Inaugural Presidential Ph.D. Fellows Announced

College Hall

Fourteen Penn Arts & Sciences graduate students are included in the inaugural class of Presidential Ph.D. Fellows announced by Penn President Amy Gutmann, Provost Wendell Pritchett, and Deputy Provost Beth Winkelstein.

“Our Ph.D. students embody our profound mission of creating new knowledge, understanding, and teaching that will shape the future,” said Gutmann upon the launch of the President’s Ph.D. Initiative last fall. “They make a tangible impact by tackling the world’s most significant challenges and most perplexing questions. Sustaining their world-changing scholarship will be more important than ever in a post-pandemic world.”

Drawing from the most accomplished and diverse Ph.D. trainees, the 33 2021 Presidential Ph.D. Fellows come from across the nine schools at Penn that offer Ph.D. programs. Each fellow will receive a three-year fellowship, including summer support and funds to support their research. The fellowship includes a 12-month stipend, tuition, fees, Penn Student Insurance coverage, and research funds. In 2021-22, the annual stipend will be $38,000 with research funds of $10,000/year. The fellowship will renew automatically for students in good academic standing.

The Arts & Sciences Presidential Ph.D. Fellows are:

Estevan Alemán (English)
Abdul Manan Bhat (Religious Studies)
Justin Bracks (Physics and Astronomy)
Aisha Chughtai (Anthropology and Perelman School of Medicine)
VanJessica Gladney (History)
Shaquilla Harrigan (Sociology)
Christopher Johnny (Chemistry)
Nazar Khalid (Demography)
Zain Rashid Mian (Comparative Literature and Literary Theory)
Marielle Ong (Mathematics)
Danielle Perry (Ancient History)
Giovani Rocha Batista Santos (Political Science and Africana Studies)
Kimberly St Julian Varnon (History)
Rachael Stephens (Anthropology and Graduate School of Education)

To read the full announcement, click here.

 

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