Join a Game-Changing Talent Partnership
Partner with ProFellow to help underserved talent enter fully funded STEM graduate programs
Together, we can increase access to graduate education and usher new talent into the STEM workforce
ProFellow, a leading voice and advocate for higher education access, is now seeking visionary partners to sponsor underserved college graduates in ProFellow's award-winning graduate school admissions mentorship program. Our program addresses the systematic and financial barriers of higher education.
We help underserved college graduates gain the skills and networks needed to achieve entrance to top master's and doctoral programs. They also learn how to achieve university funding awards that cover the cost of their graduate education.
Benefits to our Partner:
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Access a large, diverse pool of talent
Partners will receive exclusive access to ProFellow’s talent pool of 20,000+ diverse college graduates and can hand-pick talent for their company's sponsorship.
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Influence graduate research
Influence graduate students' dissertation proposals to focus on high-need research subjects in your industry.
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Multiply the impact of your investment
A small investment in a graduate applicant's admissions mentorship from ProFellow enables them to find and win graduate funding awards of $50K - $400K+ from their university and external fellowship organizations.
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Build a pipeline of graduate interns and employees
Partners can build long-term relationships with their sponsored cohort by offering summer internships, career info sessions and access to industry events.
Let's partner to achieve equity in access to higher education
Increasing Access to Higher Education: The mission of ProFellow's Fully Funded Course and Mentorship Program is to help every participant achieve entrance to a master’s or PhD program and a university or external fellowship award of $50,000 to $400,000+ covering their tuition and living expenses for the duration of their 2 to 5 years of full-time study.
Since 2019, the Fully Funded Course and Mentorship Program has helped hundreds of applicants achieve their educational dreams without the burden of student debt. The program is particularly committed to supporting underserved college graduates who face high barriers to entering graduate school and lack access to intergenerational and academic mentorship.
Now, visionary organizations can partner with ProFellow to help underserved talent earn their advanced degree and change the makeup of graduate education, and ultimately, our STEM workforce.
The Challenge: Underrepresented and first-generation college graduates face high barriers to achieving an advanced degree and entering technical career tracks that lack diverse talent.
Underrepresented and first generation college graduates face a number of barriers to achieving an advanced degree. The largest barrier, cited by 68% of college graduates, is the high cost of graduate school. Graduate student debt now makes up 50% of the nation’s $1.8 Trillion student debt crisis. Two-thirds of all student debt is disproportionately held by women, restricting their pathway to STEM graduate education. Many talented college graduates are unaware of graduate funding sources and how to access them.
Research has found that the second largest barrier to higher education for underrepresented students is the lack of academic mentorship on how to prepare applications for graduate school and achieve full funding. First-generation college students (meaning, neither parent has a college degree) now make up more than 56% of all undergraduate students, and are more likely to come from low-income or minority backgrounds. Compared to peers whose parents have a college degree, far fewer first-generation college graduates use career-planning services on their campus and far fewer go on to graduate school after college graduation.
In sum, the high cost of graduate school, as well as the lack of information and mentorship on graduate admissions and funding, is preventing many talented college graduates from achieving advanced degrees. These college graduates represent a huge cadre of underserved talent.
With the cost of education increasing, this inequity will be sustained or worsen without solutions.
The Solution: Provide underserved college graduates with an effective mentorship program that helps them overcome barriers to acceptance to competitive graduate schools and merit-based funding awards that pay for their graduate education.
ProFellow has been addressing the challenge of lack of access to funding information for more than a decade by providing a free open-access database of funding awards, high-quality articles, workshops, courses and content dedicated to helping diverse applicants find and achieve funding. More than 6 million people have accessed free resources at ProFellow’s website and we have also partnered with hundreds of fellowship organizations and universities to share information on funding awards with underrepresented and minority students and professionals.
The good news is, there are thousands of graduate programs that offer “full funding” in the U.S. and Canada. Full funding is a merit-based funding package from a university, awarded at acceptance, that includes a full tuition waiver, living stipend, and other financial and in-kind benefits for the duration of the student's graduate studies. Full funding is primarily offered in research-based doctoral and master's programs that provide students with training in research, evaluation, and innovation.
