Frederick Douglass Doctoral Scholars Assistantship

Frederick Douglass Doctoral Scholars Assistantship

The Frederick Douglass Doctoral Scholars Assistantship is a renewable assistantship awarded to new Ph.D. students. It is designed to recruit academically talented students pursuing doctoral studies in all disciplines in the Graduate School at Howard University. The Frederick Douglass Doctoral Scholars award is offered on a competitive basis upon recommendation by the candidate’s prospective department and the Financial Aid Advisory Committee.

Award Eligibility

Candidates must be first-time applicants to the Graduate School at Howard University and must be committed to joining the professoriate. The minimum cumulative GPA requirement from the applicant’s current or most recently attended institution is 3.5. Spring applicants are not eligible to apply for this award. 

Deadline: November 14, 2025, 5:00 p.m. EST

Funding Type: Assistantship

Related Degrees: Ph.D.

Eligible Programs

Applicants to any Ph.D. program in the Graduate School are eligible to apply for only one award.

Award Terms

For incoming AY 26-27 recipients, the award will include full tuition (not including student activity fees) and a stipend of $24,000 for the Fall and Spring semesters and can be renewed for a maximum of 3 years. Students who have earned candidacy status by year 4 are eligible to apply for a final year of tuition only support as Douglass scholars.

Frederick Douglass Doctoral Scholars are required to: (1) participate in a 15-hour per week supervised research assignment during each semester or serve as a teaching assistant for an undergraduate course; (2) maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5; and (3) take part in the university’s Annual Research Month. Frederick Douglass Doctoral Scholars cannot hold outside employment.

Application Deadline

New Applicants applying for the Frederick Douglass Doctoral Scholars Assistantship must be submitted by email to graduateschool@howard.edu no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on Friday, November 14, 2025.

Re-apply for the Frederick Douglass Assistantship 

Applications for continuing students who hold this assistantship currently and are eligible to reapply must be submitted by email to graduateschool@howard.edu no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on January 9, 2026. 

For questions, please email Ms. Gloria Lloyd at glloyd@howard.edu. 

Submission Guidelines

1. Single PDF File

  • Submit all documents together in one PDF file.
  • Your PDF must include:
  • Funding application (including required funding application essay)
  • All unofficial transcript(s) submitted in your application for admission
  • Statement of Academic and Professional Goals/Statement of Purpose (the same statement your submitted in your application for admission)

2. Required Forms

  • You must complete the two forms below for your application to be considered complete.

Step One:

  • If you are a first-time applicant, you must complete this Application Form by 11/14/2025.
  • If you are a reapplicant, you must complete this Reapplicant Form by 11/14/2025.

Step Two:

  • After completing the required form above, you must download the Funding Application, complete, and then follow the submission instructions in
  • (Please note the form and application will not be available until October 1, 2025).

Step Three:

Email Submission (first time applicants)
  • Name your PDF file using the first part of your email address before the @ sign to ensure it is unique (do not include the period in the main part of the file name).
  • Example: If your email is graduateschool@howard.edu, your PDF file should be named graduateschool.pdf
  • The subject line of your email must include the exact award name below.

Examples:

  • Douglass Award
  • McNair Award
  • Bouchet Award

All applications must be submitted by email to graduateschool@howard.edu no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on Friday, November 14, 2025.

Email Submission (reapplicants)
  • Name your PDF file using the first part of your email address before the @ sign to ensure it is unique (do not include the period in the main part of the file name).
  • Example: If your email is graduateschool@howard.edu, your PDF file should be named graduateschool.pdf
  • The subject line of your email must include the word “Reapply” followed by the exact award name below.

Examples:

  • Reapply Douglass Award
  • Reapply McNair Award
  • Reapply Bouchet Award

All applications that are re-applying must be submitted by email to graduateschool@howard.edu no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on Friday, January 9, 2026.

  • Incomplete and/or late applications will not be reviewed by the Financial Aid Advisory Committee.
  • Applicants will be notified via email of their assistantship application status by March 1, 2026.
  • If you have any questions pertaining to the application, e-mail Ms. Gloria Lloyd at glloyd@howard.edu.

Important Guidance

Students who have been admitted to a program but deferred enrollment until the next Fall semester are eligible to apply for Graduate School competitive awards (Bouchet, Douglass, and McNair) designated for new students. Application deadlines apply. For more information or questions, email graduateschool@howard.edu.

 

                             

Documents & Forms

New_Applicant_Frederick_Douglass_Doctoral_Scholars_Assistantship_Application_Form Reapplying_Fellow_Frederick_Douglass_Doctoral_Scholars_Assistantship_Application_Form