umass dissertation grant

• Concentrations
• Newsletters

Isenberg doctoral students are guaranteed funding for 5 academic years and 4 summers. Funding is through an assistantship and is closely related to the program of study. Students usually work as a research assistant their first two years and then transition to teaching their last three.

As a graduate employee of the University, students are in the Graduate Employee Organization (GEO) union. Union benefits include a full tuition wavier, 95%  cost covered health insurance, dental and vision, and childcare benefits.

Funding is broken down into primary and secondary funding. Primary funding is the Isenberg PhD Program assistantship, and secondary funding is through the University Graduate School, Isenberg, and academic departments. Details of the funding opportunities are below. Students may be eligible for secondary funding depending upon student qualifications, eligibility and departmental needs.

Primary Funding Source:

• Academic Year Assistantship: 20 hours per week for 38 weeks (September – May), at least $30,000 total.
• Summer Assistantship: 60 hours total (May – July), $2,300 total
• Travel Reimbursement: $500 per year towards student travel to conferences & supplemental travel funding through PhD Program

Secondary Funding Source:

Graduate School Funding

• Predissertation Grant
• Dissertation Research Grant
• Dissertation Fieldwork Grant
• REAL Fellows Scholarship
• Spaulding Smith Fellows Scholarship
• Grants and Fellowships  

Isenberg Doctoral Awards

• Outstanding Doctoral Student Research Award (competitive)
• Outstanding Doctoral Student Teaching Award (competitive)
• All But Dissertation Award (awarded to all qualified students)

Isenberg PhD Project Scholarship  (competitive)

The Isenberg PhD Program is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion. Part of that mission involves being a member of the  PhD Project  which aims to advance workplace diversity by increasing the number of underrepresented minority business professors. Current PhD Project members are automatically considered.

Dissertations & Theses

Recent doctoral dissertations posted in scholarworks, recent masters theses posted in scholarworks.

• Things to know before you submit
• The Submission Process
• After Submission
• Retrospective Digitized Theses and Dissertations

Library Publishing & Institutional Repository Librarian

Completing and submitting your master's thesis or doctoral dissertation is an important part of completing your graduate degree.  This guide will help you prepare your thesis or dissertation for submission to ScholarWorks@UMassAmherst , the campus' open access institutional repository by providing step by step directions as well as guidance on copyright and permissions.

Throughout the guide, we will refer to electronic theses and dissertations as ETDs.

• Next: Things to know before you submit >>
• Last Updated: Mar 21, 2024 10:08 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.umass.edu/dissertations_theses

© 2022 University of Massachusetts Amherst • Site Policies • Accessibility

ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst

Home > ETDS

Dissertations and Theses

To browse dissertations and theses by academic department or program, please go to the Schools, Colleges, and Departments page.

Questions about the submission process?

Email [email protected] to schedule an appointment.

• Masters student and would like to submit your thesis, please follow this link .
• Doctoral student and would like to submit your dissertation, please follow this link .
• MFA student and would like to submit your thesis, please follow this link .

Doctoral Dissertations

Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest

Masters Theses

MFA Program for Poets & Writers Masters Theses Collection

Advanced Search

• Notify me via email or RSS
• Collections
• Disciplines

Author Corner

• Login for Faculty Authors
• Faculty Author Gallery
• Expert Gallery
• More Information
• University Libraries

This page is sponsored by the University Libraries.

© 2009 University of Massachusetts Amherst • Site Policies

Privacy Copyright

Search Google Appliance

• Blackboard Learn
• People Finder

Department of Political Science

Funding opportunities.

Incoming doctoral students receive funding packages that include a tuition waiver and several years of teaching and/or research assistantships, contingent on satisfactory progress in the program. Beyond those initial years of funding, other funded teaching  opportunities are available subject to departmental needs, and both internal and external funding is available on a competitive basis. The department also offers workshops and support to help advanced graduate students seek and obtain external research grants for writing, fieldwork and other research.

