Graduate Fellowships

Applications are now closed for the 2024-25 cohort. 

For 2024-2025, 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 university,  including:

  • How should we understand the meaning of academic freedom and freedom of speech on college campuses?
  • What should a commitment to diversity and inclusion mean at the academy?
  • When controversies erupt on campus, what values should guide their resolution?

We will consider foundational values 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. 

Please note that fellows' own research need not be tied to these specific questions.  These questions serve as unifying points of inquiry that will frame discussion threads throughout the year.

Meet our current fellows

Program Structure

Fellows will attend a workshop that meets twice a month each quarter (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 2024-25 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?
  • CV
  • Unofficial transcript
  • Name of a faculty reference (just a name, a letter is not needed at this time) 

Apply now

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