Postdoctoral Fellowships for Minorities and Women in Under-Represented Areas

Funds are available through the Office of the Vice President for Research to support postdoctoral fellowships for minorities and women in under-represented areas. 

Application deadlines are January 15 and July 15, 2007.

Named in honor of UK's first African-American student, the Lyman T. Johnson Postdoctoral Fellowship supports minority postdoctoral fellows in under-represented graduate and professional areas.

The Postdoctoral Fellowship for Women is for women interested in pursuing a program of advanced research training in under-represented fields including, but not limited to, engineering, life sciences and physical sciences.

Fellowship recipients pursue an individualized research program under the mentorship of one or more UK professors and actively participate in departmental and professional research related activities. Fellows play a lead role in designing, developing and implementing research programs that contribute to a department's overall graduate education and research mandates.

Selection criteria include evidence of scholarship with competitive potential for a tenure-track faculty appointment at a research university and compatibility of specific research interests with those present in doctorate-granting units at UK.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents who have completed the doctoral degree within the past two years or will complete the doctoral degree before the date of appointment. Preference will be given to applicants who do not have a prior or present postdoctoral appointment at UK. For those with such an appointment at UK, preference will be given to applicants who will be affiliated with a research group other than the one in which they did their prior research.

Both  fellowships provide a $35,000 stipend plus $5,000 for support of research activities. Fellowships are available for up to two years. The initial appointment is for 12 months, but recipients may apply for a second year.

Applicants should include a letter of application, a curriculum vitae, sample publications or dissertation chapters, a research proposal (1,500 words or less, in addition to figures, schemas and references), three letters of recommendation (sent directly to UK from the reference), a letter from the potential UK mentor outlining the general research program and a letter from the potential UK departmental chair indicating endorsement and appropriate departmental resources such as space and computer support.

Completed applications (original plus four copies) should be received by the Office of the Vice President for Research (attention Kathy Stanwix-Hay) by January 15 or July 15, respectively, for July/August or January starting date.