Graduate Fellowships

APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED for the 2023-24 cohort. Please check back in June 2024 to apply for the next cohort.

For 2023-2024, The McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society will offer up to 12 fellowships that are open to graduate students in PhD programs from across the university, in all fields of study. The fellowship creates a supportive community in which fellows will examine ethical questions specific to their research, and that more broadly relate to their roles as scholars and as citizens. In a workshop that meets throughout the year, fellows will present their own research and reflect upon the ethical questions it raises substantively and methodologically. In addition, the workshop will address enduring questions about ethics and the academy,  including:

  • What obligations do universities have to serve the public good?
  • How should we understand the meaning of academic freedom?
  • What role should diversity and inclusion play in the academy?
  • When controversies erupt on campus, what values should guide their resolution?

We will consider foundational values (e.g., justice, equality, freedom) underlying debates about these questions, and consider the tensions among them both in theory and in the policies that shape academic life. Through the workshop, fellows will gain exposure to an array of perspectives and methodologies for thinking about ethical issues specific to their research, within the academic community, and more broadly within society. 

Meet our current fellows

Program Structure

Fellows will attend a workshop that meets twice a month each quarter (likely Fridays 10:00am - 11:30am) to share their work in progress, hear from visiting speakers, and discuss topical readings. Fellows will receive a stipend of $1000 per quarter for three quarters. The fellowship is a commitment for the entirety of the 2023-24 academic year. Fellows must attend each of the workshop sessions.  The workshop will be in-person and fellows must be on campus each quarter to participate in the program.

Application Process

The fellowship is open to graduate students in Ph.D. programs from across the university. A complete application includes:​

  • Short response (500 words total) to the questions: Why do you want to participate in this program and how will it advance your work? What would you bring to the fellowship cohort?
  • CV
  • Unofficial transcript
  • Name of a faculty reference (just a name, a letter is not needed at this time)

For questions about the fellowship, email Collin Anthony Chen at canthony [at] stanford.edu (canthony[at]stanford[dot]edu).