Overview

The Pre-Doctoral Fellowship is an initiative designed to offer promising graduate students an additional year of graduate study to help ensure their success in graduate school. Ideal candidates for this fellowship are those who will contribute to the scholarship and rich intellectual and personal diversity of their academic fields but who, whether due to issues of access or opportunity, or the circumstances of their academic, personal, or professional backgrounds, may benefit from the opportunity to engage in additional academic work in their doctoral degree program.

Eligibility

All interested applicants for regular admission are invited to apply for consideration. Interested students are strongly encouraged to visit the FAQ page.

Pre-Doctoral Benefits

Full funding for academic year (tuition and stipend)

Priority for University housing

Graduate Scholars Program Invitation*

Pre-docs are invited to participate in the Graduate Scholars Program (GSP), a cohort-based community for entering first-year graduate and pre-doctoral students from diverse backgrounds designed to enhance and support academic, social, and community development during their initial graduate school experience.

Applications Open in September

How to Apply

• Pre-Doctoral Fellowship applicants are required to complete and submit the online regular admission PhD application.
• Pre-Doctoral Fellows must meet the eligibility requirements for PhD admission.
• For more information about applying to Princeton and all eligibility requirements please go to the following link: https://gradschool.princeton.edu/admission/applying-princeton

Within the regular admission PhD application, applicants must select "yes" to the "Are you interested in being considered for the Pre-Doctoral Fellowship Initiative?" question. If you answer 'yes,' you will then be prompted to briefly explain why you are interested in being considered for the Pre-Doctoral Fellowship initiative. [500 words max].

Your response can address any of the following questions:

How would you benefit from the fellowship? What would you want to accomplish during your fellowship year? What skills would you want to enhance during your fellowship year?

Note: Your answer to these questions will have no impact on the admission process for the department to which you are applying and does not finalize enrollment in the pre-doctoral fellowship program.

Participating Departments

Specific departments are participating in this program, therefore only those departmental applications will include the pre-doctoral fellowship initiative question.

At this time the participating departments include: