Graduate School Presidential Dissertation Fellowship in the Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, and Social Professions

2013-2014 NOMINATION DEADLINE:  Friday, April 5, 2013, 12 noon (PDT)

The Graduate School Presidential Dissertation award is intended to assist Ph.D. candidates in the final stages of writing and completing their dissertations.

The 2013-14 Dissertation Fellowship is a one-quarter award established with support of the University President.

Two committees will meet to evaluate nominees, one for nominees in the arts and humanities and one for nominees in the social sciences and social professions. Each unit listed at the end of this announcement may submit NO MORE than two nominees for this award. We ask that you not rank your nominees.

The purpose of these awards is to relieve graduate students of their teaching duties or other employment not directly related to the dissertation in order that they may devote their full time to writing the dissertation. Typically during the tenure of the award service responsibilities are suspended. The award must be used during the 2013-14 academic year (summer 2013 through spring 2014). The choice of the quarter will be left to the discretion of the graduate student in consultation with his/her supervisory committee chair.

Questions can be directed to the Fellowships and Awards Office at gradappt@uw.edu or 206.543.7152.

Eligibility

• the student must have passed the General Examination by the time of nomination and
• must have demonstrated progress on the dissertation which indicates completion by the end of Summer Quarter 2014 or sooner.
• The student must be in a tuition-based program.

Nomination Process

Nominations should be submitted to the Catalyst Collect-It Box at: https://catalysttools.washington.edu/collectit/dropbox/megray/18984
Nominations are due no later than Noon, Friday, April 5, 2013.

Departments can nominate no more than two students.

Nomination materials should be submitted only by the department as one file per nominee in Portable Document Format (pdf). (If that is not possible, submission as separate documents is acceptable.) Nominations must include the following:

1. A completed cover sheet (found at http://www.grad.washington.edu/students/fa/dissertation/app.doc
2. A letter of nomination from the GPC or chair of the department. Information about the nominee’s current status and performance in the program or comparison with other recent students would be useful. If you submit two nominees, please do not rank your nominees.
3. A one-page statement from the dissertation adviser demonstrating his/her opinion
   • of the significance of the research and
   • of the progress made to date, including the anticipated completion date.
   • Where appropriate, the nature and importance of the nominee’s contribution to a team project should be included.
4. A statement from the candidate, not to exceed four double-spaced pages, describing the dissertation project, including its title, relation to current literature, methodology and goals, and a brief timeline for completion of the dissertation (footnotes are included in the four pages). (Any bibliography or endnotes are limited to one page, single-spaced, and is not considered part of the four pages.)
5. Timeline of expected dissertation activities in 2013-14 and specifically during the planned fellowship quarter (not to exceed one page, single-spaced)
6. The nominee's curriculum vitae, including names of publications.
7. A copy of the student's current UW transcript. An unofficial copy will be sufficient.

These awards are made on the basis of academic merit. Statements about the student's financial need should not be included.

Selection Criteria and Process

Two interdisciplinary faculty committees (one committee for Arts and Humanities nominees and one committee for Social Sciences and Social Professions nominees) will evaluate proposals, and nominees should be encouraged to consider this audience when preparing the project description.
Criteria used in evaluating nominations include:

• the significance and originality of the dissertation project
• evidence of scholarly promise, such as publications or presentations at scholarly meetings
• evidence that the dissertation will be completed during the 2013-14 academic year

The specific information provided in the nomination packet on these issues is important in the evaluation process.
Awards will be announced in late April or early May.

Terms of Award

Students must enroll for at least 10 credits. The awards provide a stipend equivalent to the stipend of a standard Predoc TA II (currently $1,761 per month), GAIP insurance, and UW state tuition and fees (excluding U-PASS). The number of awards will be determined by the caliber of the applications and the amount of funding available. Students in fee-based programs are not eligible.

Eligible programs for the Graduate School Dissertation Fellowship competition: