Explore fellowship opportunities available to incoming students:

• Cornell and Sage Fellowships
• Diversity Fellowships
• Thanks to Scandinavia Fellowship

Cornell and Sage Fellowships

Approximately 20 percent of our doctoral students studying on campus receive Cornell University Fellowships (referred to as Cornell Fellowships or Sage Fellowships depending on the field of study). These fellowships typically include full tuition, a nine-month stipend, and Cornell individual student health insurance. A summer stipend may also be provided to students.

How to apply: Cornell University Fellowships are awarded at the time of admission; continuing students are ineligible to apply. Prospective students apply for fellowships on the admissions application. To be considered for a university fellowship, respond “yes” to the question on the admissions application asking if you wish to be considered for university assistantships and fellowships.

Award process: The graduate field to which you are applying will consider your eligibility for fellowships based on your application; no additional information is required.

Notification: Admitted Ph.D. students will be notified of any fellowship awards as part of the admissions offer.

Cornell Fellowship

The Cornell Fellowships provide one semester or one academic year of funding, including stipend, tuition, and individual health insurance. This award is taken in the first year, unless otherwise noted by your field.

These fellowships may be awarded to U.S. students, permanent residents, or international students.

Sage Fellowship

The Sage Fellowships are two-year fellowships—first year and then dissertation year—with four summers of funding. These include a stipend, tuition, and individual health insurance.  Sage fellowships cannot be stacked with another fellowship in the same academic year. Students are not eligible for fellowship funding after completing the B-exam. Sage Fellowship requirements also apply to Deans Excellence Fellows in Sage fields.

Sage Requirements:

1. Students in the arts and humanities and certain humanistic social sciences are awarded four summers of funding with the stipulation that they actively pursue their scholarship over the summer and maintain satisfactory academic progress.
2. Students will be eligible for the first and second summers of funding only if they file with the Graduate School by May 1 of that year an academic plan describing the anticipated summer academic activities and outcomes.
3. To be eligible for second-summer funding, a student must have assembled the special committee before the end of the third semester of registration, as required in the Code of Legislation (and must file an academic plan by May 1, as above).
4. Students will be eligible for third-summer funding only if they have passed the A exam or have filed an exam scheduling form by May 1 of that year that indicates they are scheduled to attempt the A exam prior to the start of their seventh semester of enrollment, as required in the Code of Legislation, and if they have filed with the Graduate School by May 1 an academic plan describing anticipated summer academic activities and outcomes.
5. Students will be eligible for fourth-summer funding only after passing the A exam and only by application. A student must submit an application to the Graduate School for fourth summer of support by May 1 of that year, describing the scholarly work completed with the third summer of support and stating the academic objectives to be undertaken during the fourth summer. Graduate School staff will review the applications.
6. The dissertation-year fellowship will be available only to students who have passed the A exam. In addition, students seeking the dissertation-year fellowship must have written and submitted an external fellowship or grant proposal before the dissertation-year fellowship is awarded to encourage all students to pursue external funding. (In exceptional cases for which there may be no logical external funding organization to which it would be appropriate to write a proposal, the student may write a proposal for an internal Cornell award such as a Graduate School or Einaudi travel grant or may petition for permission to complete an alternative professionalization activity.)
7. No portion of the dissertation-year fellowship may be used by the student later than the 12th semester of enrollment, unless the student had secured external funding in an earlier term, in which case one or two semesters of dissertation-year fellowship may be used after the 12th semester corresponding with the length of external funding (one semester if one semester external funding had been secured, or two semesters if at least two semesters of external funding had been secured). All students are expected to complete their degree within the first fourteen semesters of enrollment, funding is not extended past the seventh year of doctoral study.  Exceptions to this requirement will be considered on an individual basis and should be directed to the Graduate School’s associate dean for administration.

Diversity Recruitment Fellowships

There are several Diversity Recruitment Fellowships in support of access for incoming doctoral students, including:

