Arts & Humanities applicants: those students in Asian Languages and Civilizations, Classics, English, French and Italian, Germanic & Slavic Languages & Literatures, History, Philosophy, Spanish and Portuguese, and Theatre and Dance - should apply to the Arts & Humanities Dissertation Fellowships instead of to the Graduate School Dissertation Completion Fellowship.

This fellowship is intended to provide outstanding PhD candidates with financial support to assist in the process of completing their doctoral dissertations. The fellowship consists of full support for one academic semester (either fall or spring of the following academic year), and includes a monthly stipend equal to that of the current 50% GPTI salary, tuition coverage of up to five dissertation hours, mandatory fees, and coverage under the student gold health insurance plan. Please note that students may not engage in other forms of paid employment (working, teaching, or off-campus employment) during the time they receive a Dissertation Fellowship. Additionally, any hours taken by students outside their dissertation hours will not be covered, and fellows may not accept another fellowship or grant during the same time period. The purpose of the fellowship is to allow recipients to devote their full attention to the dissertation.

We are no longer accepting applications for AY 2022/2023 and the deadline for AY 2023/2024 is TBD. Please check back at the start of the Fall 2023 semester for updates. 

Eligibility

Doctoral students who have been advanced to candidacy (D status) by the application deadline. Any student who is eligible may submit an application. 

Selection Criteria 

The Selection Committee will base their selection on the following:

  • The quality of the research project;
  • The quality of the candidate's CV (conference presentations, publications, awards, etc.);
  • The probability of completion within the period of the fellowship (the greater the probability, the better chance of receiving a fellowship);
  • Other teaching-free fellowships that the candidate has already enjoyed (the fewer the better).

Application Procedures

Applicants are required to submit the following information through the online application system as one PDF document:

  • Applicant's Curriculum Vitae.
  • Synopsis of dissertation (maximum 750 words). References cited will not be included in the 750-word count.
  • A timeline for completion of the dissertation (max one page).
  • Information concerning any other research grants, internal or external, for which the applicant has applied, as well as information concerning any other support for dissertation writing that the applicant has already been awarded and used.
  • Transcript (official or unofficial).

All Documents must be in the above order and be clearly designated. If your PDF does not follow the above format you will be removed from consideration.

  • Letter of support: statement of evaluation (maximum 750 words) of the dissertation plans and the likelihood of completion within the fellowship period. This statement is to be written by: either (a) the dissertation advisor or (b) another member of the dissertation committee and uploaded prior to the deadline. Letters must be uploaded by submission deadline.

Applicants will be evaluated by a committee appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School. Awardees will be asked to submit a letter at the end of their fellowship tenure detailing their progress towards dissertation completion.