Note:  Applications are now being accepted for Fall 2003 candidates. 

The Center for Environmental Biotechnology Research Center of Excellence (CEB RCE), as part of its educational and research mission, is accepting applications for the graduate student fellowships for new students entering in the fall of 2003.  Exceptional students who were awarded fellowships in fall of 2002 are eligible for award renewals.  The fellowships are primarily directed at providing additional funds to help attract excellent graduate school candidates. The level of funds available for these "top-off" fellowships is typically $5,000 per student.

The fellowships will be awarded to students among the departments involved with the CEB in proportion to the level of participation of faculty in that unit; departments with a high level of faculty participation in the Center will be given additional consideration for fellowships. If sufficient need can be demonstrated, it is possible to combine a unit's proportion of fellowships into a single larger fellowship not exceeding $15,000. However, the primary mechanism for awarding the fellowships is to be in the form of additional money to attract outstanding candidates.

The fellowships are awarded exclusively to graduate applicants whose anticipated major advisor is directly involved with the Center and who will be working on research relevant to the Center's mission. Departments may choose to renew a recipient's fellowship by submitting, each year, an application for future years' funding. Renewal funding for fellowship recipients is contingent on the student's continued demonstrated excellence. It is anticipated that students receiving the CEB REC fellowships will be competitive for and will pursue other available university or national fellowships as soon as they are eligible. Documentation showing a recipient's and advisor's active pursuit of these extramural funds will be considered in requests for continued funding.

The fellowships are designed to be bridging funds for attracting top candidates until they can be supported entirely by extramural funds. The number of fellowships provided by the RCE for new and continuing students will be the same each year. Moving fellowship recipients on to extramural funds as soon as possible will make funds available to additional new candidates from a department.

Alternate candidates can be submitted for consideration in the event that a department's primary candidate(s) decline the offer of admission. These must be properly identified on the fellowship application.

Evaluation of applicants will begin immediately for Fall 2003 admission applicants and proceed until all available fellowships have been awarded (typically around mid-April). A downloadable application form is available as  a Microsoft Word document.

Email completed electronic applications to Mary James (mjames@utk.edu).  Send paper applications to Mary James via campus mail at 676 Dabney Hall.  Contact Paul Frymier (pdf@utk.edu) for further information.

Notes on Completing the Application

• The designation as an "Alternate" indicates that, if the candidate is approved as an Alternate by the Fellowship Committee, the Alternate can be substituted for a Primary candidate without further approval by the Fellowship Committee.  However, to extend the fellowship to an Alternate, the offer must have either been refused by the Primary or the Primary's application must be withdrawn.  The designation of Alternate candidates is designed to expedite the extension of new offers in the event that a Primary candidate does not accept an offer.