The Minority Fellowship Program, funded by ASA and annual contributions from Sociologists for Women in Society, Alpha Kappa Delta, the Association for Black Sociologists, the Southwestern Sociological Society, the Midwest Sociological Society, and generous individual member contributions, is primarily, but not solely, designed for minority students sufficiently advanced in their Ph.D. program to demonstrate their commitment to a research career. MFP applicants must be enrolled in or accepted to Ph.D. programs in sociology that house relevant research programs in their area of interests. Applicants for the MFP Fellowship may be in earlier stages in their graduate careers, but must be accepted into a Ph.D. program in sociology at the time the MFP Fellowship begins.

MFP Fellows are selected on the basis of their commitment to research, the focus of their research experience, academic achievement, scholarship, writing ability, research potential, financial need, and racial/ethnic minority background. Specifically, applicants must be members of one of the following racial/ethnic groups: Blacks/African Americans, Latinos/as (e.g., Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans), American Indians or Alaskan Natives, and Asians (e.g., Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Southeast Asian), or Pacific Islanders (e.g., Hawaiian, Guamanian, Samoan, Filipino). Fellows must be citizens or non-citizen nationals of the U.S., or have been lawfully admitted to the U.S. for permanent residence and have in their possession an Alien Registration Card.