Harper and Division of the Social Sciences Dissertation-Year Fellowships

Deadline: 4/15/2013 to Dean of Student office, earlier to department

Length: One Year

The University will provide funding for one Harper Dissertation-Year Fellowship in the Division of the Social Sciences in 2013-2014, and the Division of the Social Sciences will provide funding for an additional three dissertation-year fellowships in 2013-14. The competition for these fellowships will be combined, and the top overall student in the competition will win the Harper Fellowship, with three additional students winning the Divisional Fellowships. Harper Fellowships constitute one of the highest honors given to our graduate students and the competition for this award will be rigorous. The nominees should be truly outstanding. Nominations should be submitted only for those students who are most likely to complete the degree within the period of fellowship tenure.

Value of Award:

Harper and Division of the Social Sciences dissertation fellowships will provide tuition, fees, and University Basic student health insurance plus an academic-year stipend of $23,000. If the student graduates with the Ph.D. within 18 months of the start of the fellowship tenure, he or she will receive a bonus stipend of $2,000.

Departments and committees are invited to submit up to three ranked  nominees for the combined Harper and Division of the Social Sciences fellowship competition to the Dean of Students, who will forward nominations to the divisional selection committee. Nominations should be submitted by Monday, April 15, 2013.  Announcements of the winners will be made in mid-May. 

Each application must include:

          1. SSD Dissertation Year Fellowship Application Form (available online at:

https://socialsciences.uchicago.edu/about/dean-of-students#forms );

          2. Letters of recommendation--at least two but not more than four (one of which must be from the dissertation adviser);

          3. Statement from the applicant (of no more than four pages, single-spaced) that describes the dissertation project;

          4. A one-page quarter-by-quarter timetable, signed by the nominee and the dissertation supervisor, indicating for the next 12-18 months the expected stages for completion of the Ph.D. (nominations lacking timetable will not be considered);

          5. Copy of a completed dissertation chapter. 

          6. A transcript will be ordered by the Office of the Dean of Students upon receipt of nomination packet.

Conditions of Award:

          1. Harper/SSD fellows may not engage in any remunerative activity, including teaching, either on or off campus while holding the award.

          2. Fellowships will be awarded for the 2013-2014 academic year. 

          3. Harper/SSD fellows who do not complete their degrees within six months of completion of their fellowships are ineligible for further internal University funding from any source, including the tuition grants associated with teaching assignments 

          4. For students pursuing joint programs, eligibility is through the home department only.

Departments set deadlines and procedures individually.  Nominations are due in the Office of the Dean of Students, Foster 107, by Monday, April 15, 2013. Late applications will not be accepted.

Questions may be directed to Kelly Therese Pollock, Office of the Dean of Students in the Social Sciences at kpollock@uchicago.edu  or at 795-3238.