Northern Illinois University
Department of Psychology
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Several mechanisms are also available to provide financial support to minority graduate students in addition to those available to all graduate students. These include:

Rhoten Smith Assistantships

• The Graduate School provides funds on a matching basis with the department. These assistantships carry stipend levels and duties consistent with other assistantships in the department. Because of this program, minority students often receive summer graduate assistantships through the psychology department, which typically are quite limited in number.

The Carter G. Woodson Scholars Program (CGWSP)

• CGWSP is funded locally by NIU and is reserved for doctoral level students with expressed interest in academic careers. The maximum length of tenure for the CGWSP is two years. Again students from our clinical psychology program have been successful in competing for this fellowship.

The Diversifying Higher Educational Faculty in Illinois (DFI)

• DFI is a state-supported program that provides one year of support that can be renewed for up to three years. It is designed for students who are committed to applying for academic positions within the state of Illinois.

More information can be found at the graduate school website.