While minority graduate students can choose among a variety of special fellowships, minority postdocs have few options. Among them are the following:

The Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowships for Minorities are aimed at minority groups “whose underrepresentation in the professorate and in formal programs of postdoctoral study and research in the United States has been long-standing and remains severe as a result of past discrimination. ” For the year 2001, 25 fellowships of $35,000 will be given for one year of postdoctoral research in fields of science or engineering (excluding “practice-based” professions, such as medicine, law, and social work). Eligible applicants include “current or potential college or university faculty members and researchers” who are U.S. citizens and belong to one of the following groups: African-Americans, American Indians, Alaskan Natives, Native Hawaiians, Native Pacific Islanders, Mexican Americans/Chicanos, and Puerto Ricans. The program is administered by the National Research Council of the National Academies on behalf of the Ford Foundation.

The UNCF-Merck Postdoctoral Science Research Fellowships is a program jointly administered by the United Negro College Fund and Merck with ten awards with a stipend of $55,000. This program is “...designed to increase the number of African Americans in the pipeline of biomedical science education and research.” The program is open to US citizens who are African Americans. They may work at academic or nonacademic research institutions, but not private industrial labs.

The National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists & Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) Awards, “recognizes outstanding scientists, engineers, and science teachers who have made significant contributions in their fields. ” While most of their awards are intended for graduate and younger students, the Lloyd Ferguson Young Scientist Award goes to young African American scientists with 8-10 years of professional experience. See also a web site for minority researchers called “Just/Garcia/Hill Science Web Site,” at http://hyper.hunter.cuny.edu/jghweb.

Best Practices