We are pleased to announce that The Graduate School’s Summer Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship will begin accepting applications on February 1, 2023!

The Graduate School is committed to helping graduate students achieve their academic, professional, and personal goals during their time at the University of Connecticut. In support of this goal, The Graduate School invites applicants for the Summer Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, which is intended to support the successful completion of the dissertation. Please review the eligibility criteria for this fellowship carefully before applying. This is a one-time $2,000 fellowship. If awarded, the funds will given during the summer term and paid through the Office of the Bursar.

Eligibility Criteria:

1. The applicant must be a doctoral student in a program that requires a dissertation.
2. The applicant must be an active student when they apply and are awarded. Students who complete their degree during the prior semester cannot be awarded.
3. The applicant must have documented successful completion of the General Examination by submitting the Report on the General Exam.pdf to the Office of the Registrar’s Degree Audit team no later than February 28, 2023.
4. The applicant must have documented successful completion and submission of the dissertation proposal by submitting the Dissertation Proposal form.pdf to the Office of the Registrar’s Degree Audit team no later than February 28, 2023.
   • The Dissertation Proposal form may be submitted to Degree Audit without IRB/IACUC approval. The milestone will be posted as “in progress” and that will satisfy eligibility for this application. IRB/IACUC approval must be submitted to Degree Audit when received so that the milestone may be updated to “complete” on the student record.
   • Students in the following doctoral programs may submit their application without having the Dissertation Proposal milestone on their account:
     • Communication
     • Clinical Psychology
     • Industrial and Organizational Psychology
     • EPSY – Research Methods, Measurement, and Evaluation
5. The applicant is not eligible if they have previously received a Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship.
6. Students at UConn Health (with the exception of Public Health doctoral students) and UConn Law are not eligible to apply for this fellowship.

Please note, while we hope to provide funding to all eligible applicants, fellowships are not guaranteed, as funds are limited and pending budgetary approval.

The application period for this fellowship is February 1-February 28, 2023. Applications received outside of these dates will not be processed. You can access the application form and more information here: Summer Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship | The Graduate School (uconn.edu).

If you have questions regarding your eligibility for this fellowship, please contact gradschool@uconn.edu before applying.

We are pleased to announce that The Graduate School’s Conference Participation Award (formerly the Doctoral Student Travel Award) will be accepting applications from December 1, 2022-January 15, 2023.

The Graduate School is committed to helping graduate students achieve their academic, professional, and personal goals during their time at the University of Connecticut. In support of this goal, The Graduate School offers a Conference Participation Award to support students’ ability to present their research at national or international meetings and conferences, including both in-person and virtual events. This conference participation fellowship in the amount of $750 will be awarded for Spring 2023 and paid through the student’s fee bill. If awarded, students will be notified in December. Please review the eligibility criteria for the fellowship carefully before applying.

Students are responsible for knowing any and all travel advisories, restrictions, and relevant University policies and should plan accordingly. Students should stay up to date with information shared by the U.S. Department of State, State of Connecticut, and the University’s Travel Services office.

Eligibility Criteria:

• The applicant must be a doctoral or MFA student.
• The applicant must be enrolled in the semester for which the fellowship is awarded, e.g., spring semester for applications due by January 15.
• The applicant must have successfully completed at least 30 credits toward their degree program prior to applying for this fellowship.
• The applicant is not eligible if they have previously received a Doctoral Student Travel Award or Conference Participation Award.
• The funds are intended to be used for participation in a conference at which the student is presenting their research.
• Students at UConn Health and UConn Law are not eligible for this award.

Please note, fellowships are not guaranteed, as funds are limited and pending budgetary approval. We hope to provide funding to all eligible applicants, but eligible students who are not awarded in this cycle will be encouraged to apply in the next cycle.

The deadline for application is January 15th, 2023. Applications received following this date will not be considered. You can access the application form and more information here: Conference Participation Award | The Graduate School (uconn.edu).

The Graduate School is delighted to announce this year’s Postdoc Seed Award Recipients.

Raquel Fleskes, from Anthropology, has been funded for the following project:

This pilot research project seeks to develop a new method to extract ancient DNA from clay tobacco pipestems from colonial archaeological sites in Connecticut. Pipestems are common artifacts in colonial period archaeological sites, and preserve the DNA of people who smoked from them. This project will use eight pipestems, with each divided into equal thirds, to test three different DNA extraction methods at UConn’s Ancient DNA Laboratory. The concentration and complexity (number of different DNA sequences) will be assessed to determine the most effective method of DNA extraction. This project provides a new method in DNA extraction from archaeological artifacts.

Jessie Turner, from Marine Sciences, has been funded for the following project:

What color is the ocean? Using satellites to measure the color of the ocean tells us about the productivity of phytoplankton, the base of the entire ocean food chain. To use data from satellites, we need extensive ground-truth measurements of ocean color at Earth’s surface. However, the sensors used to ground-truth ocean color satellites are expensive and difficult to build. I plan to build a set of do-it-yourself sensors to measure ocean color at low cost. I will also create instructional materials for adaptation into a course for students interested in building sensors for their research.

Deborah Good, from Physics, has been funded for the following project:

I am an expert in timing millisecond pulsars – modeling the dynamics of rapidly-spinning, small, dense leftovers from supernova explosions – to detect gravitational waves from supermassive black holes. When timing pulsars, we model and remove the effects of the interstellar medium (ISM), especially ionized gas between the pulsar and the observer. Though “trash” in the search for gravitational waves, these gas models can be “treasure” for ISM scientists. I propose to lead a task force to improve our models and bring together pulsar timers, ISM scientists, and experts in mathematical modeling, maximizing our scientific output for ISM science and pulsar timing.

Kristel Schoonderwoerd, from Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, has been funded for the following project:

A single tree can bear leaves with widely varying shapes and functions. Smaller and thicker leaves that photosynthesize rapidly occur in parts of the crown that receive ample sunlight. On shaded branches, larger, thinner leaves are borne that photosynthesize comparatively slowly. Little is known about when during development these genetically identical leaf types diverge. This project seeks to understand how leaf development of sun and shade leaves aligns with seasonal changes in light availability within deciduous canopies, from leaf loss in the fall through new leaf expansion in spring.