Fellowships and Funding for Current Students

Summer Research Fellowships

Purpose
Eligibility
Award
Application Procedure
Format
Application Tips
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions

Purpose:

The purpose of this fellowship is to provide summer support to doctoral students in the fine arts and humanities, selected social sciences and selected professional programs administered by the graduate school so they may focus exclusively on their dissertation research. These fellowships are intended to enable graduate students to move forward more quickly toward completion of their degrees.

Eligibility:

These fellowships are available to students in select graduate programs. Academic program eligibility was determined based on the limited availability of summer funding for their students. The list of eligible programs may be altered in future years.

This summer fellowship is designed to support students who normally do not have sources of support during the summer months. Typically this includes doctoral students in the following programs who are eligible to apply: Art, Classics, Communication Studies, English and Comparative Literature, Germanic Languages and Literature, Linguistics, Music, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Romance Languages and Literatures, Slavic Languages and Literatures, Anthropology, City and Regional Planning, Economics, Geography, History, Political Science, Public Policy, Sociology, Social Work, Education, Allied Health Sciences, Information and Library Sciences, Journalism and Mass Communication. Students in other programs may also be eligible to apply, however, they must demonstrate that they have previously attempted to secure summer funding and have been unsuccessful.

In all cases, applicants must provide information on all funding for which they have applied, and all funding that has been received, including teaching and research assistantships for every semester they have been enrolled, inclusive of each summer since first enrollment in their graduate program. The Director of Graduate Studies will need to confirm this information in their nomination statements for each nominated applicant. Students who have diligently applied for external funding will receive first priority for this nonservice summer fellowship, especially those in disciplines and fields in which such external and nonservice funding is more limited.

This fellowship is designed to support graduate students by providing three summer months of funding in which the student can focus exclusively on his/her own research, under the guidance of his/her faculty mentor. Only students who will be fully enrolled for Spring semester, 2012 and Fall semester, 2012, are eligible to apply. In order for the student to be able to devote her/himself exclusively to this summer research, it is expected that the student will not be enrolled in any courses nor hold any TA, RA or other service position throughout the fellowship term.

Students will be selected based upon their readiness to productively use this time as evidenced by a well articulated research project, a thoughtful plan for conducting their summer research, and the preparations they have in place to support their plans. Students who have completed most or all of their coursework and preliminary exams, and who are ready to focus on their dissertation research will be most competitive for this award.

It is expected that the students participating in this fellowship will produce and share products of their summer work with the Graduate School and with their faculty mentor who must be willing to provide a written evaluation of this work to the Graduate School at the conclusion of the fellowship.

Students are not eligible if they currently have a 12 month fellowship such as NSF, Javits, etc. or other funding (at a level similar to this award) that would include the fellowship period.
Students are not eligible if they will have service related financial support during the award period, including teaching on-line or summer courses.
Students are not eligible for this fellowship if they plan to take courses that could conceivably be taken during the academic year, (including independent study or courses for which they have previously received a grade of incomplete). However, they may be permitted to take advantage of special opportunities only available during the summer that are required to make progress on their dissertation work. This will be at the discretion of the faculty review committee. Examples might include special off-campus methodological workshops, or specialized training pertaining to the use of their specific dissertation dataset.
Students with partial non-service summer funding may be eligible, at the discretion of the faculty reviewers.
Students with non-service academic year funding, but not summer funding, are eligible but would have lower priority based upon how much funding they receive. For example, students with one year dissertation completion fellowships would have lower priority than a student who has been/will be supported by a teaching or research assistantship for the academic year; and a student who currently is supported with a multiple-year fellowship, or one who has had the benefit of previous support from multiple-year fellowships would have lower priority yet.

Award:

Awardees receive a $4,000 nonservice stipend for three summer months. The stipend will be provided in a one-time payment at the beginning of the summer. Award letters will be mailed at the end of November.

Application Procedure:

Graduate School Fellowship Online Application

Applications will be competitively reviewed once a year in the fall for the following summer. Each Graduate Program can nominate a maximum of three students per year.

Graduate programs select, rank, and nominate their students by submitting the applications to the Graduate School by the posted due date. Graduate students should check with their departments regarding earlier internal deadlines. Graduate School deadlines are posted on the Fellowships & Funding Calendar.

Apply for a Summer Research Fellowship by completing the online application.

