Information for Faculty and Staff

Updates:

  • Beginning January 1, 2023, the minimum stipend required to qualify for tuition remission awards and in-state tuition awards will be increased to $16,000 per nine-month service period for students in master’s programs and $20,000 per nine-month service period for students in doctoral programs. Funding support for students currently funded by state sources who are at the minimum will come from central finance. These minimum stipends will apply to students who are serving as research assistants, teaching assistants, or fellows/trainees.
    See stipend increase frequently asked questions.
  • Beginning fall 2023, departments may use their in-state allocation to pay the in-state tuition for eligible students regardless of their stipend funding source. This change in policy should allow departments to optimize use of their in-state allocation, especially for students who have multiple sources of funds or only partial funding from state funds.

Policies

Funding and Accounting Policies for In-state Tuition, Remission, Fees and Health Insurance

Stipends:

Tuition:

Fees:

Health Insurance:

Graduate School Fellowships

Many fellowship applications require at least one letter of recommendation from the student’s advisor.

Service and non-service appointments outside the U.S.:

Letters of Recommendation Guidelines

Dissertation Completion Fellowship

View the student application instructions for the Dissertation Completion Fellowships.

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
    • the likely contributions of the student's research to the field of study or discipline
    • a description of other funding received or pending (if applicable)
    • 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 Fellowship for Diversity in the Sciences
    • The Fellowship for Diversity in the 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.

Off-Campus Dissertation Research Fellowship

View the student application instructions for the Off-Campus Dissertation Research Fellowships.

Each letter of recommendation should be no more than 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.”
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 need for the student to conduct off-campus research as a critical part of his/her dissertation

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.

Summer Research Fellowship

View the student application instructions for the Summer Research Fellowships.

The 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:

  • How the faculty mentor will provide guidance to the student in preparing his/her plan for summer research
  • What products the student will produce by the end of the summer
  • How the student’s work will be evaluated
  • The faculty mentor’s willingness to provide a written evaluation of the student’s summer research to The Graduate School no later than September 15.

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.

Distinguished Dissertation Award

View the student application instructions for the Distinguished Dissertation Award.
Address letters of recommendation “To the Distinguished Dissertation Award Committee.”

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

  • The quality of the student's research
  • The recommender's assessment of the originality, innovativeness, and significance of the student's research to the overall field of study
  • If applicable (because the student has not yet received their degree by the nomination deadline), a summary of any work remaining prior to the student receiving their degree and a statement addressing the recommender's belief that the student will complete their degree within the necessary timeframe
  • If applicable, an explanation of why time to degree is longer than 6 years (only needed from Dissertation Advisor)

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.

Impact Award

View the student application instructions for the Impact Award.

Address letters of recommendation “To the Impact Award Committee.”

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

Include:

  • The quality of the student's research and its significance to the overall field of study
  • The impact of the student's research to a specific place/issue/community in North Carolina
  • The application of the research results (e.g. partnership with local agencies for implementation)

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.

Some fellowships also require a departmental nomination, and there are limits on the number of nominations you may submit. Please see below for more information:

Departmental Nomination Guidelines

The Committee gives much weight to your department ranking of the applicants. We believe that you will know your applicants better than the reviewers can know them. However, this does not guarantee that we will always fund a higher-ranked applicant before a lower-ranked applicant.

Each award has a maximum number of applicants that your department can nominate. A nomination statement is required for each student who is nominated. Format and content guidelines for each nomination statement are listed below.

Dissertation Completion Fellowship

View the student application instructions for the Dissertation Completion Fellowships.

Award Maximum number of nominations
Dissertation Completion Fellowships Four applicants per year

Nomination Statement:
The nomination statement cannot exceed 2,000 characters (including spaces), which is approximately 300 words. Please include within your statement an assessment of the following:

  • The quality of the students’ dissertation research.
  • The importance of the students’ research to the area of study.
  • The likelihood that the students will complete the dissertation during the award period.
Off-Campus Dissertation Research Fellowship

View the student application instructions for the Off-Campus Dissertation Research Fellowships.

Award Maximum number of nominations
General Off-Campus Dissertation Research Fellowships Two applicants per semester
*Specialized Off-Campus Dissertation Research Fellowships:
Georges Lurcy Fellowship
Werner Friederich Fellowship
One additional applicant per year
One additional applicant per year

*Nominations for the Specialized Off-Campus Dissertation Research Fellowships do not count toward the General Off-Campus Dissertation Research Fellowship nomination limit; however, all students should be ranked and included in the nomination statement.

Nomination Statement:
The nomination statement cannot exceed 2,000 characters (including spaces), which is approximately 300 words. Please include within your statement an assessment of the following:

  • The quality of the students’ dissertation research.
  • The need for the students to conduct off-campus research as a critical part of his or her dissertation.
Summer Research Fellowship

View the student application instructions for the Summer Research Fellowships.

Award Maximum number of nominations
Summer Research Fellowships Three applicants per year

Nomination Statement:
All student applicants must include on their application all funding for which they have applied and/or received for every semester they have been enrolled, inclusive of summers since first enrollment. The DGS must include a statement confirming this information is correct to the best of their knowledge.

The nomination statement cannot exceed 2,000 characters (including spaces), which is approximately 300 words. Please include within your statement an assessment of the following:

  • The quality of the students’ dissertation research.
  • The readiness of the student to use this summer time productively, including having a good plan for the work that will be done during the summer.
  • A statement regarding the availability of funding in your department and field in general.
Distinguished Dissertation Award

View the student application instructions for the Dean's Distinguished Dissertation Award.

Award Maximum number of nominations
Dean's Distinguished Dissertation Award One applicant per year

Nomination Statement:
The nomination statement cannot exceed 2,000 characters (including spaces), which is approximately 300 words. Please include within your statement an assessment of the following:

  • The quality of the student's dissertation research.
  • The importance of the student's research to the area of study.
  • The likelihood that the student will complete the dissertation during the eligibility period.
  • An explanation of time to degree (priority is given to students who complete their doctoral training in six years or less).
  • An update on continued research efforts if the applicant has already graduated.
Impact Award

View the student application instructions for the Impact Award.

Award Maximum number of nominations
Impact Award Two applicants per year

Nomination Statement:
The nomination statement cannot exceed 2,000 characters (including spaces), which is approximately 300 words. Please include within your statement an assessment of the following:

  • The quality of the students’ research.
  • The significance of the research to the State of North Carolina (priority is given to projects that have a local impact on specific North Carolina communities and/or populations).
  • The timeline of the research and its impact to North Carolina.

Fellowship and Accounting Information Systems

Fellowship and Award Online Application and Nomination Systemexternal link icon

GradStar System and Resources

Other Resources for Faculty and Staff

Funding Nomination Handbook - Recruitment Fellowships Guide (Faculty and Staff Only)

Salary Stipend Calculator for Graduate Student Employees

Contact Us
Graduate School Fellowships Office
gradfunding@unc.edu