Graduate Fellows and Faculty Research Program

As part of President Stanley's initiatives in the Arts, Humanities, and Lettered Social Sciences (AHLSS), The Graduate School is pleased to announce its third call for nominations for the Graduate Fellowship and Faculty Research Program. This program, started in 2014/2015 as one of President Stanley’s initiatives in the arts, humanities, and lettered social sciences, provides one year of funding, at $20,000 each, to six doctoral students who have advanced to candidacy – and who have completed their department’s allocated funding. These fellows, in turn, teach two courses during the academic year, creating release time for junior faculty members to focus on research and program development.

Each program may nominate up to two student candidates and two faculty member candidates.

Eligibility:  Doctoral students from all departments in the Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts, who have advanced to candidacy by the nomination deadline of April 25, 2016 and will have completed their department’s allocated funding, irrespective of the campus (i.e. Southampton, Manhattan, East Campus, etc.).

Part One - Student Nomination Procedures:

For each student nomination, the Graduate Program Director completes a GFFRP PART ONE Google Form and submits the following documents in pdf format to gradfinance@stonybrook.edu by Monday, April 25. 

1. Three letters of Nomination:  One from the GPD, Department Chair and the Dissertation Advisor, respectively. Each nomination letter should include specific reasons why this nominee has high potential for professional success, i.e. evidence of professional reliability, publishing record, teaching excellence, evidence of advancement in dissertation, any documented vetting from outside department and university.

2. Student CV

3. Student Statement, no more than two pages. Please include the following:

a) Brief summary of dissertation topic and research completed to date.

b) Brief descriptions of the courses you propose to teach as an AHLSS Fellow.   

c) How would you use this opportunity to design new courses that reflect both your scholarly interest and your teaching philosophy? 

d) Recommendation as to faculty in your department or other AHLSS department that you would like to be paired with and why.

Part Two - Faculty Mentor Nomination Procedures:

For each faculty nomination, the Department Chair completes the GFFRP PART TWO FORM and submits the following documents in pdf format to gradfinance@stonybrook.edu by Monday, April 25.

1.  Letter from Department Chair nominating faculty member:  Please include the following:

a) Outline of how the two course release time will be used for faculty development. Note: course releases may be used to support one faculty member or split between two faculty members.  

b) Explanation of how the award will contribute to specific faculty and department's overall quest for excellence.

c) Describe the process by which faculty were evaluated and chosen. For example, was a special executive committee or specially constituted group created for the selection process?

d) Include email to all assistant and associate professors announcing award and soliciting applicants. (Note: full professors are not eligible).

e) This award does not require that the faculty and graduate student be working on similar research projects. However, if there are intellectual synergies between the nominated graduate student and the nominated faculty that might give this award added value, please tell the selection committee what they are.    

f) Again, although this award does not require that the faculty and graduate student do their research in common, we do want the former to mentor the latter in some way. In what ways might the faculty member(s) mentor the nominated student? Possibilities might include helping with the student’s course design, doing an in class observation, reading a chapter draft, reviewing a CV and job letter, or similar professional activities.

g) Describe how the faculty's release time and the graduate student’s teaching duties can be coordinated so that the department’s overall teaching mission will not suffer. Note the award does not include funds for hiring adjuncts to replace faculty teaching, nor can CAS provide such funds; therefore, the Chair should specifically address how the recommended pairing of student and faculty can be done without a net loss of FTE teaching in the department. Faculty receiving course releases from other sources are not eligible.

h) Provide a brief statement about what other resources the department has for supporting graduate students past their initial funding period, and why the graduate student nominee was not eligible for those funding opportunities.

2. Statement from faculty member(s): Discuss how you would use release time to advance your research and professional development. Please note if you intend to combine this release time with an upcoming junior research leave, sabbatical, and/or external grant. If so, explain how you plan to fulfill the obligations listed in 1f above. Remember, this course release comes with the expectation that you will be available to mentor the graduate student recipient during the semester of your award. 

3. Current CV from faculty applicant(s) with short description of faculty research project(s).

All Part One submissions should be made by the Graduate Program Director and Part Two submissions must be made by the Department Chair.  

Additionally, the Graduate Program Director and the Department Chair will produce end-of-the-year reports detailing what was accomplished by both the graduate student and paired faculty member, respectively. The EOY reports should include details on teaching, research, lectures, papers, manuscripts, seminars undertaken with this fellowship program. They are due Monday, May 28, 2017.

The selection committee will review the nominations from Tuesday, May 10 through Thursday, May 12 with winners announced on Friday, May 13. Winners will be invited to attend and briefly acknowledged at the Graduate Awards ceremony on Wednesday, May 18.

Please do not hesitate to contact Susanne Stahl (2-7046) if you have any questions concerning this application process.