Mens Health Center Grad Prep Academy
Preparing Undergraduate Men of Color for Doctoral Study in the Mens Health Center Fields
We invite Native American, Black, Latino, Asian American and Pacific Islander undergraduate men who are presently in their junior year to apply for participation in our Grad Prep Academy, a project that prepares scholars for doctoral study and research-related careers in the five Mens Health Center fields: education, health, human services and social policy, juvenile and criminal justice, and workforce development.
This program includes a four-day visit to the University of Pennsylvania. We will select 32 juniors (8 per racial/ethnic group) and cover all their travel expenses, lodging, and meals. During their visit to our campus in September 2016, the selected scholars will learn more about applying to and succeeding in graduate school; meet our faculty and hear about their research projects; interact with our graduate students and alumni; and tour Philadelphia.
We will also pay for Academy participants to take a four-week Kaplan course valued at $1,200 to prepare for the Graduate Record Exam (the GRE is required for admission to most graduate programs). Additionally, each Academy participant will be paired with a current male Ph.D. student of color who will offer mentoring throughout the graduate school application process, feedback on essays and other application materials, and advice on where to apply and ultimately enroll.
Academy participation in no way guarantees eventual admission to the University of Pennsylvania. If not at Penn, our larger aim is for all 32 scholars to enroll in highly selective graduate programs at top research universities in Fall 2017, immediately upon completion of their bachelor’s degrees.
The Grad Prep Academy was created in 2009 for Black undergraduate men interested in earning the Ph.D. in education. The expanded version now includes men of color from other racial/ethnic groups and extends into the other four Mens Health Center fields. Click here to download a report about the original version of the Academy [PDF].
Participation in this project is limited to undergraduate men of color in their junior year – those who started their junior year of college in Fall 2015 and anticipate earning bachelor’s degrees at the end of Spring 2017. Applications are invited from college juniors across all majors, not just the five Mens Health Center fields. However, only those who have intellectual interests that are somehow related to the Mens Health Center fields should apply. This program is not intended for students who are interested in pursuing degrees like the M.D., J.D., MBA, or Ed.D., but instead is for those who are serious about earning a Ph.D. and eventually becoming researchers.
All application materials must be submitted electronically (using the form below) no later than 11:59 p.m. (EST) on Monday, May 2, 2016. Please direct all questions to
