development Grant (PRD), and
3. the Dissertation Completion Grant (DCG).

Graduate Studies Enhancement (GSE) Grant

• Fellows must be in their second to fifth years of graduate school; students at South African universities are eligible to apply in the first year of their Master’s programs
• Fellows that have begun the sixth year of graduate study are not eligible
• Available for up to $1,500 per academic year
• May be received up to four times
• Funds travel, equipment, books, journal subscriptions, and software

Predoctoral Research Development (PRD) Grant

• Fellows must be in their second to fifth years of graduate school; students at South African universities are eligible to apply in the first year of their Master’s programs
• Fellows that have begun the sixth year of graduate study are not eligible
• Available for up to $3,000 once during a fellow’s graduate school career
• Funds small-scale, preliminary research and other activities
• Requires a letter of support from an adviser or committee member

Dissertation Completion Grant (DCG)

• Fellows must be in their seventh year or beyond and must provide a feasible timeline for completion of the dissertation within 12 months
•  Available for up to $2,500 once during a fellow’s graduate school career
• Funds travel, equipment, books, journal subscriptions, and software that support the completion of the dissertation
• Requires a summary report six months after receipt of the grant
• A competitive award based on the feasibility of timely completion
• Fellows may not have participated in the Preparing for the Professoriate Seminar

Type: Grants

Eligibility: 

• Fellows may apply for one grant per year
• Applicants must be Mellon fellows enrolled in a doctoral program in an eligible field of study

Number of Awards: Not specified

Value of Award: 

• Each fellow may receive a maximum of $5,000 in GSE and PRD funds; DCG funds do not apply toward this total
• The grants cannot be used for tuition and fees or living expenses
• Grants are disbursed on a first-come, first-served basis

How to Apply: Click here to apply!

Visit the Program Webpage for Details

Award Provider: Andrew W. Mellon Foundation