Minority Fellowship Program
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Who should apply?

Answer:  Ideally, applicants interested in the NIH-funded MFP Fellowships should be sufficiently advanced in their doctoral program to be able to demonstrate established interests in research careers in the sociology of mental disorders and/or drug abuse.

Applicants interested in the General MFP Fellowship can be students in M.A. only programs who have been accepted into sociology Ph.D. programs, or students in the early stages of a doctoral program. If you are selected for an award, but not enrolled in an appropriate doctoral program by the time the funding year begins, you will not be eligible to receive the award.

2. Can students not yet enrolled in a Ph.D. program apply?

Answer:  Yes. However, you must fulfill the eligibility criteria and, for the NIH-funded MFP Fellowship, demonstrate strong research interests in mental illness and disorders and/or drug abuse. If you are selected for an award, but not enrolled in an appropriate doctoral program by the time the funding year begins, you will not be eligible to receive the award.

3. What criteria are used to select Fellows?

Answer:  Selection is based upon evidence of:

Research Relevance: Strong research interests relevant to NIMH/NIDA (for NIH-funded MFP Fellowships); or another area of sociological importance for the General MFP Fellowship.

Trainee Skills and Ability: The necessary skills (i.e., writing ability, scholarship) to successfully complete the doctoral program. Commitment to a research career. Past research and scholarly accomplishment (e.g., grades, research experiences, etc) reflecting a strong potential for initiating and sustaining a research career.

Supportive Institutional Environment: A scientific environment in which the applicant’s work will be done that will contribute to the probability of success. Institutional commitment to the applicant. A high quality research environment and facilities. Availability of appropriate courses. The availability of necessary research and research training support beyond the MFP Fellowship.

Mentor: The availability and commitment of an appropriate faculty mentor who has an active program of research as reflected by recent publications and competitive funding, and a track record of successfully training students who have gone on to have productive research careers.

4. How are MFP Fellowship recipients selected?

Answer:  Applications are reviewed and evaluated by the ASA Minority Fellowship Program Advisory Panel (Panel Members are appointed by the ASA Executive Officer and approved by ASA Council), and selections are made based on this assessment.

5. When are awards made?

Answer:  The Advisory Panel convenes annually in early spring to select finalists. Pending funding, the awards are announced by April 30.

6. How much financial support does the MFP Fellowship provide?

Answer:  An annual stipend of $20,772 is provided for the NIH funded MFP Fellowship and $15,000 for the General MFP Fellowship. In addition, arrangements for the payment of tuition will be made with universities or departments.

MFP does not provide funds to help defray the expenses for doctoral dissertations; however, as MFP fellows transition out of the MFP fellowship, they are strongly encouraged to apply for research funding from through NIMH- and NIDA- supported National Research Service Awards for Individual Pre-doctoral Fellowships and National Research Service Awards for Individual Diversity Pre-Doctoral Fellowships (F31, visit: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/grants/f31.cfm or http://www.drugabuse.gov/ResearchTraining/Predocfaqs.html), Dissertation Research Grants and Dissertation Research Grants to Increase Diversity (R36, Visit: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/grants/nimhsupport2.cfm or http://www.drugabuse.gov/ResearchTraining/timetable.html), and Minority Supplements (visit: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/grants/supplement.cfm or http://www.drugabuse.gov/Funding/Resfundslist.html)

7. What is the length of the MFP Fellowship?

Answer:  The MFP Fellowship is awarded for 12 months. However, assuming Fellows are making productive and steady progress in their programs and remain actively engaged in research in their respective area of expertise, funding may be extended for up to three years in total.

8. Are Fellows obligated to repay the NIH or ASA funds awarded?

Answer:  No.

9. Is there any support to help defray research expenses related to the doctoral dissertation?

Answer:  See Question 6.

10. What types of professional development activities does the Program provide for its Fellows?

Answer:  MFP continues to work to ensure that its Fellows are getting strong mental illness research training, to expand their knowledge on mental illness issues and related co-morbidities, and to enhance their methodological and research skills. MFP provides professional development training for Fellows in conjunction with ASA's Annual Meeting in early August. In past years, summer research internships have been used to place Fellows in projects at sites with major, ongoing studies in mental health. In addition, the Proposal Development Workshop has provided Fellows with the knowledge and skills necessary to develop strong doctoral dissertation proposals including applications for support to NIH. Fellows are also encouraged, and funded, to pursue summer training programs such as the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research Summer Program in Quantitative Methods of Social Research or the Public Health Research Institute on Minority Health, among others.