FFAR Fellows: Stipend + Professional Development Category Grant

The FFAR Fellows Program offers professional development and leadership training for PhD students in food and agriculture sciences across the U.S. and Canada. Led by North Carolina State University, the program includes in-person meetings, virtual sessions, and mentorship opportunities. Students receive a combined stipend of $65,000 annually, with a minimum of 50% sponsorship from non-academic sources. The program emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration, career exploration beyond academia, and the development of essential skills for future leaders in the field.

NOTE: To be considered for the fellowship, students must submit all application materials by the due dates, including the confirmation of financial commitment from a university, industry, or analogous sponsor.
Background
The FFAR Fellows Program offers leadership and professional development training to PhD students studying food and agriculture-related sciences in the U.S. and Canada. North Carolina State University leads the initiative, which provides Fellows with training, networking opportunities, and peer support.
Over the 3-year period members of each cohort (25-30 fellows) attend four in-person meetings plus monthly virtual sessions, create and execute annual professional development plans, and network and establish mentor-mentee relationships with industry scientists and others outside of academia.
Program Details
The Fellows Program kicks-off with a one-week orientation session in August at North Carolina State University (NCSU) and a second session at NCSU the following April. These Year 1 sessions and the monthly webinars focus on self-exploration, self-management, creating networks of support (peer, mentor, professional), and improving communication and teamwork skills within an organization. The residential sessions include site visits at agriculture industry locations in Research Triangle Park and meetings with industry scientists and extension leaders including alumni FFAR Fellows.
In Year 2 of the program Fellows have the opportunity to meet in conjunction with the World Food Prize gathering in Des Moines, Iowa (or another university-based location). The Fellows’ spring Year 2 meeting is held in Washington, D.C. This meeting and webinars in Year 2 focus on communicating with policy -makers, understanding the policy process, and exploring careers in the public sector and NGOs. In Year 2 fellows also train to become better mentors and supervisors and how to lead through influencing. They also complete a 360 process whereby they receive largely anonymous feedback from their advisor, mentors, peers, and those they supervise.
The Fellows final in Year 3 has varied, with the most current cohort meeting in St. Louis with with tours of Bayer and the Donald Danforth Center. In Year 3 fellows receive training on creating and managing effective meetings and group and 1:1 assistance in preparing their CV/resume and interview skills for the job search.
Each year fellows complete a Professional Development Plan and have interactions with their mentors (their advisor, and industry mentor, and an additional mentor depending on interests) to identify and achieve their PDP goals. Fellows also receive extensive training on communicating their science in presentation format, poster format, and in the form of a 3-minute recorded talk.
Objectives of the FFAR Fellows Program
Develop leadership competencies that enhance current and future individual productivity and well-being, and enhance Fellows capacity to contribute to the public goodConnect young scientists across research domains and geographic areas to promote multi-disciplinary understanding and problem-solvingBroaden students understanding of their career options and create links to sectors beyond academia (industry, government, NGO)
Students accepted into the Stipend/Professional Development category will receive $49,500 each year to cover tuition, fees, stipend, and related costs. Students applying to this category should already have a defined research project and an industry or analogous sponsor. The sponsor(s) will commit $32,500 per year to the Fellowship, matched equally by FFAR. The total of $65,000/annually is distributed as follows: $49,500 for student stipend tuition, fees, etc.; $5,500 for university overhead; and $10,000 retained by the FFAR Fellowship Program lead institution, North Carolina State University, for program management and costs of the professional development training.
For the Stipend/Professional Development category applicants must have at least 50% of the sponsorship pledged by a non-academic entity (e.g., company, commodity organization, foundation, state government) to be considered. The remaining funds can be from departmental or university accounts as long as the source is non-federal (examples of federal funds not accepted: USDA, NIH, or NSF grant funds).

Eligibility

Student applicants must be enrolled or accepted by a PhD program at a U.S. or Canadian university.Completion of a MS degree or one year of a PhD program by specified date.Acceptance in a PHD program by specified date.Three years remaining in the degree program A confirmed PhD faculty advisorConfirmation of a financial sponsor (sponsors can include companies, foundations, NGOs, grower organizations; university departments can also sponsor students using non-federal funds).TOEFL Score indicating a minimum of 23/30 for listening, speaking, writing (exclusions for those with an undergraduate or master’s degree from programs with English as a language of instruction; or students from any country where English is an official language)Residency or study visaAvailability to attend the orientation week at NC State in RaleighEagerness to participate in the FFAR Fellows and ability to spend the equivalent of a 1-hour course each semester on fellows training and activities

Ineligibility

Applications with less than 50% of total sponsorship derived from a non-academic source are not eligible for consideration.