Doctoral Scholars Program - Southern Regional Education Board
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Doctoral Scholars Program
Overview
July 14, 2015
SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program
The SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program provides multiple layers of support — not only financial assistance and research funding, but also career counseling, job postings and a scholar directory for networking and recruiting. Mentoring and advocating on behalf of scholars is crucial, and support continues into early careers as graduates become faculty members. Each fall, a thousand scholars and young faculty members convene to learn and support one another at the Institute on Teaching and Mentoring.
More than 1,300 Graduates and Counting
The goal of the Doctoral Scholars Program is to increase the number of students who earn doctorates and choose to become faculty at colleges and universities. Since its founding in 1993, the program has supported more than 2,300 scholars who have attended 113 institutions in more than 30 states.
Featured Post
November 23, 2020
Institute on Teaching and Mentoring
Upcoming Dates, Locations
2026
2027
October 29-November 1
Crystal Gateway Marriott
Arlington, Virginia
October 28-31
New Orleans Marriott
New Orleans, Louisiana
2028
2029
October 26-29
San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter
San Antonio, Texas
October 25-28
Atlanta Marriott Marquis
Atlanta, Georgia
News
July 12, 2025
Tiffany K. Harrison Named Director of SREB Doctoral Scholars Program
Tiffany K. Harrison, Ph.D., has been named director of the
Southern Regional Education Board’s State Doctoral Scholars
Program. She was promoted to the role after working with the
Doctoral Scholars Program under the leadership of founding
director, Ansley A. Abraham, who
retired July 1.
News
June 24, 2025
SREB Announcement
Ansley Abraham to Retire from SREB
His program has supported thousands of Ph.D. students
Ansley A. Abraham, Ph.D., founding director of the SREB-State
Doctoral Scholars Program, has announced his retirement from the
Southern Regional Education Board on July 1 after a 40-year
career with the organization.
Spotlight
April 8, 2024
SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program Cohort
2023-2024 DSP Scholar Cohort Photo Gallery
The SREB-State Doctoral Scholars
Program’s 2023-2024 Fellowship recipients are at
the forefront of groundbreaking research and innovation in their
pursued Ph.D. concentrations.
Webinar
October 12, 2023 -
4:00pm
5:00pm
Communicating Technical Topics to Non-Technical Audiences
SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program Webinar Series
View the webinar recording
Explaining research involving complex ideas makes sense to an
audience full of experts in the field, but to a
non-technical audience, the information may be confusing. In this
interactive discussion topics covered included:
Full details >
Resources
July 12, 2023
Outstanding Institute Alumnus Award
Submissions are open for the
2025 Outstanding
Institute Alumnus Award
For this award the Institute on Teaching and Mentoring is seeking
nominations of previous Institute scholars who have made
significant achievements and/or professional contributions during
their careers.
The deadline for nomination submissions is
August 31, 2025
Full details >
Outstanding Institute Alumnus Award Nomination Packet
Webinar
May 2, 2023 -
2:00pm
3:00pm
Self-Advocacy in Academia
SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program Webinar Series
View the webinar recording
Doctoral students and early career faculty may feel intimidated
when meeting with professors or colleagues and should be prepared
to advocate for themselves. This webinar was
an interactive discussion featuring tips to prepare for
challenging conversations and building confidence to overcome the
anxiety.
Full details
Blog post
February 13, 2023
MariTere Molinet, Guest Blogger
SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program Graduate
Giving Feedback: The art of speaking up to collaborate and empower
An occasional series from the Doctoral Scholars Program on postsecondary topics
When I first started my Ph.D. program, I was taken aback that none of the talks offered to graduate students focused on how to give feedback to others. Plenty of workshops discussed how to receive feedback, but coming from an industry where feedback was encouraged and expected, I felt we were missing a part of a very important equation.
Blog post
February 6, 2023
Pilanda Watkins-Curry, Ph.D., Guest Blogger
SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program Graduate
Pursuing the Ph.D. – How to Get Your Research Published
An occasional series from the Doctoral Scholars Program on
postsecondary topics
Publishing a journal article is a significant milestone for a
Ph.D. student’s academic journey. It showcases your contributions
to your respective field and acts as a validation of your
research skills and expertise. The process of publishing can
often seem overwhelming and time-consuming, but with the right
approach, it can be a relatively smooth experience.
Blog post
August 10, 2022
Jhonatan Saldana, Guest Blogger
SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program Participant
Putting Yourself Before Your Work
An occasional series from the Doctoral Scholars Program on
postsecondary topics
After working in research in one capacity or another for the past
six years, the most common topic I hear about when speaking with
fellow students is stress. We just can’t help but mention the
stress of working on a time crunch, the stress of submitting
grants, the stress of funding; stress is always an underlying
theme to our careers and one that appears to have no end.
However, not all is doom and gloom. There are many ways in which
we can try to balance our work-related stress, and below are two
which can get overlooked.
Blog post
August 2, 2022
Precious Hardy, Guest Blogger
SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program Participant
Structuring Your Dissertation Committee
An occasional series from the Doctoral Scholars Program on
postsecondary topics
In graduate school we are bombarded with decisions. We decide
whether to be quantitative, qualitative or mixed-methods
researchers, what classes to take, and what topic to expand on
for our dissertation. One of the most important decisions we
make, though, is deciding which faculty members will sit on our
dissertation committee.
Webinar
February 1, 2022 -
2:00pm
3:00pm
Starting a Grant-Funded Community or Campus-Based Initiative
SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program Webinar Series
View the webinar recording
In this webinar, SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program alumna and
Bob Belle Service Grant recipients Drs. Myrtede Alfred, Karin
Block-Cora and Cheryl Swanier shared their expertise on several
topics, including steps to conceptualizing an initiative,
organizing an initiative from an existing practice, how to
leverage funding and build relationships with similar programs,
and the connection between service and the tenure-track.
Full details
Blog post
October 8, 2020
Shani Collins Woods, Ph.D., Guest Blogger
SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program graduate
Self-Care and Your Success in Graduate School
An occasional series from the Doctoral Scholars Program on postsecondary topics.
How do you honor your mind, body and spirit? Do you even think it’s
important
From 2007-2014 I was a full-time doctoral student in social work at the University of Alabama. The program involved writing an annotated bibliography, writing and defending an integrative paper, taking comprehensive exams, and writing and defending a dissertation. My life was consumed with this and travel between my home state of Mississippi and my surrogate city and state, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. I made little time for self-care. I would leave Tuscaloosa on a Friday and return either Sunday evening or leave at 5:30 a.m. on Monday morning. I missed my family, friends, and the comforts of my Mississippi Delta home life. My home was my outlet.
Blog post
April 23, 2018
Grad | Logic blog
It’s All About Community
An interview with Ansley Abraham
What’s the best advice to propel a doctoral candidate toward
a successful completion of their Ph.D. goal? According to Dr.
Ansley Abraham, director of the
SREB-State Doctoral Scholars
Program
, it boils down to connecting with “people who are
vested in your success.”
Dr. Abraham has been doling out that advice to doctoral
students for over 25 years. In the article below, originally
published on the blog –
Grad | Logic: Navigating the Ups
and Downs of Graduate School
, Dr. Abraham shared some of
his wisdom in an interview with Dr. Chris Golde.
Read the full article
Institute on Teaching and Mentoring
Blog post
February 23, 2017
20 Tips to Survive Graduate School
The Ph.D. journey is full of twists and turns that are easier to
navigate with guidance from those who have already walked the
path. We asked DSP scholars and Institute attendees to submit
graduate school survival tips for those who are still on the
journey.
Set goals and balance your time
1. Begin with the end in mind. Have a sense of where you want to
be when you graduate and  take steps to make sure you are
properly prepared when you reach that goal.
Contact
Profile
December 1, 2017
Tiffany K. Harrison
Program Director, Doctoral Scholars Program
Tiffany K. Harrison leads the SREB-State Doctoral Scholars
Program. She was named director in 2025, after serving
as program specialist for several years under the leadership
of founding director Ansley Abraham.
(404) 962-9627
tiffany.harrison[remove-this-and-replace-with-at]sreb.org
Pod
January 8, 2024
Eligibility Quiz and DSP Fellowship Application
The 2026 application is open. Deadline to apply is March 31.
Pod
January 6, 2022
DSP Fellowship Application FAQs
Pod
January 27, 2026
Institute on Teaching and Mentoring
Pod
March 24, 2022
Subscribe to the DSP Newsletter
The Doctoral Chat
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Post
October 27, 2021
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