Dissertation Completion Fellowships

• Types of Fellowships
• Eligibility
• Selection Criteria
• Award Amount
• Nomination
• Deadline
• How to Apply
• Application Guidelines
• Contact Us

Dissertation Completion Fellowships support doctoral students in the final year of their dissertation. Each fellowship enables a student to focus full time on research and writing. This improves quality of the work and shortens the time to complete the degree.

There are two types of dissertation completion fellowships. There is the general Dissertation Completion Fellowship, and the Royster Society of Fellows Dissertation Completion Fellowship.

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Types of Fellowships

Royster Society of Fellows (SOF) Dissertation Completion Fellowships
These fellowships support the most promising students in the final year of dissertation work.

The Royster Society of Fellows (SOF) is a select group of students from across UNC. Fellows share their research with one another at interdisciplinary seminars. They participate in mentoring and leadership development activities. For example, they attend trainings on communication with lay audiences, career exploration, and work-life balance. Fellows also act as student ambassadors by meeting with legislators, trustees, donors, alumni, and community members.

The Society of Fellows provides the named fellowships, including:

• Caroline H. and Thomas S. Royster, Jr. Fellowship
• Thomas S and Helen Borda Royster and Snowden and Elspeth Merck Henry Fellowship
• Lovick P. Corn Fellowship
• Paul C. Hardin Fellowship
• Ross and Charlotte Johnson Family Fellowship

There are also special purpose SOF fellowships:

• Sequoyah Fellowship for American Indian Students/Research
• The Smithwick Fellowship for Underrepresented Students in the Sciences
• Underrepresented Students in Humanities, Social Sciences or professional programs
• Jessie Ball duPont Fellowship for Adolescent Studies

The SOF Dissertation Completion Fellowships are endowed through the generous gifts of many friends of the University, most notably Dr. Thomas S. and Mrs. Caroline Royster Jr.

Eligibility

Eligibility criteria apply to both the general and SOF Dissertation Completion Fellowships.

You are eligible if:

• You are a doctoral student with a program at The Graduate School.
• You are a fully-enrolled, degree-seeking, on-campus student.
• You are engaged full-time with writing your dissertation and communicate regularly with your advisor.
• You are able to complete your dissertation in one year.
• You do not have a five-year Royster recruitment fellowship.

If you are awarded this fellowship, you may not register for more than 3 credit hours of Doctoral Dissertation Credit (994).

You may not hold any other service award, fellowship, scholarship, or outside employment without prior permission from The Graduate School.

Before applying, you must:

• Complete course requirements
• Pass written and oral preliminary exams
• Have your Dissertation Prospectus formally approved

Applying for both the general and SOF fellowships:

You do not need to submit different applications for the general and SOF fellowships.

• If you are a top candidate for the general fellowship who has submitted an SOF interest statement, we will consider you for the SOF Fellowship.
• If you apply for any of the SOF fellowships, we will also consider you for general fellowship.
• If you apply for a special purpose SOF fellowship, you will also be considered for the regular SOF fellowships.

You cannot apply for both a Dissertation Completion Fellowship and an Off-Campus Dissertation Research Fellowship at the same time.

Selection Criteria

We will give priority to students who are most likely to complete their dissertation within one academic year.

Award Amount

The fellowship provides a stipend, tuition, fees, and health insurance for one academic year. SOF fellowships also provide funds for professional travel.

	General	Society of Fellows(SOF)
Stipend	$16,000	$20,000
Tuition	Full Tuition	Full Tuition
Fees	Included	Included
Health insurance	Included	Included
Length of support	One 9-month academic year	One 9-month academic year
TA/RA position	No	No
Travel funds	None	$1000

Depending on funding, this award may change from year to year.

Nomination

Each program can nominate one student per year. Applications for the special purpose SOF Fellowships do not count toward this limit.

Deadline

The nomination deadline each year is Friday, March 1, 2013.

Deadlines are also posted on the funding deadlines calendar.

How to Apply

Submit Application »

1. Please check with your department for their internal deadline. You must complete your application early enough for your department to nominate you to The Graduate School by the deadline.
2. Prepare a research description and curriculum vitae. Arrange for two letters of recommendation. Be sure to follow the application guidelines.
   • If you are applying for an SOF fellowship, include an SOF interest statement
   • If you are applying for a special purpose SOF fellowship, include an SOF interest statement and a special purpose interest statement

   View Frequently Asked Questions about the online award application.

3. Before submitting your application, we suggest you get feedback on your research description from a person outside of your field.
4. Submit your materials to The Graduate School Award Online Application.
5. Once you submit your application, your recommenders will receive an email asking them to submit a letter via the online system.
6. At the same time, the fellowship and award approver for your department will receive an email notifying them that you submitted your application.
7. Once your letters of recommendation have been submitted, your department may nominate you for the fellowship. If your department selects your application, they must nominate it to The Graduate School by the deadline.
8. We will notify awardees in the middle of April.

