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www.ed.gov/programs/jacobjavits/

The Jacob K. Javits Fellowship is a need based fellowship for students pursuing graduate degrees in selected fields of study of the arts, humanities and social sciences.

Subject to the availability of funds, a fellow receives the Javits fellowship annually for up to the lesser of 48 months or the completion of their degree. The fellowship consists of an institutional payment (accepted by the institution of higher education in lieu of all tuition and fees for the fellow) and a stipend (based on the fellow's financial need as determined by the measurements of the Federal Student Assistance Processing System. In fiscal year 2005, the institutional payment was $11,822 and the maximum stipend was $30,000.

Alternate Description

From the National Association of Fellowships Advisors

The program provides financial assistance to students of superior ability, as demonstrated by their achievements and exceptional promise, to undertake study at the doctoral and Master of Fine Arts (MFA) level in selected fields of the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Panels of experts appointed by the Javits Fellowship Board (Board) select fellows according to criteria established by the Board. Students must also demonstrate financial need by filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Brief Q & A

Q. I have a student who could qualify to apply for the Javits next year while in graduate school. However, I THOUGHT I saw something on their website that indicated that a student who is interested in applying for next year's fellowship must submit a financial aid form (downloaded from their website) to be considered in the pool. I am totally unfamiliar with the Javits so this is new for me. I would appreciate any insight.

A. The Javits is a need-based fellowship. Therefore, the student must file the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) which is actually a federal government form/process. The federal web site is: www.fafsa.ed.gov. Should your student receive the Javits award, your school will need to check the students federally accessed need reported back to your Financial Aid office and document it on the award paperwork. So again, all you have to do as far as the financial aid requirements, is make sure the student files his/her FAFSA at this time. However, students entering graduate programs are automatically considered financially independent for the purposes of the FAFSA.

Q. Does anyone out there know if a code must be entered on the FAFSA for the Javits? If so, please let me know what the code is. Also, does anyone know if parental information must be supplied for FAFSA recipients? These are queries from a Student. He believes that since FAFSA considers all grad students independent, the parent information is unnecessary; however, he couldn't find any explicit statement indicating that the parent information is not required.

Q. Does anyone know if Ethnomusicology would be considered an eligible field of study for the Javits?

A. Anthropology, Folk Life, Ethnic & Cultural Studies and other fields in Music are listed on http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/
announcements/2003-3/080103a.html so it would seem to fit-- but you might want to contact them directly to confirm.