The Dissertation Fellowship Program seeks to encourage a new generation of scholars from a wide range of disciplines and professional fields to undertake research relevant to the improvement of education. These $25,000 fellowships support individuals whose dissertations show potential for bringing fresh and constructive perspectives to the history, theory, or practice of formal or informal education anywhere in the world.
Funding Priorities
Although the dissertation topic must concern education, graduate study may be in any academic discipline or professional field. In the past, fellowships have been awarded to candidates in anthropology, architecture, art history, economics, education, history, linguistics, literature, philosophy, political science, psychology, public health, religion, and sociology, but eligibility is not restricted to these academic areas. Candidates should be interested in pursuing further research in education once the doctorate is attained.
Click here for a list of the 2008-2009 Dissertation Fellows.
Click here for a list of the 2007-2008 Dissertation Fellows.
Click here for a list of the 2006-2007 Dissertation Fellows.
Eligibility
Applicants need not be citizens of the United States; however, they must be candidates for the doctoral degree at a graduate school within the United States. These fellowships are not intended to finance data collection or the completion of doctoral coursework, but rather to support the final analysis of the research topic and the writing of the dissertation. For this reason, all applicants must document that they will have completed all pre-dissertation requirements by June 1, 2009 and must provide a clear and specific plan for completing the dissertation within a one or two-year time frame.
Restrictions
Fellows' stipends are to support completion of their dissertations and are to be expended within one or two years and in accordance with the work plan provided by the candidate in his/her application. Fellows may not accept employment other than as described in the application, nor may they accept other awards providing duplicate benefits without the written permission of the Spencer Foundation.
Application Procedure
In addition to the application form, applicants must also submit a list of publications/presentations, a dissertation abstract, a personal statement, a narrative discussion of the dissertation, a work plan, two letters of recommendation, and a graduate transcript. Completed applications must be submitted electronically by 5 p.m. Central Standard Time (CST) Tuesday, November 4, 2008. Awards will be announced in April 2009 for fellowships that can begin as early as June 2009.
To Apply
2009 Dissertation Fellowship Application Instructions
Please read prior to filling out the online application.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Please read prior to filling out online application.
Please Note: The deadline for the Spencer Foundation Dissertation Fellowship Application 2009 was 12 noon (CST) on Wednesday, November 5th 2008.
The Foundation's Fellowship office can be reached at 312-274-6526 or via email at fellows@spencer.org.