Application Guidelines

We will not consider your application if you exceed any of the page limits and/or you do not follow the proper format.

A complete application includes:

General Dissertation Completion	SOF fellowship	Special purpose SOF fellowship
Research Description Curriculum vitae Two letters of recommendation	Research Description +SOF interest statement Curriculum vitae Two letters of recommendation	Research Description +SOF interest statement +Special purpose interest statement Curriculum vitae Two letters of recommendation

Research Description

Briefly describe your dissertation research project and your progress toward completion. Address your research description to an audience of intelligent reviewers who may not be familiar with your field. Clearly explain the importance of your research to a lay audience. Do not use jargon or technical, field-specific terminology.

Your research description should include the three sections outlined below. Each section must be clearly identified and start on a new page. There are page limits for each section.

Format:

Double-spaced, 12-point font, 1-inch margins, numbered pages, your name on each page.

Abstract:

• Summary of your research
• No more than 1/2 page
• Double-spaced

Background and Research Design:

• No more than 3 pages
• Double-spaced

Depending on your field of study, include:

• Background:
  • A summary of key literature
  • General concepts
  • Frame of reference for your study
  • Your research questions
• Methodology and Research Design:
  • Description of the data or other materials which will be/have been collected and analyzed
  • Methods of collection and analysis
  • Design considerations
  • Description of any necessary approvals, such as Human Subjects Review

Research Progress, Work Plan, and Timetable:

• Describe your research progress made to date and your planned sequence of tasks to be completed, with estimated timetable.
• No more than one page

Significance of your Research:

• Explain the significance of your research to your field of study
• No more than one page

Citations (optional):

• May be included for important references
• Can be either footnotes or endnotes
• Can be single-spaced
• Must be within the five page limit

SOF Interest Statement:
Required only if you are interested in being considered for the Society of Fellows:

• Include a statement addressing your interest and ability to contribute as an active member of the SOF.
• No more than 300 words

Special purpose interest statements:
Required only if you are interested in being considered for only of the following special purpose fellowships:

Sequoyah Fellowship interest statement:
If applying for this fellowship, state:

• Your American Indian identity and/or tribal affiliation, if applicable
• How your research relates to American Indian issues/problems, if applicable
• The contributions you have made to the UNC campus American Indian community

The Smithwick Fellowship for Underrepresented Students in the Sciences interest statement:

• State how you qualify. “Underrepresented Students” is broadly defined and is up to you and your academic program to explain and justify.
• Describe how you bring diversity to your science-related field.

Underrepresented Students in Humanities, Social Sciences or professional programs interest statement:

• State how you qualify. “Underrepresented Students” is broadly defined and is up to you and your academic program to explain and justify.
• Describe how you bring diversity to your field.

Jessie Ball duPont Fellowship for Adolescent Studies:
No additional interest statement is required. In your research description, describe your research as it relates to Adolescent Studies.

Curriculum Vitae and other sources of funding:

Format:

No more than 2 pages, 12-point font, 1-inch margins, numbered pages, and your name on each page.

• Include recent professional activities, awards, honors, and courses you have taught
• For other sources of funding, list:
  • External funds for which you have applied
  • Funding source
  • If funding was received or is pending
• Because University funding is limited, we encourage you to apply for external funding, and such efforts will be viewed positively by the reviewers.

Two Letters of Recommendation

• One from your dissertation advisor
• One from another faculty member who is familiar with your research. This letter of recommendation does not have to be from a UNC faculty member. It can be from a faculty member from any university.

Indicate the email addresses of your recommenders in your application.

Once you submit your application, your recommenders will receive an email asking them to submit a letter of recommendation.

Instructions for recommenders:
Each letter of recommendation should be no more than 4,000 characters (spaces included), which is approximately 600 words or one single-spaced page.

Address the letter of recommendation “To the Fellowship Committee.”
Include:

• The quality of the student's research
• A rating of the student’s overall ability and potential for a successful career based on the recommender's knowledge of other students in the same field
• The recommender's assessment of:
  • the likelihood that the student will complete the dissertation during the award period
  • For Royster Society of Fellows Dissertation Completion Fellowship applicants: the student's interest in or appropriateness for the interdisciplinary aspect of the Society of Fellows
  • If applicable, the student’s qualification for special purpose fellowships:
    • Sequoyah Fellowship for American Indian Students and/or research
    • The Smithwick Fellowship for Underrepresented Students in the Sciences
    • Underrepresented Students in Humanities, Social Sciences or professional programs fellowship
    • Jessie Ball duPont Fellowship for Adolescent Studies

We can only accept letters of recommendation through the online system. Recommenders cannot submit letters directly to The Graduate School or to the student’s department.

Contact Us

Graduate School Fellowships Office
gradfunding@unc.edu