VEST Predoctoral Two-Year Fellowship

Admission

Students from psychology, economics, sociology, and other disciplines outside of the School of Education and Human Development may apply during the spring semester of their 2nd year in their doctoral programs (or later). Then, they begin the VEST program in their 3rd year or later on in their Ph.D. programs after having completed the majority of required doctoral coursework in their home departments. All prospective fellows must be able to commit to a 2-year period of training. Fellows should plan on conducting a dissertation examining questions relevant to education and plan to pursue a career in education policy or education research, consistent with the stated goals of the Institute of Education Sciences the organization at the U.S. Department of Education that funds VEST.

Before Applying
Those considering applying for a two-year fellowship should demonstrate their interest by being involved in some of the following activities prior to application:

• Identify Program Affiliates in Education and correspond with VEST Coordinator to arrange meetings to discuss their research further and to see if there is an alignment of research interests
• Attend the Education Research Lectureship Series
• Attend talks in the Education Policy Seminar Series or email [email protected] to attend a Policy Lab where students/faculty present work in progress
• Attend work-in-progress meetings at the Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning (CASTL)
• Take education and/or methods courses
• Completion of a year-long Research-Practice Partnership Experience (RPE), approved by a faculty mentor and the RPE coordinator.

Application Process
In order to apply, students must submit the following documents and they must be received via email to the VEST coordinator before February 7. Please note that students must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents to receive fellowship funding.  In keeping with the interdisciplinary focus of the two-year VEST Fellowship, applicants may come from the Departments of Psychology, Sociology, Economics or other departments outside of the School of Education and Human Development.

• Review the application form before submitting the form and application materials via email
• Letter of intent (submit via email)
  • This letter should describe your professional background, interest in education science and/or policy, research goals for the fellowship period (including how your research interests are aligned with specific School mentors, how you would benefit from working with them, and how your time would be allocated among projects), and long-term career goals. (3 pages, roughly 750-1000 words)
• CV or detailed resume (submit via email)
• Two letters of support from current advisor/mentors describing your scholarship and offering a rationale for applying (emailed or mailed by recommenders). Letters of support will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
  • Demonstration of your depth of interest in research questions in education and evidence for the benefits of an interdisciplinary focus in your professional development.
  • Evidence of the ability to apply designs and methods necessary to establish causal inferences.
  • Likelihood career goals will have an impact on education science.
• UVA transcript (submit via email): Unofficial or official will be accepted.

In addition, prospective fellows should correspond with the VEST Coordinator to arrange to meet with prospective school co-mentor(s). If your interests are well-aligned, you and the faculty member should discuss specific ways that you would be involved in their project in order to include this information in your letter of intent.

Please note: Renewal for a second year is dependent upon successful progress toward completion of the program and productive engagement in research.

Conditions of the Fellowship

Below, we list the conditions, expectations, and financial arrangements for accepting support as a two-year VEST fellow.

• Fulfillment of the annual progress indicators related to research training and experience. These annual progress indicators will be identified as part of an individualized contract that fellows develop with the EHD co-mentor and your current departmental advisor. These plans require writing papers for publication, presenting at national conferences, and engaging in other research dissemination activities.
• Attendance at one or more IES-approved national conferences each year (e.g., AERA, SRCD, SRA, APAAM, AEFP).
• Providing service to the program through tasks such as hosting speakers, facilitating workshops, mentoring summer interns, etc.
• Fellows from the psychology department must complete their predissertations before accepting funds (i.e., the predissertation timeline must make it clear that it will be completed by end of the spring semester prior to beginning the fellowship).
• During and after the VEST fellowship, fellows are required to respond to UVA and IES to provide regular updates and responses to surveys.
• All work conducted during the fellowship period must acknowledge VEST funding and products must be uploaded onto ERIC.

Financial Support

Two-year fellows are eligible to receive:

• A stipend of $34,000 for the program year (September 1 to August 31).
• Up to $12,000 toward tuition and health insurance for the academic year (fall, spring).
• $2,000 toward travel and research expenses.
• $3,000 toward Research-Practice Partnership Experience expenses

Please note that students must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents to receive fellowship funding.