Minority Doctoral Loan Repayment Assistance Program
The Minority Doctoral Loan Repayment Assistance Program provides educational loan repayment assistance to eligible faculty employed within New Mexico’s public colleges and universities.
The purpose of the Minority Doctoral Loan Repayment Assistance Program is to increase the number of ethnic minorities and women available to teach engineering, physical or life sciences, mathematics and other academic disciplines in which ethnic minorities and women are demonstrably underrepresented in New Mexico’s colleges and universities.
Eligibility
To be considered for funding an applicant must:
- be citizen of the United States;
- have completed a doctoral degree in an eligible doctoral field of study (engineering, physical or life sciences, mathematics and other academic disciplines in which certain ethnic minorities or women are demonstrably underrepresented in the teaching faculty at the public college or university where the applicant is employed);
- be hired by a public post-secondary educational institution in New Mexico for a full time, tenure-track faculty position.
*Tenure track faculty position means a full-time faculty appointment at a public postsecondary educational institution that has passed any probationary period and can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances, as determined by the institution. Recipients who have completed their probationary period and serve an additional year in a tenure track faculty position shall receive credit for one year for the purpose of calculating any loan repayment award amounts.
When To Apply
The Minority Doctoral Loan Repayment Assistance Program application will open October 1, 2023. The application will close on November 1, 2023.
Where To Apply
The application is available at the bottom of the page October 1, 2023-November 1, 2023.
Selection Process
Preference shall be given applicants who have completed a postsecondary degree at the following institutions:
- Eastern New Mexico University
- New Mexico Highlands University
- New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
- New Mexico Military Institute
- New Mexico State University
- University of New Mexico
- Western New Mexico University
Applications will be scored on a variety of criteria including but not limited to, public postsecondary institution served, eligible doctoral field of study, total loan indebtedness, years of service in a tenure track faculty position, and prior loan repayment or other financial support received.
Awards
The maximum annual award is $25,000, however the actual award amount will be determined based on the applicant's overall reported educational debt at the time of application and available funding for the program. Participants may apply for renewal up to four years.
Obligation
The recipient shall sign a contract agreeing to teach in a full-time faculty position at a public college or university in New Mexico for a minimum of one year for each year a minority doctoral loan repayment assistance grant is awarded. If the recipient does not comply with the terms of the contract, the recipient shall reimburse the New Mexico Higher Education Department (NMHED) for all loan payments made on the recipient’s behalf, plus reasonable interest at a rate to be determined by the NMHED, unless acceptable extenuating circumstances are found for why the recipient cannot comply with the terms of the contract.