A complete application includes:

Narrative (not to exceed 2 pages)
Address your narrative to an audience of intelligent, academic reviewers, who may not be very familiar with your specific field or discipline. You must clearly explain the importance/significance of your research to a general (lay) audience without using jargon or technical, field specific language.
1. Describe your plan for utilizing this summer research fellowship including a brief description of your research goals, methodology, resources you will use, and specific plans for your summer work.
2. Describe what you hope to accomplish by the end of your summer fellowship.
Other Sources of Funding (not to exceed 1 page)
Describe your previous and current funding status, what funding you will have for the summer, and list other funds for which you have applied or plan to apply for (both internal and external to UNC). Applicants must provide information on all funding for which they have applied, and all funding that has been received, including teaching and research assistantships for every semester they have been enrolled, inclusive of each summer since first enrollment in their graduate program.
Curriculum Vita (not to exceed 2 pages)
Unofficial Transcript
Letter of Recommendation from the faculty mentor who will provide guidance for you in this research
Only electronic letters of recommendation will be accepted. The online application will prompt you to submit the email address for your recommender. Once you submit your application via the online system, an email will be sent to your chosen recommender asking them to submit a letter of recommendation on your behalf.

The letter of recommendation is limited to 4,000 characters (spaces included) which is approximately 600 words or one single-spaced page.

Letters of recommendation should be written “To the Fellowship Committee” and include the following:
- faculty mentor should describe how he/she will provide guidance to applicant in preparing their plan for summer research,
- what products the applicant will produce by the end of the summer,
- how the applicant's work will be evaluated, and
- must indicate their willingness to provide a written evaluation of the applicant's summer research to the Graduate School no later than September 15, 2012.

Format:

The narrative must be double-spaced, with 12 point font, 1-inch margins, pages numbered, and the applicant's name on each page. The Curriculum Vita must have 12 point font, 1-inch margins, pages numbered, and the applicant's name on each page.

Applications will not be considered if they exceed the page limit and/or the proper formatting is not followed.

Application Tips:

It is a good idea to show your narrative to at least one person who is unfamiliar with your field of study to ensure that what you have written is understandable to a non-specialist and free of jargon. To have a successful application, it is absolutely imperative that your research is clearly explained to a general audience.

Frequently Asked Questions:

When will award notifications be sent out?

Award notifications will be sent out at the end of November.

Can I apply if my academic program isn't listed as one of the eligible programs?

No, only students from the list of eligible academic programs are eligible to apply.

If I received a Summer Research Fellowship in the past, am I eligible to apply again?

No, each student can only receive one Summer Research Fellowship while a graduate student.

Can my faculty mentor submit the letter of recommendation directly to the Graduate School or my academic department?

No, only electronic letters of recommendation will be accepted. The online application will prompt you to submit the email address for your recommender. Once you submit your application via the online system, an email will be sent to your chosen recommender asking them to submit a letter of recommendation on your behalf.

What is the process from the student applying to the department submitting applications to the graduate school?

student submits application online.
email goes out to those chosen as recommenders asking them to submit letter via online system; at the same time, those marked with the role of “fellowship and award approver” for your department in the graduate school contact directory will receive an email notifying them the student submitted their application.
once the letters of recommendation are submitted, they are linked to the student's electronic application.
once the required number of recommendation letters are submitted, the department can mark the student’s application for selection, and submit it to the Graduate School via the online system by the Graduate School deadline.

Can the letter of recommendation request emails go out prior to me submitting my application?

No, the online application system can only send the email out after you submit your application.

Do all letters of recommendation need to be received in order for my application to be submitted to the Graduate School by my department?

Yes, the online application system will not allow any incomplete applications to be submitted from the department to the Graduate School. A complete application includes the letters of recommendation. Therefore, letters of recommendation cannot be sent to the Graduate School after the deadline either.

What do the statuses associated with an application mean?

The statues are as follows:

Submitted — your application has been submitted, your department will be notified via email and emails for your requested recommenders will be sent out.
Waiting Letters of Recommendation — your application is waiting for letters of recommendation to be submitted. Your application cannot be submitted to the Graduate School until all letters have been submitted.
Waiting Department Selection — all letters of recommendation have been submitted (if applicable); your application is ready for your department to mark it for selection to the Graduate School
Department Selected — your application was selected for submission to the Graduate School
Department Nominated — your application has been submitted to the Graduate School
Reopened — your department reopened your application so you can make changes and resubmit it.

Questions:

For additional information, e-mail the Graduate School Fellowships Office.