Graduate Diversity Fellowship Applications Due Feb. 15

January 21, 2010

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (Jan. 21, 2010) - SUNY Plattsburgh is offering up to five Graduate Diversity Fellowships for the 2010-2011 academic year. Recipients will receive full in-state tuition, currently valued at $8,370.

The fellowships honor diversity in the broadest sense of the word. For instance, students who are non-traditional, have faced economic barriers, have been challenged by a disability, are first-generation college students and/or will be in a minority group in their chosen career field are all welcome to apply.

In order to do so, applicants must also be applying for entrance into one of SUNY Plattsburgh’s graduate degree programs for the fall of 2010. Application deadlines for both entrance into a degree program in fall 2010 and the Diversity Fellowship are Feb. 15.

Applicants are asked to complete a 250-word essay explaining how they will contribute to the diversity of the student body in the graduate program and how they have overcome disadvantages to succeed in higher education.

Recipients must be full-time students during the period of the award. In most cases, this means they must enroll in a minimum of 12 graduate credit hours, applicable toward their degree.

To be eligible, an applicant must be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident; be newly applying for graduate school to a master's or Certificate of Advanced Study program; be able to contribute to diversity in the graduate program or field of study; have overcome a disadvantage or other impediment to success in higher education; have high intellectual and professional promise; be recommended by the department chair of the degree program to which the candidate has applied and been accepted; and have completed and submitted an application by the due date.

Selection will be based on meeting the eligibility requirements described above, as well as on the quality of the applicants’ prior academic record as reflected in transcripts, test scores and letters of recommendation, and on financial need as reflected in the FASFA or most recent income tax statement.

The announcement of awards will take place after all graduate degree programs have made their decisions about whom to accept.

Applications for the fellowships are available online at www.plattsburgh.edu/financialaid, by clicking on “Forms” on the left menu bar. In addition, applications for both the fellowship and for entrance into graduate programs are available at the Graduate Admissions Office at SUNY Plattsburgh. The office is located 113 Kehoe, 101 Broad St. in Plattsburgh and may be reached by phone at 518-564-4723 or by e-mail at [email protected].