Doctoral Fellowship

For under-resourced and underrepresented Ph.D. and Th.D. students

APPLICATIONS ARE CLOSED

Equipping Scholars to Lead

Since 1968, FTE has been committed to increasing diversity in religion and theological faculty in North America. For more than half a century, FTE has invested in supporting under-resourced and underrepresented scholars of religion and theological education.

With a historical commitment to supporting African American doctoral students and increasingly other historically underrepresented groups of students, FTE helps theological schools and religion departments identify and hire faculty needed to prepare a new generation of pastors, scholars, and leaders serving diverse faith communities and populations.

FTE offers a dissertation fellowship of up to $35,000 each to under-resourced and underrepresented Ph.D. and Th.D. students pursuing a vocation in teaching and scholarship. In doing so, FTE’s efforts help improve the quality of theological education and scholarship by assisting in diversifying faculties of theological schools with individuals who represent the changing demographics, perspectives, and experiences of students pursuing theological education.

Financial support is available for doctoral students who have completed the coursework stage of their Ph.D. or Th.D. program in religion, theological studies, or biblical studies. For more information or questions, please email Marissa Akery (makery@fteleaders.org), our Community Engagement Manager.

“ Thank you to FTE for everything. The financial resources were much needed for my family and me...and the FTE team has poured so much more into me than I could ever repay. This support is the difference between people making it out and not. ” Kamilah Hall Sharp, 2021-2022 FTE Doctoral Fellow
Frequently Asked Questions

Applicants must be enrolled full-time in a Ph.D. or Th.D. program in religious, theological, or biblical studies.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens, Canadian citizens, or permanent residents. International students with citizenship and/or residency outside the U.S. or Canada are not eligible for a fellowship.

Applicants must finish coursework by the beginning of the fellowship year (September 1).

Applicants at the dissertation stage must be in a position to write full-time during the fellowship year.

All pre-dissertation applicants must be past the coursework stage but have not yet reached candidacy [ABD].

To be classified at the dissertation stage [ABD], the applicant’s dissertation committee must have approved the dissertation research proposal and writing plan and given the student full approval to proceed before the application is submitted.

Students enrolled in Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) programs are ineligible for this opportunity.

Applicants must be studying at a U.S. or Canadian-accredited institution. Please note that students in doctoral programs who receive accreditation from bodies beyond the U.S. and Canada, even if their institution is in the U.S. or Canada, are not eligible for this opportunity.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens, Canadian citizens, or permanent residents. International students with citizenship and/or residency outside the U.S. or Canada are not eligible for a fellowship.

A completed application includes the following:

• Curriculum vitae

• Three-page academic essay (maximum length, single-spaced)

• Two-page vocational essay (maximum length, single-spaced)

• One faculty letter of reference

• One non-academic letter of reference

• Completed budget statement (to be submitted within the application form)

• One-paragraph personal biography (single-spaced)

• Unofficial transcripts from current doctoral program

• High-resolution headshot (no selfies)

For Dissertation Stage (ABD) Applicants Only

• One-page abstract and summary of your proposed dissertation project

• Writing timeline

• A list of all members on your dissertation committee, indicating the name of the adviser (to be submitted within the application form)

Applicants can save and return the application before submission. You will be prompted to upload the following items:

CURRICULUM VITAE

Please submit your most recent curriculum vitae or resume. It should include at a minimum the following: contact information, education, employment history, awards/fellowships, licenses/certifications/publications, academic presentations, professional affiliations, community and church service, skills/interests.

ACADEMIC ESSAY

Upload an essay (three-page maximum, single-spaced) that:

  • situates yourself within your discipline(s) and describes your specific research interests, focus and methodologies, or scholars whose ideas are most helpful and promising in your work;
  • explains how your project and/or research interests serve and/or address concerns of communities (e.g. African, Asian, Indigenous and Hispanic descent, etc) underrepresented and underserved in theological education and religious studies;
  • describes your plans to contribute to seminary, college and/or university teaching and scholarship in North America (including a list of courses you are now prepared to teach or would like to teach); and
  • describes how your dissertation project will contribute to theological education and to the church.

VOCATIONAL ESSAY

Upload an essay (two-page maximum, single-spaced) that indicates:

  • your vocational commitments as a theological educator to a specific or multiple underrepresented and underserved communities;
  • your connection, involvement, and relationship to the concerns and interests of the aforementioned communities beyond the academy; and
  • what contribution(s) beyond the academy you hope to make as a theological educator.

LETTERS OF REFERENCE (one academic, one non-academic/community)

List the names and contact information for the two persons (1 faculty and 1 non-academic) who will provide your letters of reference. PLEASE CONFIRM THAT ALL CONTACT INFORMATION IS CORRECT.

BUDGET STATEMENT (within the application form)

The budget statement is based on your estimated income and personal expenses for the upcoming academic year 2025-2026.

ABSTRACT AND WRITING TIMELINE (ABD Only)

Upload two pages consisting of the following:

  • a one-page, single spaced document including your abstract, and a brief summary of your proposed dissertation project, and
  • a table with your proposed writing timeline for each dissertation chapter.

PERSONAL BIOGRAPHY

One paragraph, single-spaced

UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT FROM CURRENT DOCTORAL PROGRAM


HIGH-RESOLUTION HEADSHOT

Applications are due February 14.

Only complete applications that are submitted by the deadline will be considered.

Applicants will be notified of selections by the end of April 2025.

Due to the high volume of applicants, FTE can only provide personalized feedback to applicants who have been offered a Fellowship.

Please contact Marissa Akery (makery@fteleaders.org), or message us on our contact page.