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President's Dissertation Year (PDY) Fellowship

OVERVIEW:

The President’s Dissertation Year (PDY) Fellowship is intended for students in their final year of graduate school who are planning to pursue teaching and research appointments soon after the end of their dissertation fellowship year. This award is intended to assist graduate students with the completion of their dissertation and to enhance their qualifications as candidates for university faculty teaching and research appointments.
GENERAL CONTINUING STUDENT DIVERSITY QUALIFICATIONS:
  • Nominees must be current UCI graduate students in good academic status pursuing a full-time Ph.D. only.
  • Nominees must demonstrate high potential and promise.
  • Nominees must indicate an interest in an academic career in teaching and research*.
  • Nominees must be United States citizens or permanent residents of the United States of America.
  • Nominees must provide evidence of a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA.
  • Students must enroll in 12 units (full-time) during each quarter of fellowship tenure.
  • Nominees must demonstrate one or more of the following characteristics:
    • Experience of situations or conditions which were an impediment to advancing to graduate study, such as socioeconomic or educational limitations, the absence of a family member who attended college, matriculation in a school with poor financial or curricular support, having a physical or learning disability or working long hours while attending school.
    • Academic research interests focusing on cultural, societal or educational problems as they affect educationally disadvantaged segments of society**.
    • Demonstrated evidence of an intention to use the awarded doctoral degree toward serving educationally underrepresented segments of society**.
ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS SPECIFIC TO THIS FELLOWSHIP:
  • Nominees must be current UCI Ph.D. students who are in their last year of graduate study and who have advanced to candidacy by the time of their nomination.
  • Nominees must plan to file their dissertation by June 30 of the award year and prove the timeframe is reasonable in their application.
  • Nominees must be within their academic department’s time-to-doctorate degree guidelines.
  • Nominees must not have previously received dissertation funding from any source.
REQUIREMENTS:
  • Fellows are expected to file their dissertation by June 30th of the end of the award year.
  • Fellows and their faculty mentors are required to participate in the Fall President's Dissertation Year Conference hosted by UCOP in Northern California, usually on a Friday in September or October of the award year.
  • Fellows are required to present a seminar on their dissertation research twice during the program.
  • Fellows are prohibited from being employed during the term of this fellowship.
FUNDING PACKAGE:
  • One year of fellowship support, including a yearly stipend of $14,700 (paid on a nine month scale October 1 to June 1) and fees, paid directly by the UCI Graduate Division.
  • Fellowships may also be supplemented by department funding, but may NOT be in the form of an employment appointment.
  • $500 academic travel stipend.
  • Out-of-state tuition is NOT covered by this fellowship award.
HOW TO APPLY:
  • Students should check with the department to which they are applying for internal departmental deadlines.
  • Students should complete UCI's Continuing Students - Diversity Fellowship Online Application.
  • Students should notify the department to which they are applying of the submitted application and provide the department with the additional following materials:
    • The student’s curriculum vita (CV), the student’s dissertation prospectus (maximum four pages, double-spaced) and copy of the student’s most recent Fall Quarter transcript.
    • A timeline of expected progress for completion of the dissertation.
    • A listing of seminars (minimum of two) that the student will present on his/her research during the dissertation year specifying the locations and times.
    • A detailed listing of all extramural, departmental and graduate division fellowships or other support the student has been awarded in the past, including year and amount awarded.
    • A written reference from the dissertation advisor assessing the candidate’s merits in comparison with other students at the same stage in their graduate careers. Comments should include such indicators as the student’s demonstrated academic and scholarly competence, the length of time from the first quarter of enrollment to advancement to candidacy and feasibility of completing the dissertation within the award year.
    • A statement of intent from the student regarding his/her career goals after receiving the doctoral degree.
  • Departments are responsible for submitting their top candidates to their school Dean for review.
  • Academic schools are responsible for nominating their school's top candidates in ranked order to the Graduate Division by the deadline established in the UCI Diversity Program Guide.
CONTACT INFORMATION:

Raslyn Rendon, Director of Outreach, Recruitment, and Retention
Graduate Division
Tel.: (949) 824-9169
Fax: (949) 824-9096
E-Mail: rrendon@uci.edu
* Fellowship award recipients will be required to participate in UCI’s tracking of programs to assess student progress and eventual job placement.
** Nominations will be based on the student’s merit and his/her contribution to the diversity of their discipline/graduate program. In accordance with state law, nominees to state-funded programs are not given preferential treatment on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, religion or national origin.