Since its inception, the APSA Diversity Fellowship Program (DFP) has designated more than 600 fellows and contributed to the successful completion of doctoral political science programs for over 100 individuals.

• Each fall, the DFP awards between 12-14 funded fellowships in the amount of $5,000 over two years to students applying to doctoral programs in political science.
• Each spring, the DFP offers fellowships to graduate students in the pre-dissertation stage of their doctoral program. The Spring DFP is a one time award of $2000, depending on funding availability. 

Fall cycle applicants must be undergraduate seniors, graduates, or students enrolled in a master’s program who plan to apply for a PhD in political science.

Spring applicants must be 1st or 2nd year PhD students in good standing in a political science program.

All applicants must be engaged in or planning to pursue political science research and scholarship primarily focused on race, ethnicity, gender, systemic racism, LGBTQ politics, disability politics, indigenous politics, or tribal sovereignty and governance. They must also be a US citizen, US national, US permanent resident (holder of a Permanent Resident Card), or an individual granted deferred action status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA) at the time of application. Applicants must also be able to demonstrate an interest in teaching and potential for research in political science.

• senior
• graduate

• US Citizen
• Permanent Resident
• Undocumented

• Submit an online application form, which includes fields for personal statement, resume, and list of references.

   

• A letter of enrollment verification. (submit via online application form)

• Official transcripts (submit online, email, or mail). Provide transcripts or degree audits from each undergraduate and graduate institution attended. All transcripts should be uploaded to the online application.

• Letters of recommendation (submit online) Two letters of recommendation must be submitted by faculty members who are familiar with your academic work.

The Minority Fellows Program (MFP) is a fellowship competition for individuals from underrepresented backgrounds applying to or in the early stages of doctoral programs in political science. The MFP was established in 1969 (originally as the Black Graduate Student Fellowship) to increase the number of African American graduate students in the discipline. In 1979 the Chicano Student Fellowship was established. Overtime, the fellowship program has expanded to include support for racial and ethnic underrepresented scholars. Since its inception, the APSA MFP has designated more than 600 fellows and contributed to the successful completion of doctoral political science programs for over 100 individuals. 

Questions about the application process or program can be directed to the APSA Diversity & Inclusion Programs team, at diversityprograms@apsanet.org