Advanced Opportunity/ Graduate Research Scholar Fellowship Eligibility Criteria
Advanced Opportunity Program funds are granted to UW-Madison’s Graduate School by the State of Wisconsin and combined with other graduate education funds to support the recruitment and retention of highly qualified underrepresented students in UW-Madison graduate programs. Fellowships are competitive and merit-based. Advanced Opportunity funding is intended to increase the racial and ethnic diversity of the graduate student population, as well as to support economically disadvantaged and first generation college students.
The Graduate School sets minimum AOF eligibility criteria and distributes the funds to UW-Madison Schools and Colleges via the Graduate Research Scholar (GRS) programs. Within each GRS program, GRS Directors work with a Faculty Advisory Board representing their respective departments and programs to award the AOF funds and to create communities of scholars for the purposes of professional development, mentoring, and other community-building activities. Each GRS community has the authority through its Faculty Advisory Board to further refine the eligibility criteria with the goal of supporting underrepresented students within their own School/College. The Graduate School’s minimum eligibility criteria are listed below. Please consult with the GRS director in your School/College for further program specifics.
Graduate School’s AOF eligibility criteria: To be considered for AOF funding, students must be United States citizens or Permanent Residents. They must be admissible to a graduate program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. (Students on probation can not receive AOF funding.) Preference is given to Wisconsin residents. In addition, the following criteria apply:
1. Targeted minority students:
- African American or Black
- American Indian or Alaskan Native
- Mexican, Mexican American, Chicano/a, Puerto Rican, Cuban
- Cambodian, Vietnamese, Laotian, or Hmong
- Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
OR
2. Economically disadvantaged students
- First generation college-bound Wisconsin residents who participated in one of the following TRIO programs: Upward Bound, Talent Search, Educational Opportunities Centers, Student Support Services
- First generation college-bound Wisconsin residents who graduated from the PEOPLE Program
- UW-Madison Bachelor's degree recipients who were in the FASTrack or BANNER programs
OR
3. McNair Students: students who participated in a Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program.
If you have questions regarding these criteria, please contact Linda Scholl, Fellowship Director at lmscholl@bascom.wisc.edu or 608-265-5522.