Department of Political Science Conference / Summer Research Grants

This department provides modest amounts of competitively allocated grant support to doctoral students currently in their second year or higher for conference travel and summer research or training in the following categories:

• Conference Grants
• Summer Language and Training Grants
• Summer Research Assistantships Grants
• Summer Research and Writing Grants

Full-Year Internal Funding - UMass Amherst

• Center for Research on Families Fellowship
• Graduate School Dissertation Research Grants
• Graduate School Predissertation Research Grants
• Graduate School Dissertation Fieldwork Grants

External Funding for Graduate Study

A good first step in the pursuit of external funding is to visit our Graduate Funding Database .

External Funding - Pre-dissertation, general

• National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship  (requires no more than 1 year of graduate study to be eligible)
• Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans  (first or second year graduate students, of foreign birth)

External Funding - Dissertation, general

• Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Program
• National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants
• M ellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellowship
• American Association of University Women  Dissertation Fellowship
• CLIR Mellon Fellowships for Dissertation Research in Original Sources
• Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship
• Jefferson Scholars Foundation National Fellowship

External Funding - Specialized areas of study

• Charlotte W. Newcombe Fellowship for Doctoral Dissertation Research  (research area: ethics and religion)

Global Issues

• Belfer Center Middle East Initiative Research Fellows
• Boren Fellowships  (National Security)
• M andel Center Fellowships (Holocaust Studies)
• Chateaubriand Fellowship  (humanities and social science research in France)
• Cohen-Tucker Dissertation Fellowship  (Russian Studies)
• Council of American Overseas Research Centers Fellowships  (language learning)
• Harvard A cademy for International and Area Studies -- Academy Scholars Program
• J ennings Randolph Peace Scholar Dissertation Fellowship  (international conflict management and peace building)
• Kanner Fellowship in British Studies
• Mellon-CES Dissertation Completion Fellowships in European Studies
• Mellon International Dissertation Research Fellowship
• Open Society Foundation C ivil Society Scholar Award
• Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center Oman Research Fellowship Program

Governance and Institutions

• Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. Research Fellowship
• Center on Budget and Policy Priorities State Policy Fellowship Program
• Cromwell Dissertation Prize  (American Legal History)
• Dirksen Congressional Center - Congressional Research Grants  (research on the US Congress)
• Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation Research Travel Grants Program
• Gerald R. Ford Scholar Dissertation Award
• Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy  (social policy)
• Institute for Humane Studies Humane Studies Fellowship  (studies directed towards the “intellectual and institutional foundations of a free society”)
• Institute for Humane Studies Hayek Fund
• John Hope Franklin Dissertation Fellowship  (African-American studies)
• Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library Middleton Fellowship in Presidential Studies
• National Academy of Education Spencer Dissertation Fellowship Program  (Education research)
• National Institute of Justice  Graduate Research Fellowship in Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Philips Fund Grant for Native American Research

Women’s Studies

• Carrie Chapman Catt Prize for Research on Women and Politics
• Woodrow Wilson Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship in Women’s Studies

Library Research

• New York Public Library Short-Term Research Fellowship
• LBJ Foundation Moody Research Grant
• Roosevelt Institute Research Grant

Research Methods

• ICPSR Scholarship for Political Science Research
• MAXQDA Research Grant

©2024 University of Massachusetts Amherst • Site Policies • Site Contact

UMass Boston

• Current Students
• Parents & Families
• Faculty & Staff
• Student Research
• Graduate Research Opportunities Funds
• Community-Driven Research
• Data Research & Reports
• Recognizing Excellence
• Undergraduate Research
• Centers & Institutes
• Research & Sponsored Programs

Graduate Research Funds

On this page:, doctoral dissertation research grant program, institute for asian american studies research fellows program at umass boston, funding opportunities available from the graduate student assembly at umass boston, apply for external funds to support work on a doctoral dissertation, nsf graduate research fellowship program, transdisciplinary dissertation proposal development program.

Eligibility: Doctoral Students in good academic standing whose dissertation proposals have been formally approved by their dissertation committees (please include a copy of the applicant’s Stage 3 form) or formal approval is imminent as indicated in letter of support from the chair of the dissertation committee. A UMass Boston doctoral student may receive only one doctoral dissertation grant at the university.

Application deadline: The deadline for the Spring 2024 cycle is Monday, February 26, 2024 at 5 p.m. Awards will be announced by mid-March 2024.

