Buffett Institute Launches New Program to Support Early Childhood Research

OMAHA – A new fellowship program announced today by the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska will provide financial support and mentoring for advanced doctoral students within the university system.

The Buffett Early Childhood Institute Graduate Scholars program will award 1- and 2-year grants—each worth up to $25,000 annually—to a maximum of four doctoral students every year. The program is designed to foster the growth of diverse, exceptional graduate students conducting research about young children and their families, with particular attention to children placed at risk as a consequence of poverty and social and environmental circumstances.

The Buffett Institute Graduate Scholars program is the first financial support program for doctoral students who have reached Ph.D. candidacy at the University of Nebraska that focuses on young children and their development.

“The University of Nebraska has made a remarkable commitment on an interdisciplinary level to advancing research on young children, and the Buffett Institute believes strongly in strengthening those efforts,” said Samuel J. Meisels, founding executive director of the Buffett Institute. “We look forward to supporting and collaborating with talented doctoral students and faculty on the campuses.”

Meisels said the Buffett Institute Graduate Scholars program is intended to reach across traditional higher education boundaries, supporting high-quality research from diverse fields that impact young children, including health, education, social work, music, art, the neurosciences, and others. Multi-disciplinary research and practice—particularly from disciplines not typically associated with the field of early childhood education—and new methodologies will be encouraged.

The Buffett Graduate Scholars will work with their faculty mentors on a dissertation that represents an in-depth exploration of early childhood issues. The Institute will create opportunities for graduate students and mentors to communicate, network, and collaborate with one another.

Letters of intent from applicants are due March 15, 2016, and full applications must be submitted by April 15, 2016. Announcement of the inaugural award winners will be made by the end of June 2016. To view the Buffett Institute Graduate Scholars Request for Proposal, visit http://buffettinstitute.nebraska.edu/.

About the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska:
The Buffett Early Childhood Institute is an innovative research, practice, policy, and outreach institute that draws on the resources of the four University of Nebraska campuses. Dedicated to promoting the development and learning of children from birth through age 8, the Institute focuses especially on those who are at risk because of poverty, conditions of high stress and familial challenge, or developmental delays. Visit buffettinstitute.nebraska.edu for more information.