Important announcement regarding the Spencer Fellowship Programs as of 08/17/2010
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. This highly competitive program aims to identify the most talented researchers conducting dissertation research related to education. Like all Spencer Foundation programs, the Dissertation Fellowship program receives many more applications than it can fund. This year, up to 600 applications are anticipated and about 20 fellowships will be awarded.
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, communications, 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 on education once the doctorate is attained.
Click here for a list of the 2010-2011 Dissertation Fellows.
Click here for a list of the 2009-2010 Dissertation Fellows.
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, 2011 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 the deadline. The application period for the 2010 Spencer Dissertation Fellowships is now closed and applications are no longer being accepted. Information about the next cycle will be available in August 2010. Awards will be announced in April 2011 for fellowships that can begin as early as June 2011.
To Apply
2011 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.
Dissertation Fellowship Application 2011
The Foundation's Fellowship office can be reached at 312-274-6517 or via email at fellows@spencer.org.