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The Graduate College Iowa Recruitment Fellowship Program offers our most accomplished new Ph.D. students an additional financial supplement in combination with a graduate assistantship. Graduate programs nominate their top admitted students for these fellowships. Students cannot apply directly.

Tuition scholarships are paid during the academic years (fall, spring) by the appointing unit, while the Graduate College provides one credit hour of tuition and 50 percent of the mandatory fees for the summer terms.

The Iowa Recruitment Fellowship includes the following funding*:

For Academic-year Appointments

Year 1-4

• Fellows are appointed as 50% teaching or research assistants and receive a tuition and 50% mandatory fees scholarship funded by their department.
• Fellows will receive a $5,000 academic year stipend, a summer fellowship of $5,500 and a summer tuition scholarship for one hour of tuition plus 50% of their mandatory fees from the Graduate College. 

Year 5

• Fellows are appointed as 50% teaching or research assistants and receive a tuition and 50% mandatory fees scholarship funded by their department.
• Fellows will receive a $5,000 academic year stipend from the Graduate College. There is no summer support in year five.

For Fiscal-year appointments

Year 1-4

• Fellows are appointed as 50% teaching or research assistant and receive a tuition and 50% mandatory fees scholarship funded by their department.
• Fellows will receive a $10,500 stipend and a summer tuition scholarship for one hour of tuition plus 50% of their mandatory fees from the Graduate College.

Year 5

• Fellows are appointed as 50% teaching or research assistants and receive a tuition and 50% mandatory fees scholarship funded by their department.
• Fellows will receive a $5,000 stipend from the Graduate College.

Departments must state in their offer letters that Fellows will be provided with assigned desk space and a 50% graduate academic year assistantship through the first 5 years of graduate study.*

* While the University will make every reasonable effort to uphold the terms of this offer letter, please note that an unexpected loss of funding could affect employment as a graduate assistant.

Renewal of the Fellowship and graduate assistant support each year is also contingent upon on maintaining a strong level of performance and making satisfactory progress towards your degree and availability of funding. Fellows will be required to complete a progress report on an annual basis.

Typically, recruitment fellowships cannot be used in combination with any other source of support (e.g., fellowship/scholarship, grant, or employment outside the University of Iowa) except for the 50% graduate assistantship. Failure to report additional employment can be considered in future applications/nominations/continued Graduate College funding for both the student and the department. For more information or to ask for a possible one-time exception, contact the Graduate College.

Minimum Requirements

Requirements for Departments/Program

1. Departments must conduct a real-time interview (in-person, Skype, phone) with a prospective fellow before making the fellowship nomination. The nomination letter must provide a brief critique of the interview.
2. Departments must state in their offer letters that Fellows will be provided with assigned desk space and a 50% graduate academic year assistantship through the first 5 years of graduate study.
3. A Fellow's "permanent" research mentor/advisor must be identified to the Graduate College by the end of the second year of study. This is a requirement for the student to receive continuing support.
4. Departments must meet with Fellows to complete an annual progress report, due during the spring semester, confirming that a Fellow is making good academic progress and appropriate professional development. If a Fellow has withdrawn from courses, received an incomplete in a course,  received a course grade of B- or lower, or struggled in required program milestones, the department must address student-centered remedies.
5. Departments/mentors must file signed (by student, mentors, and DGS or DEO) individual development plans annually for fellows for the coming years. They need to be updated annually to reflect changes.
6. DGS must notify the Graduate College (Associate Dean Shelly Campo) in writing immediately of the recruited or enrolled student's intention to replace the original degree objective, addition of another degree, and/or change in program continuation.
7. If a recruitment fellow receives an external fellowship or other funding mechanism, the department should notify the Graduate College to ensure that the continuation of the recruitment fellowship is not in conflict with the terms of the external award.

