Thanks to a generous gift from ISU alumni Jim (’78 agricultural business) and Marcia (’78 family environment) Borel, the Borel Global Fellows Program was launched in 2018. The Borel Global Fellows Program supports students from Sub-Saharan Africa to pursue graduate studies at Iowa State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The program seeks to help eradicate food and nutrition insecurity while promoting wealth and health for subsistence farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa by educating scientists at Iowa State University who will become knowledge leaders that reside and work in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Eligibility

All faculty members with a majority appointment in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State University may submit an application for partial graduate student funding. To be considered for the Borel Global Fellows Program, the student must:

• be admitted into a graduate program in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• be a citizen of a Sub-Saharan African country
• commit to completing graduate studies as a means for preparation of a career contributing to food security in Sub-Saharan Africa
• complete the majority of their graduate research in Sub-Saharan Africa
• demonstrate an intention to work and live in Sub-Saharan Africa after completing their graduate studies

Funding

Up to $25,000 per year per student of funding is available to support graduate student stipends (or a combination of a partial stipend and research funding) for up to 30 months for MS students and up to 42 months for PhD students. Funding for travel by the student and advisor to and from Africa for research purposes also is available.

Application Process

Completed application will include a cover letter from the major professor, a CV of the student, and a copy of the student’s goal statement. Due date each year: January 15.Cover letters will address the commitment of the major professor to provide the remaining required funding (typically tuition, fees and research costs) and his/her commitment to support the student’s research in Sub-Saharan Africa. Applications are not accepted directly from graduate students. Applications may only be submitted by Iowa State University professors to request support for graduate students who have already been accepted into a graduate program in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. 

Iowa State University faculty interested in submitting an application can contact the Office for Global Engagement staff. 

Current Borel Global Fellows Program Recipients