Up to three dissertation fellowships in the amount of $23,730 are awarded each year.

Doctoral students may apply for dissertation fellowships sponsored by the Graduate School and the Department of English.

One Graduate School-funded dissertation fellowship is available to students entering their fourth, fifth, or sixth year of the doctoral program during the term of the award. This fellowship may be for one or two semesters of support.

 The departmentally funded Sinclair dissertation fellowships are available to Ph.D. students entering their fourth, fifth, or sixth year. The Dissertation Fellowship Committee may choose to make the Sinclair fellowship awards for either one or two semesters.

To be eligible to apply for a dissertation fellowship, a student must have successfully passed the comprehensive examination and written a prospectus approved by the dissertation committee by the announced application deadline (April 1 or the first business day thereafter).

An application consists of a cover letter summarizing the project and a timeline for completing the dissertation, and a dissertation prospectus. The criteria for awarding the fellowships are:

1. the quality of the project as expressed in the prospectus, and
2. the likelihood that the applicant will complete the dissertation during the term of the award.