ProFellow can help underserved talent access fully funded graduate programs and competitive fellowships through mentorship. Founded in 2019, ProFellow’s Fully Funded Course and Mentorship Program has supported more than 400 people in finding and applying to fully funded graduate programs. When students enroll in this program, they receive access to a flexible, self-paced online course covering all steps in the graduate school application process. Additionally, they participate in live group coaching events with the Fully Funded Coaches every month for ongoing mentorship, support, and accountability. As part of this initiative, sponsored scholars will also receive access to an accountability coach for individualized support.
In the Fully Funded Course and Mentorship Program, students gain the skills to conduct program research, admission and faculty outreach, CV and personal statement development, recommendation letter requests, and interviewing. They also learn skills in communications, networking, funding negotiation, and career planning, while also creating a positive mindset about their long-term goals and accomplishments.
The Fully Funded Course and Mentorship Program is scalable and highly effective! Partners can help us fill this program with underserved talent, starting with up to 100 scholars in Year 1 of our partnership.
This is a pivotal moment for a visionary partner to help scale a game-changing solution to the lack of women and BIPOC research leaders and innovators in STEM.
Outcomes for Participants in the Fully Funded Course and Mentorship Program
531+
Master's Acceptances
147+
PhD Acceptances
47+
National Fellowship Winners
$20K - $400K+
Per School Acceptance
An Advanced Degree
Fully Funded Program participants overcome financial and knowledge barriers to enter top graduate schools and earn an advanced degree, often the first in their family to do so.
No Student Debt
By achieving a full funding award offered by their university or an external fellowship organization, participants avoid a severe student debt burden.
Greater Career Options
Graduates qualify for jobs requiring a master's or doctoral degree, the fast-growing segment of the economy, and become prepared to fill high-level technical roles and leadership positions.
Fully Funded Course Success Stories
The Fully Funded Course and Mentorship Program has helped hundreds of underserved applicants overcome challenges such as below-average GPAs and test scores and lack of academic mentors, to enter Master's and PhD programs with full funding.
Lizeth, Latina PhD student in Organic Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania
"I was applying to graduate school with concerns about my previous grades. However, in the Fully Funded Course I learned how to do faculty outreach and I was successful in securing meetings before applying. The course also helped me organize multiple applications and keep track of deadlines. I'm pleased to share I received acceptance to my dream PhD program with a full funding offer!
Lizeth Vasquez, fully funded PhD student in Organic Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania + winner of the Presidential Fellowship ($250,000 funding award)
Jacquetta, First Gen Black Female Master's student in Information Technology, Florida State University
"I was concerned I didn't know the unspoken rules of the graduate admissions process to advance my studies further. The materials in the Fully Funded Course and access to live Office Hours and Special Session events helped me to broaden my perspective and also have a better understanding of what made me unique as a candidate. The depth of detail that's provided helps you refine your search for schools and programs. Since joining the Fully Funded Course, I was accepted to the FAIT Fellowship, providing full funding for my graduate studies."
Jacquetta Cook, winner of the Foreign Affairs IT Fellowship fully funding a Master's of Information Technology, Florida State University ($75,000 award)
Ricky, First Gen PhD student in Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M
"I knew I needed to find fully funded PhD programs, but I did not know where to start or anything about the process. I could have tried to Google everything or hope that I could get enough quality advice from friends and associates, but I needed someone in-the-know to give me the right kind of advice. The Fully Funded Program showed me how to make each application unique so it would not be seen as just another “cookie-cutter” submission. Getting help and advice through the course about each component and your big-picture strategies undoubtedly helped me to get to where I am today: multiple full funding offers."
Ricky Urbanowski, fully funded PhD candidate in Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M + 4 other PhD acceptances ($850,000+ in funding awards)
Frequently Asked Questions
How will a partner access ProFellow's diverse talent pool?
