Endowed Chairs and Fellowships

Building the number and the quality of our graduate students is a priority for the Together We Reach campaign. Today, graduate student recruitment rivals faculty recruitment in competition for the best candidates. Financial incentives often become the determining factor for students in selecting a university. Competitive graduate fellowships allow us to attract the very best students from Utah and around the world.

Within the Together We Reach campaign, the University has specific goals to increase graduate fellowship support and enhance programs that add value to the graduate degree:

  • Recruit Outstanding Students – The University of Utah is internationally known and respected for its pioneering research in a variety of diverse fields—from unlocking the human genome to understanding the complex cultural dynamics of the Middle East. Graduate students are an essential part of the research equation. By increasing both the number and quality of our graduate students, the University can continue to attract and retain outstanding faculty, while enriching the undergraduate experience.
  • Create Future Leaders – Graduate programs are the training grounds for the next generation of leaders in business, government, research, and education. Preparing the best minds to think creatively and explore intellectually is helping to provide the leaders of tomorrow with the skills and abilities to address some of the world's most difficult problems.
  • Focus on First-Year Graduate Students – Because the demands of the graduate curriculum often make it difficult to work outside the University, first-year fellowships are essential to encourage more students, particularly U.S. students, to consider the opportunities and benefits of a graduate degree. In the scientific and technical fields, this critical first year allows the student to identify a faculty mentor and area of study.
  • Build Diversity – Minority students are particularly underrepresented at the graduate level, while the nation urgently needs to develop leaders from a variety of cultural and social backgrounds. The University encourages students from all backgrounds to pursue graduate education as a way of increasing diversity of thought and of bringing all points of view to the educational experience.

Graduate fellowships are among the most important investments a donor can make because they support men and women who are pursuing answers to some of the most challenging problems of our time. Private fellowships are typically established through endowments or annual gifts in a college or program area but may also be established at the university level to support presidential priorities.

By investing in a graduate fellowship, a donor can:

  • Increase the number of outstanding graduate students at the U of U
  • Accelerate the next major discovery
  • Prepare the leaders of tomorrow in areas of national importance
  • Prepare enlightened educators for future generations
  • Retain highly sought-after faculty who want to work with top graduate students
  • Provide a research enriched educational environment for undergraduates

Giving Opportunities

Private support for graduate fellowships helps to ensure that discovery and exploration will continue in all fields, and that the University of Utah will continue to attract gifted students and the faculty who will guide their research experience. Endowed or annual fellowships, named in honor of the donors or their loved ones, can be established beginning at the following levels:

  • Presidential Endowed Graduate Fellowship - $500,000
  • Endowed Graduate Fellowship - $100,000
  • Annual Graduate Fellowships - $15,000/yr

Other endowed or annual awards may be established with varying gift amounts that would support and enrich the graduate experience:

  • Student Scholar Award
  • Book Award
  • Student Loan Fund
  • Student Research Award

Giving opportunities may vary from college to college depending on the needs and priorities of the area. Unrestricted gifts in any amount to support graduate education area needed and appreciated.

For additional information, contact Carla Flynn, associate vice president for Development, at (801) 585-1438 or carla.flynn@admin.utah.edu.