Maximum Award: $2,000, although subject to slight variation dependent on number of proposals and such.

Doctoral dissertation research grant cover sheet

Applications should be sent as a single .pdf file and sent to [email protected] .

General Information

These grants provide support for dissertation research activities of doctoral students and are made possible from funds recovered from external grants. A committee of University faculty drawn from various disciplines and program areas reviews all applications and makes recommendations to the Vice Provost for Research and Strategic Initiatives & the Associate Vice Provost for Graduate Studies for the allocation of these grant funds. Allocations for grants are based on the significance of the research, the merits of the research design, and the trajectory of the PhD student.

Nature of the Doctoral Dissertation Research Grant Program

The total allocation for these awards is $30,000 for the Spring 2024 cycle of applications, and it is expected each award will equal to ~$2,000, depending on the number and quality of applications received this cycle. Funds can be spent on technical assistance and clerical support beyond that normally available through the student’s department or program, research supplies, travel expenses for data collection, transcription costs, acquisition of specialized datasets, and communications. The Doctoral Dissertation Research Grant Program will not fund student’s salaries and research equipment. Costs for presenting the research results or accepting awards at regional, national, and international conferences will also not be considered.

Who May Submit a Proposal?

Any UMass Boston graduate student enrolled in a doctoral program at the university and whose dissertation proposal has been formally approved by their dissertation committee (or approval is imminent as indicated in letter of support from the chair of the committee) is eligible to submit a proposal for consideration. A UMass Boston doctoral student may receive only one doctoral dissertation grant at the university.

What to Submit

In order to expedite review of proposals, students are required to submit proposals in the following format. Please note that only one copy of the proposal is required.

The Doctoral Dissertation Research Grant Application includes:

• Student and dissertation information
• A 50 word lay (targeted for non-specialists) abstract
• Signatures of the dissertation committee chairperson and graduate program director or department chairperson.
• Aims & Significance of the proposed research
• Brief background
• Project goals and objectives with a timeline for accomplishment
• Research design, methodology, sample, procedure, and data analyses

Literature citations should be included on a separate page.

• Letter of recommendation from the chair of the doctoral dissertation committee. The letter should address the strengths/weaknesses of the applicant, the use of the funds from this award coupled to overall project support available to complete the study, and the degree to which the applicant independently developed the project.
• Additional letters of support can be included, but only if necessary, with examples including commitment from other organizations, departments, agencies or units that may be collaborating in the proposed project, as well as other potential secured funding sources.
• A copy of the applicant’s current CV.

All parts of the application need to be assembled in the following order: project narrative, letter(s), and CV and submitted to [email protected] as single pdf document.

For additional information, please contact [email protected] .

The   Institute for Asian American Studies (IAAS) established a Research Fellows Program in 1994 which provides small grants funding to faculty, graduate students, and other researchers who conduct a study on Asian American issues. Each Fellow is required to present his or her research at a public forum at UMass Boston, and to submit a manuscript for publishing as an Occasional Paper by the IAAS.

The Graduate Student Assembly (GSA) provides the following funding opportunities for graduate students.

• Dr. Robert W. Spayne Research Grant (for work leading to a master's thesis or capstone project)
• Craig R. Bollinger Memorial Research Grant (for work leading to a doctoral dissertation)
• Professional Development Grants (to provide opportunities to attend academic conferences)
• Chancellor's Distinguished Dissertation and Thesis Awards

For information (including deadlines) on how to apply for these grants and awards, please visit the GSA's website.

Dozens of federal, state, and private sponsors provide varying levels of support to doctoral students in a wide variety of disciplines who are about to begin work on or are working on their dissertations. The application process as well as the terms and conditions you are required to meet often vary from sponsor to sponsor. In all cases, before you begin the application process contact and have a staff member in the UMass Boston Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) review the sponsor's request for proposals, usually referred to as the RFP, to ensure that you are indeed eligible to submit an application. Call 617.287.5370, provide your name, name of your doctoral program, and ask to speak with the ORSP preaward staff member assigned to assist your program's college or school.

