2025-26 SEED Award Application

The Graduate and Professional Scholarly Excellence in Equity and Diversity (SEED) Awards honor graduate and professional students at the University of Minnesota whose research and scholarly interests are focused on issues of equity, diversity, and/or social justice, and who demonstrate outstanding creativity, innovation, and potential for scholarly and/or professional excellence in their discipline or field. In addition, SEED Award recipients will demonstrate experience with or commitment to serving or working with under-served, underrepresented or marginalized populations.

Up to five graduate and one professional SEED Awards with a value of $2,000 each will be awarded as a scholarship for Fall 2025. Three of the graduate SEED Awards are provided by the Dennis R. Clayton Graduate Fellowship. The SEED Award recipients are typically presented and honored at the 2025 University of Minnesota Equity and Diversity Breakfast.

Application Deadline: 11:59 p.m. (CST), Friday, April 11th, 2025

STUDENT INFORMATION

First Name *

MI

Last Name *

City *

State *

ZIP *

Cell Phone No.

Home Phone No.

UMN Email *

Student ID# *

Campus or Local Address *

Are you in a graduate or professional program?
(Not sure? Find your program on this site: https://apps.grad.umn.edu/lists/GradProfessional/ in the right column) *

College: *

Degree Track (i.e. Masters, PhD, etc) *

Graduate Program *

GPA (Cumulative) *

Please select your Student Status: *

DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

This demographic information is used for recording the demographic diversity of the Graduate SEED Award applicant and awardee pools. Only members of the Graduate School Diversity Office and the Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards will have access to this information. The SEED Award review committee will not see your responses. Your responses will be kept private and secure. The information will not be used for a discriminatory purpose. Where possible, you have the option not to disclose how you identify.

Please select your First Generation college student status.
First Generation is an individual first in their immediate family to complete an undergraduate degree. *

Do you identify with as a member of the LGBTQ+ community?
Ex: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Two-Spirit, Pansexual, Agender, Muxe, Genderqueer, Māhū, etc. *

Please enter your pronouns below.
Pronouns are words that people use to refer to each other. Ex: he/him/his, she/her/hers, they/them/theirs, ze/zir/zirs, etc. *

Please select your Disability Status. *

Please select your Race and/or Ethnicity (check all that apply): *

REQUIRED ATTACHMENTS

Abstract
An abstract describing your current scholarly research, thesis or capstone experience.

- Statement Length: 500-word maximum, single spaced

- This document should be attached as a PDF and saved in the following format:
LastName, FirstName_Abstract.pdf

Narrative Statement
A narrative statement discussing how your academic and/or personal experiences at the University of Minnesota have contributed to your thinking about issues of equity, diversity, and social justice. Give examples of your experiences or involvement with equity, diversity, and or social justice.

- Statement Length: 500 - 1,000 words, single-spaced

- This document should be attached as a PDF and saved in the following format:
LastName, FirstName_Narrative.pdf

Current Curriculum Vitae (CV)

- Your CV should be attached as a PDF and saved in the following format:
LastName, FirstName_CV.pdf

APPLICATION CHECKLIST

A complete SEED Award application consists of the following four items. Please mark each check box to indicate completion. Incomplete applications will not be considered. *

1. Narrative Statement (500 - 1,000 words)

2. Abstract (500 words max)

3. Curriculum Vitae (CV)

DISCLOSURE

I hereby certify that the information provided on this application is, to the best of my knowledge, accurate and true. All required documentation is enclosed. I hereby authorize the release of information, including that contained in my Admissions application, to internal and external selection committee members as may be required to determine my eligibility for a scholarship.

Please sign using your computer mouse. *

clear

To obtain a record of this application, print this page after saving your information.

You will not be able to access this page after the deadline.

SAVE/UPDATE: Used to save or update the nomination. Choose this option if required information is missing, or if you wish the page to remain open so that you may print a copy of this form. Saved information will overwrite any previous information and become immediately accessible to Graduate School staff. You may continue to edit the nomination until the nomination deadline.

SUBMIT: Used to submit a completed nomination. You may only select this option if all required information has been completed. You may continue to edit the submitted nomination until the nomination deadline. Saved or submitted changes will overwrite any previous information.

Application deadline: 11:59 p.m. (CST), Friday, April 11th, 2025.