Graduate Student Research Workshop Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Center on Race and Wealth Howard University LogoInstitute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin-Madison Logo

Is there a word limit to the questions in the application document?
While we don’t have a strict word limit, we would encourage you to be as concise as possible.
How much detail do I need to write about my proposed methodology?
You do not need to provide extensive details on methods and it is okay if that is still under development but you should provide information about whether the research is qualitative or quantitative the proposed target population, instrumentation (if determined), and the type of analysis you are planning to conduct.
Are international students eligible?
Yes, international doctoral students are eligible as long as they are attending a U.S. university.
Are US citizens attending international universities eligible?
No, all applicants must be at a U.S. university.
What is the primary reason applicants are unsuccessful?
The most common issue with unsuccessful applications is that the dissertation topic is not sufficiently focus on issues of poverty, economic mobility or inequality. While we welcome applications from a broad range of disciplines, unsuccessful applicants often have dissertations that touch on aspects of the lived experiences of Black/immigrant/Hispanic/Indigenous communities but do not make explicit links to how those experiences relate to economic mobility, poverty or inequality. For example, a dissertation focused on the experiences of Black graduate students attending predominately White institutions may not be a good fit for this opportunity unless the dissertation was explicitly focused on the impacts of that experience on the economic mobility of the students.
What are the National Institutes of Health (NIH)’s established criteria for disadvantaged backgrounds?

To meet the NIH definition of disadvantaged background, the applicant must meet two or more of the following criteria:

  1. Were or currently are homeless, as defined by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (Definition: https://nche.ed.gov/mckinney-vento/);
  2. Were or currently are in the foster care system, as defined by the Administration for Children and Families (Definition: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/focus-areas/foster-care);
  3. Were eligible for the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program for two or more years (Definition: https://www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals/income-eligibility-guidelines);
  4. Have/had no parents or legal guardians who completed a bachelor’s degree (see https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2018/2018009.pdf);
  5. Were or currently are eligible for Federal Pell grants (Definition: https://www2.ed.gov/programs/fpg/eligibility.html);
  6. Received support from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) as a parent or child (Definition: https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/wic-eligibility-requirements).
  7. Grew up in one of the following areas: a) a U.S. rural area, as designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer (https://data.hrsa.gov/tools/rural-health), or b) a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services-designated Low-Income and Health Professional Shortage Areas (qualifying zipcodes are included in the file). Only one of the two possibilities in #7 can be used as a criterion for the disadvantaged background definition.

Students from low socioeconomic (SES) status backgrounds have been shown to obtain bachelor’s and advanced degrees at significantly lower rates than students from middle and high SES groups (see https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_tva.asp), and are subsequently less likely to be represented in biomedical research. For background see Department of Education data at, https://nces.ed.gov/; https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_tva.asp; https://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/advancing-diversity-inclusion.pdf.

I grew up impoverished in a different country that does not have these same programs. How do you show that I am from a disadvantaged background?

If your home country has similar programs to NIH definition of disadvantaged, please describe them. If your country doesn’t have similar programs but you have other ways to indicate that your family was below the poverty level in your country, please provide that information. If you have further questions, you can reach out to IRPApply@ssc.wisc.edu.