The Graduate School is grateful to the support offered by the Portage Health Foundation for our graduate students. Graduate Assistantships provide one semester of support to PhD candidates. These assistantships are available through the generosity of the Portage Health Foundation. They are intended to recognize outstanding PhD talent in health-oriented research areas. Applicants must be a catalyst for promoting and improving the overall health of Houghton, Keweenaw, Baraga, and Ontonagon communities through one of the following:
- health research and technology development
- health education or preventive and wellness initiatives
- rural healthcare access, informatics, and assessment of care
Eligibility
Students are eligible if all of the following criteria are met:
- Must be a PhD student conducting a research or outreach project that will promote and/or improve the overall health of Houghton, Keweenaw, Baraga, and Ontonagon communities.
- Must be a PhD candidate at the time of application.
- Must be 2 years after starting the graduate program at the time of application.
- Must not be a prior recipient of a PHF Graduate Assistantship.
- Preference will be given to applicants with long-standing local connections to Houghton, Keweenaw, Baraga, or Ontonagon county.
Previous recipients of a PHF Graduate Assistantship are not eligible to reapply.
Application Procedure
Nominations for PHF Graduate Assistantships will be accepted each fall semester, spring semester, and summer session, for funding in the next semester, pending availability of funds.
Nominations for fall 2023 PHF Graduate Assistantships will be accepted beginning May 15, 2023. Applications are due no later than 4 p.m. on June 13, 2023 in the Graduate School.
A graduate program may nominate as many students as are eligible. Please deliver completed application packages to the Graduate School in electronic format as one PDF file to the Graduate School (gradschool@mtu.edu).
Application
Applicants will prepare an application package that consists of the following items. It is preferred that this package is e-mailed to the Graduate School (gradschool@mtu.edu) as a single, static, PDF file.
- A complete application form. The form was created in Microsoft Word, and will work best in Word on a PC or Mac.
- A letter of support from the advisor and/or co-advisor.* The letter should:
- provide concrete information indicating what portion of the research and writing has been completed,
- describe the financial need of the candidate,
- describe the scholarly contribution of the student to published articles, and
- describe the significance of the research and impact to local community so that a
panel of faculty and Portage Health Foundation board members can understand the impact
and significance of the research.
*If the advisor and/or co-advisor prefer to maintain confidentiality, this letter may be sent directly to Dr. Debra Charlesworth (gradschool@mtu.edu). (a PDF via email is preferred)
- A letter from the department chair, college dean, or PI outlining the 1:1 match for requested funds. Tuition support from the department or another funding source can be applied towards the match. This information can be included in the advisor's support letter only if the advisor is providing the matching funds.
Evaluation
Applications will be evaluated by a panel of faculty representing each of Michigan Tech's Colleges in the competition. Applications will be evaluated on:
- The impact and significance of the research on our local community.
- The ability of the applicant to be a catalyst for promoting and improving the overall
health of Houghton, Keweenaw, Baraga, and Ontonagon communities through one of the
following:
- health research and technology development
- health education or preventive and wellness initiatives
- rural healthcare access, informatics, and assessment of care
- The candidate's contributions toward The Michigan Tech Plan now and their potential to make contributions in the future.
- The candidate's contributions to the community through community engagement and/or volunteering.
- The applicant's need for financial support.
Priority will be given to applicants originally from Houghton, Keweenaw, Baraga, or Ontonagon counties and that intend to complete their degree during the funding period.
Notification
All applicants will be notified of the panel's decision within three weeks of the due date.
Recipients
Recipients will be asked to:
- Write a thank-you note to the sponsor of the Portage Health Foundation.
- Attend and participate in relevant Michigan Tech/community health forums and presentations.
- Acknowledge PHF support in resulting research publications and presentations.
- Provide a final report to Michigan Tech to include in its report to the Portage Health Foundation.
- Provide a personal photo and personal statement to the University that helps us introduce
the recipient to the Portage Health Foundation Board.
- By providing this photo, the recipient allows the University to share it with the PHF Board, include on the Graduate School's webpage, include in print publications (including newspapers), share it on social media, and/or other press releases. Students may request to be excluded from inclusion on the webpage or other press releases.