• Deans Excellence Fellowship — for recruitment of new research degree students across all graduate fields
• SUNY Graduate Diversity Fellowship—for recruitment of new research degree students in graduate fields within contract colleges (open only to U.S. citizens and permanent residents)
• Deans McNair and McNair SUNY Graduate Diversity Fellowships — for recruitment of new research degree students who were McNair Scholars at their undergraduate institutions
• Deans Mellon Mays and Mellon Mays SUNY Graduate Diversity Fellowships — for recruitment of new research degree students who were Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellows at their undergraduate institutions
• Cornell Colman Fellowship (College of Engineering) — for recruitment of new research degree students in engineering related fields    
• Lance R. Collins Fellowship (College of Engineering) — for recruitment of new research degree students in engineering related fields 
• Cornell Bowers Computing & Information Science (CIS) Deans Excellence and Hopper-Dean Fellowships — for recruitment of new research degree students based in Ithaca in computing related fields 
• College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) Stadtman Fellowship — for recruitment of new research degree students in fields affiliated with academic departments in CALS
• Cornell Tech Deans Excellence Fellowship — for recruitment of new research degree students based at Cornell Tech in computing related fields 
• College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) Deans Excellence Fellowship — for recruitment of new research degree students in fields affiliated with academic departments in CVM

Diversity Recruitment Fellowships are designed to advance the Graduate School’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and especially access. They are available on a competitive basis to nominated domestic students from all backgrounds applying for Fall admission who are U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents, Indigenous peoples of Canada eligible to register as domestic students under the Jay Treaty, or students holding DACA, TPS, refugee, or asylee status who have demonstrated commitment and potential to significantly contribute to Cornell’s core value to provide a community of inclusion, belonging, and respect where scholars representing diverse backgrounds, perspectives, abilities, and experiences can learn and work productively and positively together.

Students who wish to be considered for these fellowships must indicate their interest within the Graduate School application. Students awarded a fellowship in support of diversity are recognized as Graduate School Dean’s Scholars and invited to participate in community and professional activities sponsored by the Office of Inclusion and Student Engagement and its partners. Students awarded a Diversity Recruitment Fellowship may receive a standard offer of admission and subsequently be offered this competitive fellowship in lieu of a standard funding offer.

Through the Personal Statement, applicants should address how their background and experiences influenced their decision and ability to pursue a graduate degree. Additionally, they should provide insights into their potential to contribute to Cornell University’s core value to provide a community of inclusion, belonging, and respect where scholars representing diverse backgrounds, perspectives, abilities, and experiences can learn and work productively and positively together. Within the Personal Statement, applicants may also include relevant information on any of the following:

• How their personal, academic, and/or professional experiences demonstrate their ability to be both persistent and resilient especially when navigating challenging circumstances.
• How they engage with others and have facilitated and/or participated in productive teams.
• How they have come to understand the barriers faced by others whose experiences and backgrounds may differ from their own.
• If relevant, how their research interests focus on issues related to diversity, inclusion, access, inequality, and/or equity.
• Details on their service and/or leadership in efforts to advance diversity, inclusion, access, and equity especially for those from backgrounds historically underrepresented and/or marginalized.
• Additional context on any significant barriers they have navigated to make graduate education accessible to them.
• Contextual details on any perceived gaps or weaknesses in their academic record.

Within the personal statement, applicants interested in being considered for nomination for a competitive Diversity Recruitment Fellowship should also provide details of lessons learned from any of their lived experiences including but not limited to

• being a first-generation college student or graduate (no parent/guardian completed a baccalaureate degree)
• racial, ethnic, and/or cultural background(s)
• managing a disability or chronic health condition
• experiencing housing, food, economic, and/or other forms of significant insecurity
• being a solo parent
• gender identity and/or sexual orientation
• having served in the military
• holding DACA, refugee, TPS, or asylee status
• being an AmeriCorps alum (SUNY Diversity Fellowships)
• being a SUNY institution alum (SUNY Diversity Fellowships)

How to apply:

• Prospective students apply for Diversity Recruitment Fellowships through the Graduate School admissions application.
• To be considered for nomination for a Diversity Recruitment Fellowship, eligible applicants must respond “yes” to the question on the admissions application asking whether they would be interested in being considered for a Diversity Recruitment Fellowship. 
• The director of graduate studies for the graduate field to which the applicant is applying must submit a letter of nomination and a mentoring plan to the Graduate School for consideration by the associate dean for inclusion and faculty and student engagement and the assistant dean for access and recruitment in the Graduate School.

Thanks to Scandinavia Fellowship

Students from Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, or Bulgaria are eligible to apply for this fellowship established by Thanks to Scandinavia in gratitude for the humanity and bravery of the people throughout Scandinavia and Bulgaria who protected persons of the Jewish faith during and after World War II. The fellowship includes a nine-month stipend, full tuition, and Cornell individual student health insurance. To request consideration for this fellowship, please notify your graduate field of your eligibility and request that they nominate you to the Graduate School prior to the fellowship deadline of February 15.