Fellowships and Scholarships
2024–25
The Presidential Fellowship Program, inaugurated in the fall of 1984, is awarded to new PhD applicants who have a record of excellence. Students must be appointed as a full teaching, graduate or research assistant.
Rahnuma E Jannat
Hometown: Dhaka, Bangladesh
Program: Counseling Psychology and School Psychology PhD
“I aspire to become a leading school psychologist and tenuretrack professor with academic research focused on cyberbullying and culturally informed school-based cyberbullying prevention interventions for adolescents. The Presidential Fellowship offers me crucial financial assistance, enabling me to concentrate on my academic pursuits and research without the distraction of financial hardship. It is indicative of the university’s assurance of my ability to make significant contributions to my field, which serves as an incentive for me to strive for excellence.”
Farid Mokhtari
Hometown: Mashhad, Iran
Program: Counseling Psychology and School Psychology PhD
“I hope I can help people to better make decisions in life, especially adolescents and young adults, for their education/career paths, and assist them to cope with their difficulties in building their identity. Being a Presidential Fellow provides additional support so I can gain deeper knowledge and skills to better serve as a psychologist.”
Molly Moore
Hometown: Buffalo, New York
Program: Counseling Psychology and School Psychology PhD
“My research interests center around childhood health behaviors, with a particular focus on weight, nutrition, food insecurity and family-based interventions. I am honored to have received this fellowship and excited to deepen my knowledge while collaborating with the researchers at UB. I am incredibly grateful for the support and am thrilled to be a part of such impactful work.”
Karlygash Rakhimova
Hometown: Almaty, Kazakhstan
Program: Higher Education PhD
“As a mother, scholar and former corporate leader, I am passionate about improving access to education for international students and parent-students, like me, who juggle multiple roles while pursuing their academic dreams. This fellowship empowers me to conduct research that will advocate for policies and practices that better support these underrepresented groups. I hope my work will inspire institutions to create more inclusive and compassionate learning environments where every student can thrive.”
The UB Graduate School Fellowship helps fund outstanding graduate students at UB.
Jingning He
Hometown: Hunan Province, China
Program: Curriculum, Instruction and the Science of Learning PhD
“I am deeply interested in the professional development of novice teachers, particularly in their identity development. I look forward to conducting longitudinal research during my PhD studies to gain insights into the complexities of teacher identity and to assist teachers in navigating the “reality shock” of their early career. This fellowship has enabled me to relocate to a new country, provided me with a cross-cultural perspective on research, allowed me to collaborate with exceptional colleagues, and supported my ongoing passion for teacher research.”
Shuvo Kundu
Hometown: Dhaka, Bangladesh
Program: Information Science PhD
“My academic and professional goals are to study how political misinformation spreads and to find ways to stop it using technology and information science. The Graduate School Fellowship greatly reduces the financial burden of my education, allowing me to focus more on my research. With this support, I hope to create solutions that improve the quality of information people rely on, which can lead to better decisions in society.”
Aloysius Mwanje Senono
Hometown: Kampala, Uganda
Program: Information Science PhD
“My academic and professional goals are centered around advancing research in data literacy and data feminism in marginalized communities. This fellowship will provide me with the necessary resources and technical support to develop impactful, data-driven interventions that empower underrepresented groups, leading to more equitable access to health care, education and economic opportunities. Through this work, I aim to make a positive impact in the lives of marginalized groups, particularly those who have been excluded historically from key socioeconomic opportunities.”
Vi Trinh
Hometown: Hanoi, Vietnam
Program: Curriculum, Instruction and the Science of Learning PhD
“My research interests lie in social justice issues, technology and curriculum. I seek to answer the question: “How can we as educators not only design courses that promise a well-rounded curriculum, but also promote positive social changes?” With my fellowship, I have more access to an inclusive learning environment and a wide range of opportunities that allow me to be a part of the community as a learner and contributor.”
UB’s Arthur A. Schomburg Fellowship Program provides financial support for master’s and doctoral students who contribute to the diversity of the student body, and have overcome a disadvantage or other barrier to success in higher education.
Kylee Healy
Hometown: Wilson, New York
Program: Educational Psychology and Quantitative Methods PhD
“My research interests focus on educational inequalities and the potential applications of artificial intelligence in education. The opportunity to be a fellow provides me with the resources necessary to complete meaningful research that can positively impact communities that often are overlooked and underserved.”
Rachel Hechinger
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Program: Counseling Psychology and School Psychology PhD
“I am passionate about making eating disorder treatment more accessible for marginalized people, including people with larger bodies and those with cooccurring disorders. I hope to help create evidence-based approaches to fight weight stigma in eating disorder spaces and to create resources for individuals typically left out of these spaces.”
Abigail Henry
Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Program: Curriculum, Instruction and the Science of Learning PhD
“Teaching Black history is endlessly hard and yet forever rewarding. My priority is to use my experience and research to further develop high-quality Black history teaching resources, assessments and pedagogies for the secondary classroom. I am honored to be a Schomburg Fellow for UB’s Center for K-12 Black History and Racial Literacy Education.”
Jahare Hudson
Hometown: Buffalo, New York
Program: Counseling Psychology and School Psychology PhD
“I plan to become a counseling psychologist, providing counseling services to minority groups harmed by systemic racism. I hope to advance the understanding of identity and intersectionality, as well as the effects of those within an individual. Particularly, I am interested in looking at these ideas within the Black queer community.”
Winter Linch
Hometown: Long Island, New York
Program: Educational Psychology and Quantitative Methods PhD
“My academic and professional goals focus on examining educational inequalities shaped by gender, family and societal factors across both Chinese and American contexts. This fellowship enables me to pursue a doctoral degree without financial constraints, allowing me to explore new research directions and deepen my engagement with my current areas of study.”
Bea Mask
Hometown: Denton, Texas
Program: Counseling Psychology and School Psychology PhD
“My research goals focus on school violence prevention and school climate. I am particularly interested in the sense of school safety for students and staff from LGBTQ+ and other marginalized identities. This fellowship allows me to focus my efforts on research and clinical experience to further serve and advocate for vulnerable communities.”
Shay Valley
Hometown: Enon, Ohio
Program: Higher Education PhD
“I primarily study trans and queer college students in hopes of improving the college campus and college experience for these populations. My current research focuses on how asexual and aromantic college students create healthy intimate relationships and how colleges can support these relationships.”