We encourage every Graduate Program to recruit and nominate widely diverse students for every fellowship and award. However, some fellowships and awards are only open to underrepresented students. The Graduate College requires that, to be considered, underrepresented students must be a US citizen or permanent resident, with a preference for being a member of at least one of the following groups:

• Black or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, American Indians or Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders
• Women in the following STEM fields: computer science, economics, engineering, math and applied math, and physics.
• Individuals with disabilities, who are defined as those with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, as described in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended. See NSF data at, https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/2017/nsf17310/digest/introduction/.
• First-generation college students (no parent obtained a bachelor’s degree)