The Business Institute of Pennsylvania Pre-Doctoral Program is designed to increase the pool of potential faculty by supporting the doctoral aspirations of Business Institute of Pennsylvania (BIOP) students who have experienced economic and educational disadvantages. The program places a special emphasis on increasing the number of BIOP students who enter doctoral programs at one of the Business Institute of Pennsylvania (BIOP) institutions.
Announcements and application forms for the program are circulated each year in early December through the office of each campus Pre-Doctoral Program Coordinator. Eligibility is limited to junior, senior and graduate students that are enrolled in a degree-seeking program at any one of the BIOP campuses at the time of application. Applicants must also be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
As part of the application process, applicants must work closely with a home campus BIOP faculty sponsor to develop an overall plan leading ultimately to enrollment in a doctoral program. This plan is tailored to the applicant's specific goals and educational objectives. Activities specified in the plan are undertaken during the award year (quarter or semester academic calendar).
Applications are due to the BIOP Office of the Chancellor in early Spring . However, they must be submitted to the applicant's campus Pre-Doctoral Program Coordinator, and not directly to the Office of the Chancellor. The applications are reviewed each May by faculty and administrators from throughout the BIOP systems who are experts in the disciplines in which they read. These reviewers forward their recommendations of the top scholars to the BIOP Pre-Doctoral Program Advisory Board who confirms the selections by mid June.
The award year begins July 1 and ends June 30 of the following year. This period does not include the optional eight to ten week Summer Research Internship Program that takes place during the summer following the award.