Advanced Opportunity Program Fellowship Guidelines

About the Advanced Opportunity Program Fellowship

The Advanced Opportunity Program Fellowship is provided to the Graduate School by the Universities of Wisconsin and funded by the State of Wisconsin. Advanced Opportunity Program Fellowships are designed to assist traditionally underrepresented racial/ethnic minority students as well as non-minority disadvantaged students to enter and complete a graduate degree at UWM. The Advanced Opportunity Program Fellowship (AOPF) is meant to provide recipients with the opportunity to fund their graduate education without the constraints of working while attending graduate school.

All UWM Graduate School Fellowships require full-time graduate program degree enrollment. Approximately 25 AOPFs are awarded annually to qualified graduate students. Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. The AOPF application is open to prospective, newly admitted, and currently enrolled UWM graduate students. While prospective graduate students may apply for the AOPF, please note each program determines internal eligibility for nomination to committee review.

Awards should be limited to members of traditionally under-represented minorities and other non-minority disadvantaged graduate students. Applicants shall be considered in their entirety and reviewed individually, and no applicant shall receive an AOPF simply because they fulfill one or more of the listed eligible classifications. Preference for AOPF awards should be given to qualified resident minority and other eligible resident disadvantaged non-minority graduate students.

  • Underrepresented racial minorities:
    • African American
    • American Indian/Alaskan Native
    • Hispanic/Latino/a
    • Southeast Asian (statutorily defined) – Specific to Hmong, Laotian, Vietnamese, Cambodian
  • Disadvantaged non-minorities:
    • Alumni or participant of The Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program – Must have a COE McNair Fee Waiver on file with the UWM Graduate School.
    • Childhood recipient of public assistance – Please explain as tied to current eligibility for AOPF in application.
    • First-generation college student with high financial need – Must have a current FAFSA on file with UWM Student Financial Services to confirm high financial need.
    • Otherwise disadvantaged to pursue post-graduate education – Please explain as tied to current eligibility for AOPF in application.
    • Students who participated in Student Support Services, Upward Bound, Talent Search, and other TRIO-like special service programs for disadvantaged students. – Please identify special service program in application.

Note: Graduate School fellowship stipends and tuition waivers count as financial aid. To better understand the financial impact of either an assistantship or fellowship, see Financial Impact of Assistantships and Fellowships.

2026-2027 Advanced Opportunity Program Fellowship Awards

UWM Graduate School Fellowship awards are for full-time study only and include an academic year stipend, coverage of in-state and out-of-state tuition, health insurance, and a $1,000 travel award. While the AOPF includes a tuition waiver, fellowship awardees retain full responsibility for payment of segregated fees and additional instructional/course fees (including distance education) above basic graduate tuition levels. These fees are to be paid by the AOPF recipient and are due at the start of each semester. The UWM Student Financial Services office provides more information on tuition and fees through this link uwm.edu/finances/finances/estimating-your-costs/tuition/. The 2026-2027 academic year stipend for AOPF recipients in a master’s program is $16,000. AOPF recipients in a doctoral program (PHD, DNP, DPT) are awarded he academic year stipend of $18,000. Health insurance options provided by the Universities of Wisconsin can be explored through this Benefits Quick Guide: www.wisconsin.edu/ohrwd/benefits/download/quickguidegrad.pdf.

AOPF Application Submission and Selection Process

The applicant’s complete AOPF application, including the two letters of recommendation, must be submitted by the graduate program’s internal deadline. Contact your graduate program representative for internal application deadlines. Following the internal application deadline, each program evaluates all applications received, selects applicants for nomination, completes all nomination procedures, and forwards nominations to the formal competition. The Advanced Opportunity Program Fellowship Selection Committee reviews nominations and selects recipients based on application requirements and departmental assessment, through use of the AOP Fellowship Application Rubric.

Application Requirements

  1. Identification and Contact Information
  2. Residency and Citizenship Status
  3. Communication of Eligibility
  4. Academic History & Details
  5. Transcripts – Pulled from UWM Grad School application or PAWS
  6. Graduate Degree Program Information
  7. Personal Statement Prompts that include:
    • Statement of academic and career goals
    • Contribution to diversity in higher education
    • Scholarly and creative accomplishments
  8. Two Strong Letters of Recommendation

Letters of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation assist the AOPF Selection Committee in evaluating nominated AOPF applications. A strong letter of recommendation will 1) highlight the strengths and exceptional qualities of the applicant; 2) demonstrate how the applicant stands out from others in their field of study; 3) elaborate on special achievements of the applicant or the potential for such; and 4) evaluate the applicant’s scholarly impact, capacity, potential and/or productivity in their field of study. Please make sure to contextualize the applicant’s scholarly impact with their graduate program and field, keeping in mind that reviewers will come from a variety of disciplines and will vary in familiarity with the applicant’s discipline. Letters of recommendation should focus on:

  •  An understanding of the student’s academic background
  •  The applicant’s career goals
  •  The applicant’s relevant professional experiences
  •  The applicant’s potential to contribute to their graduate field of study and professional workforce.
  •  The applicant’s scholarly and professional accomplishments.
  •  Any pertinent details that distinguish this student from other applicants.

Letters of recommendation should be on letterhead, no more than two pages in length, and submitted in a PDF format. All recommenders will receive a link to submit their recommendation letter once the fellowship applicant has completed their portion of the fellowship application. Letter writers will not receive a link to upload the recommendation letter until the applicant submits their portion of the application. Please check with the applicant for the specific letter of recommendation deadline, as all letters must be submitted by that date for the fellowship application to be considered complete and eligible for graduate program nomination review.

