Department of Homeland Security Preparedness, Research, and Education Program Act of 2008 or the DHS PREP Act of 2008 - Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through the Under Secretary for Science and Technology, to establish a program for fellowships and research to enhance domestic preparedness and the collective response to acts of terrorism, natural disasters, and other emergencies.

Requires the Secretary to award fellowships to individuals to: (1) promote such research and response; and (2) provide for the development of best practices for the response to and recovery from such events. Requires recipients to be individuals who: (1) are enrolled in an institution of higher education, with priority to those enrolled in minority serving institutions; (2) have demonstrated an interest in homeland security or emergency management and response; and (3) are geographically diverse.

Directs recipients to focus their research on, and participate in the rebuilding and recovery of, the Gulf Coast region in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.