Dean’s Dissertation Completion Fellowship

The Graduate College will be raising the stipend for Dean's Dissertation Completion Fellowship awardees for the 2026-27 academic year. This prestigious fellowship will now provide an annual stipend of $25,000 for students funded for both fall and spring semesters. Fellows who receive funding for a single semester will receive a $12,500 stipend. All fellowships will include a full tuition scholarship for the funded semester(s). The Graduate College anticipates awarding 4 two-semester fellowships (or, an equivalent mix of one- and two-semester fellowships) for the 2026-27 academic year. 

This fellowship funds doctoral students in their penultimate or final year of degree work to support superior scholarship that enhances the reputation of their program, college, and the University of Cincinnati. The recipients of this award are recommended by a selection committee and sanctioned by the dean of the Graduate College.

Dean's Dissertation Completion Fellowship Program Description (PDF)
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• Register full-time (12 credits or more) for the semester(s) funded via the fellowship.
• No teaching or research employment at UC or elsewhere.
• Fellows must engage in approved monthly professional development activities (a minimum of 4 per semester). The following activities may be used to fulfill this requirement: 
  • Support Graduate College programming as a panelist or speaker 
    
  • Participate in Preparing Future Faculty events 
    
  • Create a professional development workshop in collaboration with Graduate College staff
    
  • Participation in the annual UC Graduate College Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition as a competitor, preliminary round judge, or trainer/coach for students
    
  • Serve on a Graduate College committee  
    
  • Other professional development activity, as approved by the Graduate College program director
    
• Acknowledgement of the Graduate College Dean's Completion Fellowship in publications resulting from work done during the fellowship.
  

Programs may nominate students in their final or penultimate year of degree work. Students who are awarded funding in their penultimate year may not receive a second year of funding. Students who are nominated for funding in their penultimate year, but are not selected, may be nominated for funding in their final year. 

Eligible students are those with dissertation committees established, who will have all coursework completed by the beginning of the fall 2026 semester, and who are sufficiently advanced in their dissertation research and writing to be able to commit credibly to graduating by the end of the fellowship year or the following year (for those funded in their penultimate year). The competition is for funding during academic year 2026–27.

Nominations should not include those who are ineligible for funding in the requested semester(s) of fellowship support due to the 174 graduate credit rule. Nominations are limited to two (2) from each doctoral program and are made by the graduate program director in consultation with program faculty. 

Nominations are submitted via a form by the program director or program staff member. Nominations are due by 11:59 PM, Monday, December 8, 2025.

The nomination form requires the following information and materials:

• Student's name, M-number/EmplID, and UC email.
• Anticipated term of student's graduation.
• Requested term(s) of funding.
• List of funds currently (25-26 AY) supporting the nominated student. 
• Date nominated student passed (or will pass) qualifying exam.
• The student’s total earned graduate credit hours at UC (as of the current semester, 25FS) and the number of credit hours the student is planning to take for the 2026 spring and summer semesters.
  • To determine a student’s current total earned graduate credit hours, run the “MonitorTotalCreditsToward174Rule” report in the GradTracker Reports tab, and use the number in the column titled “Total Units Toward 174 (UC all courses except Drops + External Masters)”. 
  • Please note: Programs that nominate a student who is ineligible due to the 174 rule will not be able to submit another nomination to replace the ineligible nominee.
• The following required materials:
  • A recommendation letter from the student’s dissertation chair, providing context for the significance of student’s dissertation work. 
  • Student’s curriculum vitae.
  • Dissertation abstract or summary.
  • Student’s dissertation impact statement: The relevance of the student's research/scholarship to related fields and the contribution that the student’s research/scholarship will make (the impact of the research/scholarship may not be immediate). 1-3 pages if written, no more than 3 minutes if filmed as an elevator pitch/3MT-style video.
    • Please write this statement with a non-specialist audience in mind. The selection committee will be composed of members of the UC community from a wide variety of fields. Use language that is accessible to a general audience. Keep field-specific terminology to a minimum, and define these terms when use is necessary. 
  • Student’s statement of goals for use of the fellowship support during the fellowship year and anticipated timeline for dissertation work and graduation (1-3 pages).     

Announcement of awardees will be made by Monday, February 3, 2026.

Please direct questions to Megan Carroll (carrolm2@ucmail.uc.edu).