Approximately 20 of our highly sought Clifford D. Clark Graduate Fellowships are awarded each year to newly admitted master's and doctoral students who contribute to the diversity of their graduate programs. Named after a former president of the University (1975-1990) and funded by the State of New York and a small endowment fund, these merit-based fellowships provide a full array of support, including competitive academic year stipends, full tuition scholarships, health insurance, guaranteed award periods, and opportunities for research and travel funding.
To be eligible, you must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and an incoming student planning to enroll full-time during the award period. You also must meet one or more of the following diversity criteria:
Although membership in an underrepresented minority/ethnic group is a plus, it does not form the full basis for the awards. Every applicant will be evaluated on his or her own merits. Each applicant's economic situation, as determined through FAFSA, will also be considered. Preference will go to doctoral students.
Apply to a graduate degree program through The Graduate School.
Check the appropriate box on the Graduate School application, indicating your interest in the Clark Fellowship (and other funding).
Submit the Clark Fellowship Essay (.pdf) with your required application materials through Interfolio.
Graduate Programs will review applications and make recommendations to The Graduate School for admission and Clark Fellowship funding. Applicants must be admitted to the program before they can be nominated for a Clark Fellowship.
The Graduate School will review Clark Fellowship nominations. No later than March 31, The Graduate School will notify the student awardees and graduate programs of the award.
The Clark Fellowship Essay (max. 500 words) must address how you:
Review Clark Fellowship Applications and determine which applicants you will nominate for a fellowship. Applicants must be admitted to the program before they can be nominated for Clark Fellowships.
Submit a Nomination Form for Clark Fellowship in Diversity (.doc) to The Graduate School. The memorandum requires the Graduate Director to assess the nominee's strengths and weaknesses relative to the graduate program and specify a faculty advisor. If the nominee's application is weak in any area, the Graduate Director must specify how that weakness will be addressed.
Submit nominations to The Graduate School by January 31, or February 28. A limited number of awards will be made to top-ranked applicants for the January 31 review; the remaining awards will be made for the February 28 review. Master's nominations will be reviewed after March 25 after all doctoral requests have been considered. The Graduate School will notify the student awardees and program of the award no later than March 31.
For applicants directly entering a doctoral program with a bachelor's degree, graduate programs must guarantee one semester of support for each year beyond the first year, for a total of four years beyond the first year; and accordingly doctoral students are only eligible for one Clark-funded semester per year during the 2nd through 5th years.
For doctoral applicants entering with a master's degree, graduate programs must guarantee one semester of support for each year beyond the first year, for a total of three years beyond the first year; and accordingly doctoral students are only eligible for one Clark-funded semester per year during the 2nd through 4th years.
Some graduate programs have additional limitations on funding, such as limiting all graduate students to four years of funding; in such cases, the graduate program limitations apply. Graduate programs may provide more than one semester of support for each year after the first year, but graduate programs cannot rollover an unused Clark-funded semester to another year. Master's programs must guarantee one semester of support beyond the first year.
Stipend: Fellowship stipends are competitive against national benchmarks from other doctoral institutions. Stipend levels vary by academic discipline.
Tuition Scholarships: Awardees will receive full tuition scholarships, though tuition will only be paid at the in-state rate after the first year. As a result, awardees must establish New York State residency as soon as they arrive on campus.
Guaranteed Award Periods: As long as awardees make satisfactory progress toward their degrees, they are guaranteed stipends and tuition scholarship for a specific period. Fellows entering PhD programs with a bachelor's degree will receive up to five years of support; fellows entering PhD programs with a master's degree will receive up to three years of support; and fellows entering master's programs with a bachelor's degree will receive up to two years of support.
Other Benefits: Awardees will receive student health insurance at no extra charge during the first year. After that, awardees can enroll in an optional plan at a subsidized rate and receive reduced on-campus parking rates.
Research and Travel Opportunities: Travel funding for research purposes or participation in professional conferences is available on a competitive basis. Summer stipends may also be available. To apply, awardees should click here.
Professional Experience: The Clark Fellowship is designed to give students as enriching a graduate experience as possible. Clark Fellows will not be required to complete any duties their first year—their task will be to get grounded in their programs. During subsequent years, awardees will be appointed as TAs, GAs or RPAs at half the normal workload in order to develop professional skills that will help distinguish them on the job market. Usually, this means they will have a full teaching or research assistantship one semester and a full fellowship for the other semester.