The Advanced Opportunity Program Fellowship Renewal

At the recommendation of the recipient’s faculty advisor and with approval from the Graduate School, the AOPF may be renewed for additional academic year(s). AOPF recipients maintaining full-time enrollment a master’s program may apply for a second academic year of AOPF funding. Full-time Doctoral students may apply for two additional academic years of AOPF funding. Should an AOPF Fellow in a master’s program in a good standing move into their department’s Doctoral program, they may request the additional year(s) of AOPF funding, though not qualifying for more than three academic years overall. Eligible recipients of the AOPF apply for renewal funding through the fellowship web application. Renewed funding is not guaranteed. AOPF Renewals are contingent on meeting program requirements and level of academic progress toward degree as identified by each fellow’s advisor. No student may qualify for more than three years (six semesters) of combined support in their master’s and doctoral studies. The Advanced Opportunity Program Fellowship does not support summer enrollment for any award offered for the Fall/Spring academic year. Recipients may not defer an AOPF or AOPF Renewal award.

UWM Graduate School Fellowship Compliance

All fellowship recipients must be enrolled in a graduate degree program at UWM during the award period. Fellows must meet the Graduate School continuation requirements each semester and comply with the following UWM Graduate Faculty Committee regulations:

  1. Fellowship nominees/awardees must maintain a 3.0 GPA and make reasonable progress toward their UWM graduate degree. Fellowship nominees/awardees cannot be on academic probation and cannot have engaged in academic or non-academic misconduct during their current graduate program, based on transcript notations at the time of nomination/award. If the fellowship nominees/awardees become ineligible, the graduate fellowship award/offer is forfeited, effective the date that the sanctions are implemented.
  2. Fellowship recipients must carry and complete a full load of 8-12 graduate credits each semester during the academic year and a minimum of five graduate credits if the fellowship is held during the summer session.
  3. Doctoral candidates who have attained dissertator status must carry three dissertator credits per semester.
  4. Doctoral students who are in preliminary status must carry one research credit during their prelim semester.
  5. Fellowship recipients may not hold any other external or internal fellowship or scholarship concurrently with a Graduate School award, except for small monetary awards under $10,000; the UWM Chancellor’s Graduate Student Award; or a philanthropic award.
  6. Fellowship recipients may not accept full-time employment. University appointments (maximum of 37.5% TA, PA, or RA), or other student outside employment of up to 15 hours per week, are allowable.

2025-2026 Timeline for 2026-2027 Advanced Opportunity Fellowships

        October 15, 2025For All AOPF Applicants, Graduate Programs, Faculty Advisors: The Graduate School Fellowship application system launches. New applicants pursuing the AOPF may open, begin, and complete their ’26-’27 AOPF application. It is highly recommended for new AOPF applicants to consult with their Graduate Program Representative prior to starting the AOPF application, to learn of any additional requirements set by their graduate program. This includes the internal application deadline. Current ’25-’26 AOPF recipients may open, begin, and complete their AOPF Renewal application. Current AOPF recipients seeking ’26-’27 AOPF funding must consult with their graduate faculty advisor to discuss additional application needs.
      December 2025For New AOPF Applicants: Deadline to submit the ’26-’27 AOPF application. Please consult your Graduate Program Representative  to learn your deadline date. Exact deadline date varies by graduate program. New AOPF applications are due and must be marked as “complete” within the app system prior to the graduate program’s internal deadline. No exceptions will be made.
  December 2025 – Early January 2026For Current AOPF Awardees Eligible to Renew the AOPF: Deadline to apply for the ’26-’27 Advanced Opportunity Program Fellowship Renewal application. Current AOP Fellows and their Faculty Advisors must apply for the current awardee’s AOPF Renewal to set the application as complete within the web app system. No exceptions will be made. Please consult your Faculty Advisor to learn your deadline date.
  January 15, 2026For Graduate Programs and Faculty Advisors: Deadline for graduate programs to complete required evaluations of nominated applicants. All Graduate School Fellowship nominations must be submitted in the Graduate School Fellowship application system by each graduate program representative before January 15, 2026.
  Mid-March 2026  For All AOPF Applicants, Graduate Programs, Faculty Advisors:   Announcement of all UWM Graduate School Fellowship awards.
  April 15, 2026For All AOPF Applicants, Graduate Programs, Faculty Advisors:   Deadline for all UWM Graduate School Fellowship recipients to accept any UWM Graduate School fellowship offer, per the Council of Graduate Schools April 15 Resolution. 
UWM Graduate School Fellowship Application

For questions regarding the Advanced Opportunity Program Fellowship, please email gs-fellowships-aop@uwm.edu.

Instructions for Graduate Programs

Funding is very limited and Advanced Opportunity Program Fellowships are extremely competitive. Therefore, graduate programs are asked to be highly selective in nominating no more than three students for an AOPF. Nominees should represent exceptional and academically excellent students in your graduate program. Only students with all completed answers and documents will be considered nominated. Please verify all information in the application submitted by each nominee, confirming application status as complete with two letters of recommendation.

After the applicant’s information has been verified, use the online application to submit a summary statement detailing why the nominee is a strong candidate for the AOPF. After submitting nomination materials, please notify all your program’s AOPF applicants (non-nominated as well as nominated) regarding the status of their fellowship application. Please submit your nominations by Thursday, January 15, 2026.