Funding Priorities

How to make a gift | Funding Priorities | Gifts in Action

Graduate Annual Fund

Gifts to the Annual Fund directly support public policy students by providing fellowship and internship funding. Strong financial aid packages are essential to our ability to recruit and retain students who will be the leaders of the future. Fellowship funding enables the Ford School to compete with other policy schools for the most talented students. Internship support is critical because it enables students to take the internships most relevant to their careers, rather than having to choose an internship based on salary.

Meet 2012 Annual Fund Intern Mackenzie Knowling.

Meet 2011 Annual Fund Fellow Ben Curtiss-Lusher.

For more information about the Graduate Annual Fund, please contact fspp-devar@umich.edu or make a gift now.

Undergraduate Annual Fund

Gifts to the Undergraduate Annual Fund help to enhance and strengthen our new undergraduate program by assisting students in supplemental educational pursuits. These opportunities range from internships to study abroad experiences and other real-world applications of the skills that they are developing at the Ford School.

For more information about the Undergraduate Annual Fund, please contact fspp-devar@umich.edu or make a gift now.

Endowed Student Support

A gift of $250,000 will provide endowment funding for a graduate student fellowship that substantially strengthens the ability of the Ford School to attract and retain first-rate students. Philanthropic support plays an important role as our students often graduate with significant debt, which they cannot quickly repay if they choose a career in public service. An endowment fund established to provide student support will help reduce student debt levels and enable students to pursue public sector careers. [Learn more]

For more information about Endowed Student Support, please contact Dan Ginis.

Endowed Faculty Support

A gift of $2 million will endow a senior faculty professorship with tenure in the Ford School. Such an appointment is made by the Dean and commended to the University Board of Regents by the Provost and Chief Academic Officer. Endowed professorships are reserved for scholars of national and often international stature, who have made major contributions to the academic discipline of public policy and whose record of teaching, research and publication is highly distinguished. [Learn more]

For more information about Endowed Faculty Support, please contact Dan Ginis.

Research Centers

Support of the Ford School's research centers helps to maintain the school's standing as a premiere policy research institution.

For more information about Research Center Support, please contact Dan Ginis.

Dean’s Discretionary Fund

A gift toward the endowed Dean’s Discretionary Fund will provide much needed financial support for projects for which there is no other source of funds. Examples of past projects supported by the Dean’s Discretionary Fund include providing support for unpaid student internships, supporting junior faculty research projects and faculty exchange programs, and funding other strategic initiatives that arise throughout the course of the year.

For more information about the Dean’s Discretionary Fund, please contact Dan Ginis.