Answer: ProFellow has an engaged user base of more than 20,000 high-achieving college graduates who are aspiring to a master's or doctoral degree, including 30% from STEM fields. When you partner with us, ProFellow will manage the full administration of the selection for your sponsored cohort in the Fully Funded Course and Mentorship Program, including marketing, application management, and vetting. Through this initiative, partners will have access to all applicants and will have final authority in selecting their talent for sponsorship.
Can we sponsor graduate school applicants in specific disciplines or from specific groups?
Answer: Yes, the partner is welcome to sponsor applicants pursuing a graduate degree in specific disciplines. Partners can also sponsor scholars from specific groups such as women, BIPOC, first-generation college graduates, veterans, and people with disabilities, among others.
Can we use this to support our existing undergraduate scholarship recipients?
Answer: Yes, the partner is welcome to sponsor the participation of their current and former scholarship and fellowship recipients.
What are the demographics of ProFellow's talent pool?
Answer: ProFellow has a user base of 85,000 engaged users seeking graduate and leadership development funding. Within this audience, 20,000 users are college graduates currently aspiring to an advanced degree. 80% of this 20K subset is U.S.-based; 60% identify as women or non-binary; 28% self-identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color). One-third have an undergraduate or master's degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, Math discipline, including Health Sciences and Psychology. Two-thirds have an undergraduate degree in a Liberal Arts or Social Sciences field, including Business, Communications, Economics, Education, and International Affairs, among others.
How can a partner develop a long-term pipeline of talent through this initiative?
Answer: Partners can cultivate long-term relationships with their scholars for post-degree career and leadership opportunities through special programming that will be facilitated by ProFellow. Many graduate students lack access to information about career tracks outside of academia. Research has found that half of all internships and jobs come through personal connections—connections first-generation students or those from low-income households often don’t have, and often don’t build during college. Therefore, we encourage partners to further support their sponsored graduate school applicants throughout the duration of their graduate studies through summer internships and fellowships, invitations to industry networking events and conferences, financial and in-kind dissertation research support, and career info sessions.
What will sponsored graduate school applicants receive?
Answer:
- Access to the Fully Funded Program's online course for Master's Applicants or Doctorate Applicants: Sponsored applicants will receive 15 months of access to our unique online course which provides step-by-step guidance, organizational tools, and other resources to successfully choose best-fit schools, network with Admissions, and prepare applications to competitive master’s and PhD programs offering full funding. They also learn how to prepare for campus visits and interviews and negotiate their funding offers.
- Access to expert coaching and community: Sponsored applicants attend regular live group coaching sessions every month for questions, support and mentorship, and become part of a supportive and diverse applicant community.
- Professional development opportunities: Sponsored applicants can receive special access to the partner's industry events, networks, summer internship and job opportunities, and support for their dissertation research, as provided.
- Information on industry careers: Sponsored applicants will receive information and mentorship on industry career opportunities outside academia, typically not available in graduate programs.
What type of organization is ProFellow?
Answer: ProFellow LLC is an Oregon-based, women-owned small business established in 2011. ProFellow’s mission is to make funding opportunities more accessible to diverse audiences, to increase access to higher education and leadership development resources. Today, ProFellow.com is the United State's leading online resource for information on professional and academic fellowships and has served 6 million website visitors and 250,000 database subscribers and active users. ProFellow's Fully Funded Course and Mentorship Program was established in 2019 and has served more than 400 diverse graduate school applicants.
How can we contact you for more information?
Answer: Please email Director Dr. Vicki Johnson and the ProFellow team at partnerships@profellow.com or select a meeting time from this calendar. We look forward to meeting you!
Request a Meeting
Please select a time to meet with Dr. Johnson and the ProFellow team
Meet Dr. Vicki Johnson
Dr. Vicki Johnson is Founder and Director of ProFellow, the world’s leading online resource for professional and academic fellowships. She is a four-time fellow, top Ph.D. scholar, and an award-winning social entrepreneur. She is the creator of the Fully Funded Course and Mentorship Program, which has helped hundreds of students achieve entrance to top graduate schools with funding awards totalling more than $30 Million since 2019.
Learn more about Vicki's background, her personal mission, and her organization's impact at drvickijohnson.com.
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