American Latvian Association Graduate Fellowship
All nomination materials must be received by the selection committee by February 1, 2008 for the academic year 2008-2009. (Requests for nomination are due to departments by December 15, 2007.)
Background: The American Latvian Association (ALA) Fellowship was established in 2004 with a combined gift from the ALA, the Latvian Welfare Association, and the World Federation of Free Latvians. An additional major contribution was received in 2005 from the Diaspora Fund of the Republic of Latvia. Its objective is to promote the study of any aspect of the Latvian diaspora, particularly in North America. In addition to pursuing graduate study, fellows will participate in the development, research, and promotion of activities related to the IHRC’s Latvian American collections.
The Fellowship varies in amount and duration, with a maximum award of $15,000 for a full academic year, subject to United States tax law. ALA Fellowships may be awarded more than once to the same student during her/his enrollment in the University. Departments in which graduate students are enrolled arrange individual financial assistance packages of varying terms and amounts, often applied to the second and third years of study, usually through research or teaching assistantships.
Eligibility: To be considered for the ALA Graduate Fellowship, candidates must:
be admitted to, or currently enrolled in, a Masters or PhD degree program in the University of Minnesota Graduate School; be pursuing studies in the arts, humanities, or social sciences; have research interests which relate to the history and culture of Latvians in the United States or the Latvian diaspora more broadly; have reading proficiency in Latvian as well as English languages.Selection Process: The ALA Fellowship is administered jointly by the Immigration History Research Center (IHRC) and the Department of History. Fellows officially are selected by the Dean of College of Liberal Arts, following a recommendation by the Director of the IHRC. This recommendation is derived through consultation with a Fellowship Selection Committee composed of members of the IHRC Faculty Advisory Committee (including the chair of the Department of History).
Fellows are nominated by their departments of graduate enrollment. Prospective first-year graduate students who wish to be considered for the fellowship must apply for admission to the department that will be the focus of their studies and ask the department to consider nominating them for the fellowship. Previously enrolled students may also request that their departments nominate them for the award. In both cases, students indicate their interest in being nominated by completing and sending to the department a Request for Departmental Nomination form (available as pdf via link or on paper from the IHRC at the address below) no later than December 15, 2007. Nominations from departments must be submitted to the Fellowship Selection Committee no later than February 1, 2008.
Information on the UM admission process and regarding specific graduate programs is available at website http://www.grad.umn.edu/prospective_students/. Or, write to Director of Graduate Studies (Department Name), University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455. Applications for admission must be submitted electronically. All materials required for admission by the specific graduate program AND the Graduate School must be received before a nomination can be forwarded to the Selection Committee.
Admission to the Graduate School is required before final action can be taken on an ALA Graduate Fellowship nomination.
Nominations are invited for students who meet the necessary eligibility qualifications regardless of their country of citizenship and residence.
Students whose native language is not English must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and have the scores sent to the Graduate School. The test should be taken as soon as possible to ensure consideration for admission for fall semester. Information on the TOEFL is available at website http://www.ets.org/toefl/ or from the Educational Testing Service, P.O. Box 6151, Princeton, NJ 08541, U.S.A. The Graduate School does not accept other tests in lieu of TOEFL.
Students are strongly encouraged to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), including the subject test, at the earliest possible date. Many departments require GRE scores. Scores are to be sent directly to the Graduate School. Information on taking the GRE is available at website http://www.gre.org/ or from the Educational Testing Service (address above).
Further information about the ALA Fellowship and the Latvian American collections and activities of the Immigration History Research Center may be obtained from the IHRC at the address indicated below. The IHRC and Department of History welcome preliminary inquiries from any students considering enrollment in the University and being a candidate for this fellowship.
Immigration History Research Center, 311 Andersen Library, University of Minnesota, 222--21st Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55455, U.S. Phone (612) 625-4800; E-mail ihrc@umn.edu; Web http://www.ihrc.umn.edu
