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Miller Fellowship

About The Miller Fellowship

In 2014, Dr. Tom Miller created the Entrepreneurship Initiative Fellows program to support newly graduated NC State students who wished to pursue their venture full-time after graduation. The program was endowed by a group of alumni and renamed the Dr. Thomas Kenan Miller III Fellows Program in fall 2017.

The Miller Fellowship program increases the success rate of promising entrepreneurs by providing a stipend ($750 per month) and new venture support to graduates who would otherwise not have the financial means to do so.

A group of NC State alumni established the Miller Fellowship in honor of their professor, Dr. Tom Miller, to support entrepreneurial-minded students and help bridge the gap directly following graduation when students are often faced with the choice of taking a job or focusing on their startup venture full-time.

How to Apply

Due to special requests, we have decided to try something new with the Miller Fellows applications this year in light of all of the COVID-related disruptions experienced over the past few years. Miller Fellows receive a stipend of $750 per month for 6 months (June – November) and receive specialized mentoring and skills training in both themselves as an entrepreneurial thinker as well as their ventures.

Meet our Previous Cohort of Miller Fellows

Learn more about the ventures our fellows were working on in 2021.

Eligibility:

A monthly stipend of $750 helps cover “rent and ramen” while our Miller Fellows continue to develop their ideas. The Miller Fellowship runs from June – November.

  • NC State undergraduate students who will have completed their bachelor’s degree in May and are not enrolled or planning to enroll in a graduate program the following semester.
    • Due to special requests, we have decided to try something new with the Miller Fellows applications this year in light of all of the COVID-related disruptions experienced over the past few years. If you have questions, email jennifer_capps@ncsu.edu.
  • Applicants must show they have made substantial progress towards the development of a venture before they graduated and that additional support would significantly increase the company’s probability of success.
  • Applicants must agree to reside in the Raleigh-Durham area for the duration of the Miller Fellowship.

In addition to a stipend, Fellows receive:

  • Mentorship from the NC State Entrepreneurship team, including monthly meetups and workshops, focused on building your entrepreneurial skills
  • Continued access to NC State startup spaces, like the Entrepreneurship Garage, and valuable resources, such as NCSU Libraries, to provide work and prototyping spaces at no cost.
  • Assistance navigating university and community resources for post-graduate entrepreneurs, such as NC State’s Alumni Entrepreneurs.
  • Access to human capital both inside and outside the university that provides resources and services for new ventures (e.g. pitch clinics, legal services).

Fellowship Responsibilities:

  • Attend monthly meetups and workshops that focus on building your entrepreneurial skills in areas such as networking, communication and mentorship.
  • Support NC State Entrepreneurship through the facilitation of summer camps in the summer.
  • Present about your Miller Fellowship experience at the “End-of-Year” celebration in November.
  • Hold regular office hours in the Entrepreneurship Garage to help mentor students.
  • Serve as an ambassador and mentor for NC State Entrepreneurship in various contexts, such as presenting at university-sponsored programs.

Contact us:

If you have any questions about Miller Fellowship, please email Jennifer Capps at jennifer_capps@ncsu.edu.

Meet Michael Evans:
Co-Founder and CFO and 2021 Miller Fellow

Michael Evans knew a Statistics major would give him highly sought-after transferable skills, but little did he know it would also open a door to the world of entrepreneurship. Learn more about 321 Coffee’s CFO and 2021 Miller Fellow.