Dissertation Fellowship Graduate funding for women in US

American Fellowships Dissertation Fellowships Application Instructions
Dissertation Fellowship Graduate funding for women in US

Program Purpose

AAUW’s American Fellowships program has been in existence since 1888, making it the oldest noninstitutional source of graduate funding for women in the United States. The program provides fellowships for women pursuing full-time study to complete dissertations, conducting postdoctoral research full time, or preparing research for publication for eight consecutive weeks.

The purpose of the Dissertation Fellowship is to offset a scholar’s living expenses while she completes her dissertation.

Applications are open August 1 – November 1

Award Amount

Award Amount: $20,000

Eligibility

• American Fellowships are not open to previous recipients of any AAUW national fellowship or grant (not including branch or local awards or Community Action Grants). Members and officers of the AAUW Board of Directors are not eligible to apply for fellowships and grant awards. AAUW staff or volunteers with decision-making authority who wish to apply for an award must recuse themselves from the decision-making process.
• American Fellowship candidates must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
• American Fellowships are open to women scholars in all fields of study.
• The American Dissertation Fellowship must be used for the final year of writing the dissertation. Applicants must have completed all coursework, passed all preliminary exams, and had the dissertation research proposal or plan approved by November 1, 2018. The doctoral degree/dissertation must be completed between April 1 and June 30, 2020. Degree conferral must be between April 1 and September 15, 2020.
• Dissertation Fellows are not required to study in the U.S.
• Students already holding a fellowship or grant for the purpose of supporting their final year of writing or completing the dissertation the year before the fellowship year are not eligible to apply.
• Applicants may apply up to two times for a fellowship for the same dissertation project.
• The fellowship is intended for applicants who are completing their first doctoral degree.
• Distance learning/online programs: American Fellowships support traditional classroom-based courses of study. This fellowship program does not provide funding for distance learning programs or for degrees heavily dependent on distance learning components. Final decisions about what constitutes distance learning under these fellowships will be made by AAUW.

Dissertation Fellowship Graduate funding for women in US

Criteria for Selection and Application Review

The American Fellowships panel meets once a year to review applications for funding. Awards are based on the selection criteria outlined here. The panel’s recommendations are subject to final approval by the AAUW Board of Directors. Fellowships are awarded on a competitive basis according to funds available in a given fiscal year.

To ensure a fair and objective review process, AAUW does to comment on the deliberations of its award panels. No provisions exist for reconsidering fellowship proposals after the board has acted. AAUW does not provide evaluations of successful or unsuccessful applications.

Applications and supporting documents become the sole property of AAUW and will not be returned or held for another year.

In selecting fellowship recipients, the following criteria will be considered:

• Applicant’s scholarly excellence
• Quality of project design
• Originality of project
• Scholarly significance of project to the discipline
• Feasibility of project and proposed schedule
• Qualifications of applicant
• Applicant’s commitment to women’s issues in the profession/community
• Applicant’s mentoring of other women
• Applicant’s teaching experience
• Potential of applicant to make a significant contribution to the field
• Applicant is from an underrepresented racial/ethnic background
• Applicant is from an underrepresented area of the country and/or type of university other than a top-level research institution
• Financial Need

The primary criterion for fellowship awards is scholarly excellence. Applications are reviewed by distinguished scholars and should be prepared accordingly.

Required Components*

Start the application process by clicking on the link to access the application and create an account through our vendor site. Complete all required components in the following tabs.

Eligibility

Applicants must pass the eligibility quiz to be reviewed by the selection panel.

Applicant

Recommendations

Provide three recommenders who are the applicant’s advisers, colleagues, or others well acquainted with her, her project/work, and her teaching. One of the three recommendations must be from the applicant’s dissertation director. Standardized or form letter recommendations are discouraged. AAUW does not accept references from dossier services.

Academics
C.V./Résumé
Narratives
Budget
Uploads

• Transcripts**: Submit transcripts for all graduate work and courses listed in the application. Transcripts must show grades for coursework transferred in. If the transcript shows transfer courses and credits without grades, a transcript from the institution where the courses were taken is required. If you studied at an institution that does not require coursework or provide transcripts, an institutional letter stating that is required.
• Institution certification form: Submit a form verifying the completion of all required coursework and qualifying examinations for the doctorate and approval of your dissertation research proposal (plan of research) signed by the department chair, graduate dean, or dissertation director. No substitutions for this form will be accepted.
• Project institution letter: If you will conduct your project at an institution other than your own during the fellowship year, submit a letter from the institution that indicates you have approval from the institution and the authority with whom the work will be done to conduct the research, laboratory or office space, and library privileges during the fellowship year.

*A certified English translation is required for all components provided in a foreign language. Translations must bear a mark of certification or official signature that the translation is true and complete.

** All transcripts provided must include the applicant’s full name, the school’s name, all courses, and all grades, as well as any other information requested in in the application instructions.

Website Link

Deadline: November 1, 2019.