Bit of a silly question perhaps, but please bear with me.
I am an entering PhD student in the humanities who is interested in applying for the Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowship. However, I am almost as non-diverse as they come (German-Irish boy from the middle west). I have worked exclusively for the last 6 years with immigrant populations in inner city schools and my research interests have come out of my desire to continue working with similar populations. The question then is, how much does the lack of personal 'diversity' count in the application? Are reviewers more interested in the applicants background or in their experience and research interests?
Thanks for any insight.