Requirements for Fellows

1. Fellows must complete annual progress reports each spring semester that also addresses their summer plan of study. This report is required to receive summer support and continued support the next academic year. To receive the support the student must be registered for at least 1 credit in the summer term.
2. In addition to the annual review, fellows must complete an individual development plan (IDP) which is updated each year that outlines completed and expected academic and professional goals. An IDP signed by the student and the mentors must be submitted with the annual progress report.
3. Continued support as a Graduate College Iowa Recruitment Fellow requires remaining in good academic standing with strong evidence of academic progress, successful completion of the comprehensive examination, and submission of all annual progress reports.
4. Fellows must notify the Graduate College (Associate Dean Shelly Campo) in writing immediately of intention to replace the original degree objective, addition of another degree, and/or change in program continuation.

5. If all of the above requirements are not met, the Graduate College may withhold awarding of funds.

    

Application

Nomination for a Graduate College Iowa Recruitment Fellowship must be submitted by the Director of Graduate Studies of the department/program to which the prospective student has been admitted.

Eligible departments/programs may nominate up to three candidates for consideration for awards.

Online nominations must include the following items as PDF files.

• A nomination letter from the DGS describing the nominee's exceptional qualifications and preparation for doctoral study. Departments are strongly encouraged to submit all nominations together, with a priority ranking of the nominees. The letter must include:
  • A comment on the standing of the nominee within the pool of applicants for doctoral study nationally.
  • Identification of one or more faculty members who are able to serve as mentors for the nominee.
  • A statement that the Fellow will be provided with assigned desk space through the first 5 years of graduate study.
  • A statement that the Fellow will be supported through research/teaching assistantships for up to 5 academic years.
• Screengrab of the Department Review panel in MAUI, showing the student has been admitted to the program. Please see your Graduate Coordinator for assistance with accessing this panel.
• A completed University of Iowa graduate application.
• A Statement of Purpose written by the nominee.
• Transcripts from all institutions of higher education the student has attended.
• Copies of all letters of recommendation that accompanied the admission application.
• For international students, TOEFL scores must be submitted also.
• Letters of support from at least two faculty members (at least one from within the program and at least one who is at the associate professor level or higher) agreeing to serve as mentors for the student. Faculty members must have at least one of the following credentials: 1) a substantial record of successfully mentoring doctoral students to completion, 2) successfully completed or committing to completing National Research Mentoring Network training offered at the University of Iowa and elsewhere, and/or 3) the completion of another type of formal program demonstrating commitment to graduate students success. The letters must address how the mentor addresses this qualification.

Nominations must be submitted online by the department or program, with all materials prepared as PDF documents. Applications submitted by the student (and not someone in the department such as the DGS, DEO or grad coordinator) will be voided and not considered.

To nominate, please use this online form: https://workflow.uiowa.edu/form/iowa-recruitment-fellowship.

Deadline

The deadline for submissions is March 12, 2025 at 5pm. Submissions will be accepted in Workflow beginning February 10, 2025. Please note, you will receive a blank page if you click on the Workflow submission link before the form is officially open. The Graduate College Committee will consider all submitted materials in its assessment of each nominee's potential for outstanding academic success and of the departmental commitment to the Fellow’s success. The Graduate College does not use arbitrary test score cutoffs in its assessment.

The department will be notified once the Graduate College reviews a nomination for a Recruitment Fellowship. The DGS or other departmental representative should then personally contact the student as soon as possible by phone or email, followed by an official letter copied to the Graduate College. Please note that prior to sending this letter, it must be approved by the Graduate College because it is committing resources to that prospective student.

After the student has accepted the fellowship offer, the Graduate College will send a confirmation letter to the student from the Dean.

Although students cannot be required to accept or decline the award until April 15, they should be encouraged to inform the department of their decision as soon as possible so that additional awards can be extended to other nominees in a timely manner.

Additional Information

Please direct any questions to Corey Rubin (corey-rubin@uiowa.edu; 319-335-0558) or via email to grad-fellowships@uiowa.edu.