Hartford Doctoral Fellows Program and Pre-Dissertation Award Program in Geriatric Social Work

Hartford Doctoral Fellows Program

Funded by The John A. Hartford Foundation of New York City
Administered by The Gerontological Society of America
James Lubben, DSW, MPH, Principal Investigator

• About the Program
• Doctoral Fellows Roster
• Doctoral Fellows on the Job Market (PDF File)
• National Program Committee
• Application Form (PDF File)
• Budget Template (Excel File)
• Data Summary Sheet (Word File)
  (this file can be completed and e-mailed to jmeashey@geron.org, and the full application should be mailed in.)
  

Pre-Dissertation Award Program

Funded by The John A. Hartford Foundation of New York City
Administered by The Gerontological Society of America
Co-sponsored by the Association for Gerontology Education in Social Work (AGE-SW)

• About the Program
• Pre-Dissertation Roster
• Application Form (PDF File)
• Data Summary Sheet (Word File)
  (This file can be completed and e-mailed to jmeashey@geron.org, and the full application should be mailed in.)

Doctoral Fellows Program
The Hartford Doctoral Fellows Program is funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation and administered by The Gerontological Society of America (GSA). It is a component of the nationwide Geriatric Social Work Initiative (GSWI) that seeks to expand the training of social workers that can improve the health and well being of older persons and their families.

Criteria considered in selection of doctoral fellows

• Significance of research to improve health and well-being of older persons, their families and caregivers
• Scholarly rigor of the proposed dissertation
• Qualifications of applicant to carry out proposed dissertation research
• Applicant's commitment to seek a full-time faculty position in an accredited social work program
• Capacity of applicant's university for doctoral training in geriatric social work
• Nature and extent of university's support for applicant
• Feasibility of proposed dissertation completion within 2 years

Hartford Fellows program objectives

• Provide substantial financial support and professional development enhancements for outstanding doctoral students at the dissertation research stage.
• Expand the number of social work doctoral dissertations that identify and examine a set of research questions that seek to improve the health and well being of older persons and their families.
• Cultivate the next generation of geriatric social work faculty as teachers, role models and mentors for future generations of geriatric social workers.
• Develop an intellectually stimulating, mutually supportive network of geriatric social work faculty and students involved in doctoral research and training.

Major program components

• Dissertation grants to sustain geriatric students thereby enabling them to focus on timely completion of high quality doctoral research and training
• Supplemental academic career guidance in strategic career planning and decision-making
• Professional development through institutes at GSA and CSWE annual meetings
• Cohort building and peer networking among Hartford Doctoral Fellows and Faculty Scholars, as well as leading gerontologists and social work educators.

Program eligibility

• Applicant must be enrolled in a full-time doctoral program in the U.S.
• Applicant must be committed upon graduation to seek a full-time faculty position in a program accredited by the Council of Social Work Education (CSWE).
• Applicant's campus dissertation committee must have approved the dissertation proposal prior to the application receipt date. Approval or exemption must be obtained from appropriate human subjects review committees prior to any transfer of funds.
• One member of applicant's doctoral committee, preferably the chair, must have expertise in gerontological research relevant to the proposed dissertation research project.
• Applicant's proposed dissertation must be completed within the fellowship timeframe.
• Preference will go to applicants with an M.S.W. from a CSWE accredited program.
• Applicants from non-social work doctoral programs are encouraged to apply. Such applicants are expected to already have an M.S.W. and have at least one social work scholar on their dissertation committee.
• Applicant must be a United States citizen or have permanent resident alien status.
• More than one applicant from a given doctoral program may be selected.

The Doctoral dissertation
The doctoral dissertation must identify and examine a set of research questions that search for ways to improve the health and well-being of older persons, their families and caregivers. The overall quality and focus of the dissertation proposal, as well as the scholarship training capacity of the degree granting institution and faculty, will be central to the selection process. At least one member of the doctoral Fellow's dissertation committee must possess expertise in gerontology or geriatrics. Most often this aging expert will be from the Fellow's home department and serve as chair of the dissertation committee. The aging expert will regularly monitor the Fellow's progress through the dissertation, ensuring development and infusion of appropriate gerontological research knowledge and skills. This aging expert will also be expected to facilitate the Fellow's introduction and entry into the campus and regional community of geriatric and gerontological scholars. For those Fellows in non-social work doctoral programs, the social work scholar on the doctoral committee will regularly monitor the Fellow's progress through the dissertation, ensuring the development and infusion of appropriate social work research knowledge and skills. The social work scholar will also be expected to facilitate the Fellow's introduction and entry into the campus and regional community of social work scholars.

Supplemental academic career guidance
Addressing the shortage of geriatric social work faculty mentors, the Fellows Program faculty and staff will provide counsel and guidance regarding strategic career planning and decision making designed to augment support offered by the Fellow's own home institution. Fellows will be assisted through professional mentoring and networking to take full advantage of an extensive network of gerontologists and social work scholars, including members of the Geriatric Social Work Listserv maintained with support from the Hartford Scholars Program, as well as Internet-based resources available through GSA, CSWE, and the other Hartford sponsored projects.

Professional development
The Fellow's professional development will be strengthened through two institutes each year that focus on enhancing scholarly and teaching skills, peer support and cohort identification. Institutes emphasizing scholarly development will be held in conjunction with the GSA Annual Scientific Meeting. Institutes emphasizing academic career planning and development will be held in conjunction with the Annual Program Meeting of the CSWE. Attendance at the GSA and CSWE conferences and the pre-conference institutes is required. Conference registration and travel costs will be provided.

Cohort building and network development
Cohort building and peer networking among Hartford Fellows and Faculty Scholars, leading gerontologists and social work educators will be developed through collaborative and interactive in-person meetings, multimedia virtual conferences, skill building institutes and social events. At a special "Retreat" Institute in 2004, all current and previous Hartford Faculty Scholars and Fellows will collaborate to activate and facilitate their collective power and skills for heightening awareness and effecting positive change. These cohort building and peer networking strategies are designed to build a solid foundation and structure for continued combined efforts to improve and expand the field geriatric social work.

Program funding

• Funding is available for at least four (4) Hartford Doctoral Fellows in Geriatric Social Work at each review cycle.
• Two-year grants of $25,000 per year will be provided.
• For each year the Fellow receives the dissertation grant, his or her university is expected to provide financial support equal to $10,000 per year in the form of tuition waivers, research assistantships, teaching assistantships, grants-in-aid, or scholarships. Neither in-kind support nor student loans are acceptable as matching funds. No indirect costs are allowed to the school and waivers of these indirect costs cannot be considered matching funds.
• Grants are designed to protect 50% of a Fellow's time for concentrated effort on the dissertation research project and are to be paid as a stipend. A Fellow may be employed up to 50% time on other scholarly development activities such as a research appointment or teaching assistantship.
• A maximum of $5,000 per year of the dissertation grant may be used for expenses directly related to the Fellow's research project including travel to professional meetings to present findings.
• Fellows who complete all dissertation requirements prior to the start of the second year are not eligible for the second year dissertation grant but may continue to receive support to attend the professional development institutes and conferences.

Back to top