Bilinski Educational Foundation Dissertation Year Fellowship

For doctoral students in the College of Liberal Arts

Purpose

The College of Liberal Arts is pleased to announce the Bilinski Educational Foundation Dissertation Year Fellowship to be awarded to University of Nevada, Reno students in the humanities or social sciences for completion of the doctoral dissertation. The award is made on a competitive basis. It is the intention of the college that the fellowship serve as a means of freeing the student from other obligations during the year of the award to facilitate completing research and scholarship for the dissertation.

Eligibility

The applicant must have completed the following requirements before an application will be accepted for this fellowship:

  1. Be a full-time doctoral student in Anthropology, Basque Studies, English, History, Political Science, or Social Psychology who has passed all qualifying examinations and course requirements and has advanced to candidacy to complete a doctoral dissertation.
  2. Maintain good academic standing at all times, and abide by the University’s Academic Code of Conduct.
  3. Have demonstrated exceptional academic ability and potential in their field of study.
  4. Have received written approval for the dissertation project from their Advisory Committee.
  5. Have filed an approved Program of Study and have advanced to candidacy by the point of fellowship application (filed Advancement to Candidacy form with the Graduate School) or demonstrate the ability to file the form and achieve candidacy by the beginning semester of the fellowship.
  6. Pledge to commit full-time effort to the dissertation during the full year of the fellowship.
  7. Need financial support to complete their degree: Each applicant will be required to undergo financial screening (FAFSA) as part of the application and selection process.
  8. Be a citizen or national of the United States or provide evidence from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that he or she is a permanent resident of the United States eligible to apply for citizenship. A “Permanent Resident eligible to apply for US citizenship” must have been in the country for five years or be married to a US citizen and have been in the country for three years.

Fellowship amount

Fellowships will be disbursed in two payments of $20,000 ($40,000 total) during the 2024-2025 academic year, once at the beginning of the fall semester and once at the beginning of the spring semester. If funds are not received by the time University fees are due, the Fellow is responsible for making timely payment of all University charges.

Application procedures

Completed applications consist of:

  1. An appropriate cover letter.
  2. A current curriculum vitae.
  3. One or more letters of recommendation.
  4. A written proposal stating the need for financial support, the benefits to the degree of progress that the fellowship would provide, and career goals and objectives.
  5. An up-to-date transcript of doctoral study.
  6. A 500-750 word summary of the dissertation project, including its relation to the liberal arts mission of the college.
  7. The prospectus for the dissertation has been approved by the advisory committee. Such a prospectus normally consists of a statement of the problem to be pursued, a review of the relevant literature, an account of the methods of research to be used, and a chronology of events to be followed in conducting the investigation.
  8. A written statement from the dissertation advisor stating that the student has completed all course work, that the dissertation prospectus has been reviewed by the Advisory Committee and has been approved in writing, and that the student has a reasonable expectation of completing the dissertation during the 2024-2025 academic year.

Criteria for selection

  1. Quality of proposed dissertation.
  2. The student’s prior record of graduate study (encompassing scholarship in its various forms).
  3. Promise for a productive professional career.
  4. A reasonable expectation of completion during the tenure of the fellowship.
  5. Each fellow must sign a written acknowledgment of an agreement to the terms and conditions of the initial award and ongoing entitlement to fellowship funds.

Deadline

Verify eligibility and submit all materials using the form below no later than Monday, Friday, March 1, 2024, 5 p.m.

Begin application process