CASNR participates in new doctoral fellowship program
Texas Tech University announced April 8 that it's dedicating $2 million to a new Doctoral Fellowship Initiative intended to increase the number of doctoral students enrolling at the university. The College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources was approved for 13 of the $25,000 fellowships for next fall.
"For Texas Tech to achieve its goal of becoming the state's next national research university, our research program must grow," said Robert Smith, Texas Tech provost. "One important way to grow our research is to increase the number of doctoral students coming to Texas Tech. I believe these fellowships will help accomplish that goal."
Initial Focus. The fellowships are focused on areas where the students could help produce new external research funding, especially funding from federal sources such as the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.
The program is initially focused in four areas: Tech's College of Agricultural Sciences
and Natural Resources, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Engineering and the
Graduate School. The CASNR departments receiving fellowships are:
"Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, two
"Department of Agricultural Education and Communications, one
"Department of Animal and Food Sciences, four
"Department of Natural Resources Management, two
"Department of Plant and Soil Science, four
Wise Move. "I think this is a very strategic and very wise move to increase the doctoral students at Tech," said CASNR Dean John Burns. "It's been done at other universities and it has worked."
The 13 students who will be offered the fellowship initially were accepted into the college's doctoral program, but it does not bring students to the university if it cannot support the students, Burns said . The program allows the college to support those students. Each of the 13 students have the possibility to move to another source of funding by next school year, which would free up the money for other doctoral candidates to come into the college.
The program will help the university gain doctoral students because one of the most difficult parts of the process is attracting the students to the university, he said. Because this program does not require them to teach and will allow them to focus on their studies, it's more attractive to students. The students in most cases also will bring in about $26,000 to $27,000 in state formula funding to the university which will more than make up for the money used for the new initiative.
Added Incentive. The fellowships will go to new doctoral students enrolling in the fall 2009 semester. The initial program will fund about 80 fellowships. Fellows funded under this program will be required to apply for individual nationally competitive fellowships at least once during the first two years of their doctoral study.
"Texas Tech has outstanding research and high-quality, nationally-known research underway," said President Guy Bailey. "With that foundation and the added incentive of these fellowships, I believe we can bring some of the very best and brightest young minds to our doctoral programs."
Departmental News
- Agricultural & Applied Economics
- Agricultural Education & Communications
- Animal & Food Sciences
- Landscape Architecture
- Natural Resources Management
- Plant & Soil Science
- Veterinary Science
Press Room
Editor: Norman Martin
Maps: Where to Find It
Davis College NewsCenter
-
Address
P.O. Box 42123, Lubbock, Texas 79409-2123, Dean's Office Location:Goddard Building, Room 108 -
Phone
(806)742-2808 -
Email
kris.allen@ttu.edu