The Graduate College

Thurgood Marshall Fellowship - 2009

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The Thurgood Marshall Assistantship is now the Thurgood Marshall Fellowship

l. The Thurgood Marshall Fellowship is a highly competitive award.  Only a limited number of Thurgood Marshall Fellowships are available.

2. Applicants shall exemplify the values and accomplishments of Thurgood Marshall, the first black Justice of the US Supreme Court.  Son of a dining-car waiter and schoolteacher and also counsel for the NAACP beginning in 1934, Thurgood Marshall successfully argued the landmark Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka (1954), which nullified the legal basis for racial segregation.  He held that the American Constitution, as the basis of law, permits and requires changes to accommodate a deeper understanding of human values.  In his view, the noblest citizens are those who labor toward this refinement.

3. Thurgood Marshall Applicants shall have submitted an application for admission to a master’s level program or a doctoral program at WMU.  Thurgood Marshall Fellowships are awarded only to students who have been admitted to a master’s program or a doctoral program.  Excepting their program at WMU, Thurgood Marshall Fellows shall not have studied previously for a master’s or doctoral degree; at the time of accepting a Thurgood Marshall Fellowship, a student may not have accumulated more than 9 credit hours toward a graduate degree at WMU.

4.  There are two levels of Thurgood Marshall Fellow. 

Master’s level Thurgood Marshall Fellows receive a salary and stipend of $13,923 for one academic year (possibly adjusted upward), with the possibility of renewal for an additional year; in addition, two-thirds of their tuition (up to nine credit-hours in Fall and Spring semesters, and up to 3 credit hours in each of two summer sessions) shall be paid by the fellowship.  Master’s level Thurgood Marshall Fellows shall be Appointees of the Graduate College, and in this capacity they shall, at the discretion of their program, work for 10 hours weekly as a graduate assistant in teaching, research, or service.  

Doctoral level Thurgood Marshall Fellows receive a salary and stipend of $19,356 for one academic year (possibly adjusted upward), with the possibility of yearly renewal up to a maximum of four years; in addition, all of their tuition (up to nine credit-hours in Fall and Spring semesters, and up to 3 credit hours in each of two summer sessions) shall be paid by the fellowship.  Doctoral level Thurgood Marshall Fellows shall be Appointees of the Graduate College, and in this capacity they shall, at the discretion of their program, work for 10 hours weekly as a doctoral associate in teaching, research, or service. 

5.  To hold a Thurgood Marshall Fellowship, a student must maintain good academic standing (GPA of 3.0 or higher) and register for at least six hours over each of Fall and Spring semesters, and three credit-hours for each of the two summer sessions; a Thurgood Marshall Fellow must also perform satisfactorily as a graduate assistant or doctoral associate.

6.  Applications are submitted to the Graduate College on the following, prescribed form.  Priority will be given to complete applications (including required supporting documentation) received by 15 February 2009.  Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.  Finalists for a Thurgood Marshall Fellowship may be asked to visit WMU for an interview.  A limited amount of funding is available to help defray the cost of traveling to the interview. 

 

[An application in Microsoft Word format is available here.]