May 26, 2009
New VCU Alumna Named NSF Graduate Research Fellow
Share this story
A new Virginia Commonwealth University graduate has received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to support her pursuit of doctoral studies.
Nicole Constance of Fredericksburg graduated from VCU this month with bachelor’s degrees in psychology and anthropology. Constance, who graduated from Courtland High School, will use the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to attend Penn State to participate in Ph.D. programs in human development and family studies and in demography. Constance hopes to pursue a career as a professor following her doctoral studies.
As an undergraduate, Constance was involved in several research projects in the Department of Psychology. For her thesis, she focused on the influence of neighborhood quality on the socialization of coping under the guidance of Wendy Kliewer, Ph.D., professor and director of graduate studies in the Department of Psychology. Constance plans to build upon this research as she pursues her graduate degree.
"I am delighted that Nicole has received this honor from NSF,” Kliewer said. “I have every confidence that Nicole will make significant contributions to the fields of developmental psychology and prevention science. Nicole has been a wonderful student with whom to work and I have enjoyed seeing her thinking develop in the two-and-a-half years she has been a part of my lab."
NSF Graduate Research Fellows receive three years of graduate support, including a $30,000 annual stipend, a $10,500 cost-of-education allowance, access to the TeraGrid Supercomputer and a $1,000, one-time international travel allowance.
The mission of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program is to support students who are pursuing graduate degrees in science, technology, engineering or mathematics or social sciences, including psychology, in the United States or abroad. The NSF offers 900 to 1,600 graduate fellowships to students intending to enroll in a research-based master’s or doctoral degrees.
“It is quite an accomplishment for Nicole to be selected for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship before she has begun her graduate studies,” said Jeff Wing, national scholarship coordinator in the Honors College at VCU. “Very few students are selected for the GRF until after they have begun their graduate studies. That she was selected as a graduating senior speaks volumes about the maturity of her undergraduate research and the quality of the mentoring she has received from Dr. Kliewer and others.”
Students and alumni interested in learning more about the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program should visit http://www.honors.vcu.edu/nationalscholar, or contact Jeff Wing at jawing@vcu.edu or 804-828-1803.
Subscribe to VCU News
Subscribe to VCU News at newsletter.vcu.edu and receive a selection of stories, videos, photos, news clips and event listings in your inbox.