GSIE Diversity Tuition Fellowship

While the Graduate School at the University of Arkansas has made some progress in diversifying its graduate student body as a whole, more progress is needed, and diversity remains unevenly distributed among degree programs. Some degree programs have very limited diversity along racial/ethnic and gender dimensions, let alone characteristics such as veteran status, learning styles, LGBTQ+ identification or sexual orientation, disabilities, age, first-generation status, geographic background, and the like. Because diversity of background contributes to a robust learning environment for all students, and better prepares our students to contribute effectively in a range of professional settings, the Graduate School has a goal to increase diversity across programs. Toward that end, we are announcing the following program.

Opportunity

A department/program may apply to GSIE for GA tuition funding if the department has resources to pay the stipend and fringe for a graduate assistantship and would like to obtain funding for the tuition for qualified applicants who bring diversity to the program or the University. The following rules will apply.

  • This is available only to U.S. citizens and permanent residents.
  • The student must contribute to diversity in the degree program or the University as described by them in their application.
  • The tuition funding will be provided by GSIE for the first year only, after which the department will be responsible for the stipend, tuition and fringe until the student graduates (assuming the student remains in good academic standing). In very unusual cases, GSIE may continue funding for an additional semester.
  • Students may be invited to join our RISE program.
  • The funding will be competitive and a limited number will be offered each year.