Dissertation Write-Up: March 2013 Archives

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

Length: One year

A grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in combination with matching funds from individual donors provides endowment support for dissertation-year fellowships in the Division of the Social Sciences. Up to eight fellowships may be awarded in academic year 2013-2014. In accord with conditions set by the Mellon Foundation, this program is designed to increase completion rates and promote reductions in time-to-degree in the humanistic social sciences : Anthropology; Committee on Conceptual and Historical Studies of Science; Comparative Human Development; History; Political Science; Social Thought; and Sociology.

Value of Award 

Mellon dissertation fellowships will provide tuition, fees, and University Basic student health insurance plus an academic-year stipend of $23,000.

Departments and committees are invited to submit ranked  nominations to the Dean of Students. Nominations should be submitted by Monday, April 15.  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. At least two letters of support* to be sent directly to the departmental administrator or included with the application (if included, the recommender should sign her/his name across the sealed flap).

3. Statement from the applicant (of no more than four pages, single-spaced) that describes the dissertation project, a table of contents and current completion status of each chapter, and one completed chapter.

4. A curriculum vitae (CV).

5. Transcripts will be provided by the Office of the Dean of Students upon receipt of nomination packets.

*One of the supporting letters must be from the principal dissertation supervisor who should address candidly and in some detail the applicant's expected academic progress over the next 12 to18 months and the likelihood of degree completion within that period.

Other things being equal, preference in making the awards will be given to those students who are likely to complete the degree within tenure of the fellowship.

Conditions of Award

1. Students who will be beyond their sixth year of doctoral study in 2013-2014 are not eligible for a dissertation fellowship (see #3 below for clarification for students entering with a master's). Quarters during which the student has been registered in pro forma status do  count toward the years of study in the doctoral program. If a student was on leave of absence for a full academic year, that year will not count toward the total years of study.

2. Students must have been admitted to candidacy at the time of application.

3. Students who entered a Ph.D. program in Scholastic Residence 2 must not be beyond their fifth year of doctoral study in 2013-2014.

4. Mellon fellows may not engage in any remunerative activity, including teaching, either on or off campus while holding the award.

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

6. Mellon 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 grant associated with teaching assignments.

7. 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.

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

Length: One year

The Markovitz Dissertation Fellowship provides up to two annual awards for dissertation write-up in the amount of $23,000 (plus tuition, required fees, and university student health insurance) to a student whose dissertation topic explores some aspect of the linkages and influences between social and economic behavior. The research should consider from a disciplinary perspective the connection between the social/cultural and commercial spheres of life. Ph.D. candidates in any of the Social Sciences programs are eligible. Each department should determine its own internal deadline and review procedure, and submit one nomination by April 15, 2013.

Application Materials

1. SSD Dissertation Year Fellowship Application Form (available online at: https://socialsciences.uchicago.edu/about/dean-of-students#forms).

2. Letter of Recommendation from the dissertation supervisor, which includes an assessment of progress to date.

3. Statement from the applicant (of no more than four pages, single-spaced) that describes the dissertation project and its relevance to the purpose of the fellowship.

4. A status report and timetable for the completion of the dissertation.

5. The Dean of Students will provide a transcript upon receipt of the nomination packet.

Criteria for the Award

1. Significance and quality of the dissertation project and appropriateness of the research to the intent of the fellowship.

2. Prospect of completion of the dissertation by the end of the fellowship tenure.

3. Inclination to share the fellowship over years across disciplines.

Conditions of Award

1. Students must have been admitted to candidacy at the time of application.

2. Markovitz fellows may not engage in any remunerative activity, including teaching, either on or off campus while holding the award.

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

4. Markovitz 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 grant associated with teaching assignments.

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

Departments set deadlines and procedures individually. Nominations due in the Office of the Dean of Students by April 15, 2013.

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.

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.

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

Length: Two years

The Division of the Social Sciences is pleased to invite nominations for the Hanna Holborn Gray advanced Fellowships in the Humanities and Humanistic Social Sciences. This award, established in 2005-2006, is made possible by a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and is designated to support our very best graduate students in the second half of their graduate program at the university. The grant is made in honor of Mrs. Gray and is given in recognition of her dedicated efforts to improve and sustain graduate education at the University and beyond and of her own notable achievements as a scholar.

One fellowship will be awarded each year in the Humanities Division and one in the Social Sciences Division with the latter selected from the humanistic Social Sciences departments (Anthropology, Committee on Conceptual and Historical Studies of Science, Comparative Human Development, History, Political Science, Social Thought, and Sociology).

Each department may nominate one student who is currently in the fourth year of study . Departments set internal deadline and procedures individually. Nominations should be submitted by Monday, April 15 . Announcements of the winners will be made in mid-May.

Each application must include:

1. Hanna Holborn Gray Fellowship Application Form (available online at: https://socialsciences.uchicago.edu/about/dean-of-students#forms ).

2. Essay (eight to ten pages, double spaced) on the topic area proposed for the dissertation.

3. At least two letters of recommendation: a departmental letter from the chair or director of

graduate studies, as is appropriate, and a second letter from a University of Chicago professor

who has taught the nominated student and can write in support of the dissertation topic.

4. A curriculum vitae (CV).

5. Transcripts will be provided by the Office of the Dean of Students upon receipt of nomination

packets.

Applicants do not have to be admitted to candidacy at the time of nomination; however, admission to candidacy is a requirement to start the award. To hold the award, a nominee must be admitted to candidacy by the end of Summer Quarter of the fourth year.  If the student does not meet this requirement, the fellowship will be awarded to an alternate. The term of the fellowship will be for two years, pending satisfactory progress. To qualify for renewal, a fellowship holder must submit a progress report and schedule for completion of the degree. Gray Fellows must complete their pedagogical teaching requirements.  Other employment, either at the University or off-campus, will not be permitted. As with divisional dissertation-year fellowships (Harper, Mellon), students holding Gray Fellowships will be ineligible for subsequent funding through the University upon completion of the award.

Terms in year 5:  The Gray award will replace the student's current University aid package for the fifth year. The fellowship will provide full tuition and a combination of stipend and teaching salary amounting to up to $30,000  for the year, plus an additional allocation to cover the required Student Life fee and University student health insurance on the Basic Plan, if the fellow elects to take it. The stipend portion of the award, which will be determined by the standard GAI stipend reduction schedule in each division, will be disbursed over four quarters and may be activated in the Summer or Autumn Quarter. The salary portion will be paid in the quarters in which the teaching service is performed.

Terms in Year 6:  The fellowship will be disbursed over four consecutive quarters without interruption. The fellow will receive tuition for four quarters, a stipend of $25,000  to be disbursed quarterly ($6,250 per quarter), plus the required Student Life Fee and University student health insurance on the Basic Plan, if the fellow elects to take it. In addition, the award will provide a supplemental stipend to help Gray fellows to meet their research and professional expenses incurred in completing doctoral studies, securing an academic position, and preparing their first scholarly works for publication. The supplemental grant will be in the amount of $5,000  to be paid in two installments. The first payment of $2,500 will be included in the first-quarter stipend. The second, contingent payment, of $2,500 will be made to each fellow only on the condition that all requirements for the doctor's degree have been met, including defense and final approval of the dissertation, by March 31 of the student's seventh year of study.

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