The application for the Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship is currently closed. The application period will open on February 1, 2025.

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 be awarded in the month of June for the Summer term and paid through the Office of the Bursar. Please note that The Graduate School will validate each student’s status as of the Summer 2025 semester and are entitled to rescind the fellowship if a student has graduated or is no longer an active student.

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 to the Office of the Registrar’s Degree Audit team no later than February 28, 2025.
4. The applicant must have documented successful completion and submission of the dissertation proposal by submitting the Dissertation Proposal form to the Office of the Registrar’s Degree Audit team no later than February 28, 2025.
   • 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:
     • Business Administration
     • 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.

Students should check their unofficial transcript in Student Admin for the Dissertation Proposal and General Exam non-course milestones. If you have submitted the approved Dissertation Proposal and General Exam Report, those milestones should appear on your unofficial transcript. If the documents have only recently been submitted, the transcript will be updated shortly with the date the documents were received. If you have not submitted one or both documents, information about how and when to do so can be found on the Doctoral Degrees webpage (steps 1-3). You may submit your application for the fellowship even if the milestones have not yet been added to your record. If, at the time of review, the milestones are not on your record, The Graduate School will be in touch with Degree Audit to confirm the milestone documentation was received. 

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

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

Apply here