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 fellowship in the amount of $2,000, which will be awarded in the month of June for the Summer term and paid through the Office of the Bursar. Note that The Graduate School will validate each student’s status as of the Summer 2026 semester and is entitled to rescind the fellowship should the recipient graduate or lose their active student status during the award period.

Eligibility Criteria:

• The applicant must be a doctoral student enrolled in a program with a dissertation requirement.
• The applicant must be an active student when they apply and receive the award. Applicants who complete their degree during the prior semester cannot be awarded.
• 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 Degree Audit Team no later than February 28, 2026.
• 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 Degree Audit Team no later than February 28, 2026.
• The Dissertation Proposal Form may be submitted to Degree Audit without approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB)/Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). The milestone will be posted as "in progress" and will meet the eligibility requirements for this application. IRB/IACUC approval must be submitted to Degree Audit once received to ensure that the milestone is updated to "complete" on the student record.
• Applicants in the following doctoral programs may submit their application without having the Dissertation Proposal milestone on their account:
  • Business Administration
  • Communication
  • EDLR – Learning, Leadership, and Education Policy
  • EPSY – Research Methods, Measurement, and Evaluation
  • PSYC – Clinical Psychology
  • PSYC – Industrial and Organizational Psychology
• The applicant is not eligible if they have previously received a Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship.
• Students at UConn Health (except for Public Health doctoral students) and UConn Law are not eligible to apply for this fellowship.

Students should view their unofficial transcript in Student Admin to confirm that the Dissertation Proposal and General Exam non-course milestones are listed. 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 (see 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.

While we hope to provide funding to all eligible applicants, fellowships are awarded pending budgetary approval and therefore are not guaranteed. Eligible applicants who do not receive the award during the current cycle are encouraged to apply in future cycles.