Dr. Donald and Effie Godbold Fellowship

The Dr. Donald and Effie Godbold Fellowship Award is designed to recognize the unique challenges that face international graduate students and the promise that they can contribute a unique perspective to our community. This award is based on the merit of the graduate student’s current academic standing and the submitted personal statement. This fellowship is available only to Ph.D. students with an international student visa status.

Eligibility Requirements & Standards

• Preference will be given to students whose research and/or extracurricular activities contribute to the broadening of cultural perspectives.
• PhD students with an international student visa status.
• Currently be enrolled in 12 units in one of the graduate programs, GPA ≥ 3.0 and good academic standing.
• Awardee information may be shared with donors, including but not limited to: name, award amount, UC Merced email address, application materials and/or summary of program/research interest.

Financial Support

• Only one award will be made each academic year.
• Recipient will receive an award of $1,000 in this current academic year to be used for travel and/or student research.

Use of Funds

• Funds may be used specifically for the pursuit of educational and graduate career goals.

Award Procedures

• Apply by completing an online application. Please note, the fellowship application is built within the admissions system, so you might see some items that reference admissions.
• During the application process you will be able to select this fellowship among others, if it is currently open.
• Please include the following items with your application:
  • General Statement - 1-2 pages that describe your research area(s) of interest, accomplishments to date and long-term academic goals.
  • For your statement, write for a general academic audience, i.e. a faculty reviewer who does not necessarily have expertise in your area of research.
  • Unofficial up-to-date UCM transcript.
  • Curriculum vitae (CV)
  • One letter of recommendation from a UC Merced faculty member.
• The fellowship committee will review all complete applications. Review criteria will include adherence to the fellowship guidelines, the academic qualifications of the applicant, and the letter of recommendation. Please note, incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

* The Graduate Division reserves the right not to make an award in any given year for which a call for applications/nominations has been issued.

Deadlines

See the Internal Fellowships page for current deadlines associated with this fellowship.