One excellent resource for all grantseekers, new or experienced, for learning about and staying abreast of developments in the grantmaking world is the website Miner and Associates, Inc.: Proven Solutions for Successful Grantseekers . In addition to the wealth of free, useful information available on the site, Miner and Associates, Inc. provide a "free electronic newsletter that attempts to inform -- and motivate -- as you close the financial gap between your needs and your resources. Our topics are driven by whatever is current at the moment in the world of grants.  Funding programs and priorities change. Grantmaker expectations increase, particularly in terms of evaluation and accountability. New data sources for grant proposals appear and disappear. And when it comes to persuasive proposal writing strategies, one is always a lifetime learner."

In addition to those sponsors, or grantmakers, listed below, the ORSP also provides all UMass Boston faculty, staff, and students with free access to a many funding databases. For details, please visit the ORSP Funding Opportunities webpage .

AAUW American Fellowships

Supports women doctoral candidates completing dissertations and scholars seeking funds for postdoctoral research leave or for preparing completed research for publication. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. One-year postdoctoral research leave fellowships, dissertation fellowships, and summer/short-term research publication grants are offered.

American Anthropological Association AAA Minority Dissertation Fellowship

Applicants must be members of a historically underrepresented ethnic minority group, including, but not limited to, African Americans, Alaskan Natives, American Indians or Native Americans, Asian Americans, Latino/as, Chicano/as, and Pacific Islanders; have a record of outstanding academic achievement; be enrolled in a full-time academic program leading to a doctoral degree in anthropology at the time of application; be admitted to degree candidacy before the dissertation fellowship is awarded; be members of the AAA at least one month prior to submitting materials for the AAA Minority Dissertation Fellowship Program; and have had their dissertation proposals approved by their dissertation committees prior to application. The recipient of the fellowship must be in need of a fellowship to complete the dissertation.   Abstract : The American Anthropological Association offers the AAA Minority Dissertation Fellowship to minority doctoral candidates in anthropology who require financial assistance to complete the write-up phase of the dissertation. The dissertation research must be in an area of anthropological research. Dissertation topics in all areas of the discipline are welcome.

American Educational Research Association (AERA) Dissertation Grants Program

Proposals for Dissertation Grants will be reviewed three times a year, with funding decisions made within a month of the review date.   Eligibility : Applicants must be advanced doctoral students. Underrepresented minority researchers are strongly encouraged to apply.   Abstract : With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the Institute of Education Sciences, the American Educational Research Association Grants Program announces its Dissertation Grants Program. The program's goals are (1) to stimulate research on U.S. education policy- and practice-related issues using NSF and NCES data sets; (2) to improve the educational research community's first-hand knowledge of the range of data available at the two agencies and how to use them; and (3) to increase the number of educational researchers using the data sets. The AERA invites education policy- and practice-related dissertation proposals using NCES, NSF, and other national data bases. Dissertation Grants are intended to support advanced doctoral students while writing the doctoral dissertation. Applications are encouraged from a variety of disciplines, such as but not limited to, education, sociology, economics, psychology, demography, statistics, and psychometrics. Researchers must include the analysis of data from at least one NSF or NCES data set in the dissertation. Additional large-scale nationally representative data sets may be used in conjunction with the obligatory NSF or NCES data set. If international data sets are used, the study must include U.S. education.

American Jewish Archives: Jacob Rader Marcus Center Fellowship Program

Applicants must be conducting serious research in some area relating to the history of North American Jewry. Typically, Marcus Center Fellowships will be awarded to postdoctoral candidates, PhD candidates who are completing dissertations, and senior or independent scholars.   Abstract : The annual Fellowship Program of the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives (AJA) provides recipients with month-long fellowships for research and writing at the Center, located on the Cincinnati campus of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Marcus Center Fellows are teachers, students, scholars, and practitioners who, both individually and as a group, come to the AJA to study some aspect of the American Jewish past. The research proposal must detail the precise nature of the applicant's research interests. The proposal must demonstrate clearly how the resources and holdings of the AJA are vital to the applicant's research.

American Musicological Society Howard Mayer Brown Fellowship

Candidates normally should be citizens or permanent residents of the United States or Canada who are members of historically underrepresented minority groups. Students are eligible who have completed at least one year of graduate work, intend to pursue a PhD, and are in good standing at their home institution. Applications may come directly from the student, or the student may be nominated by a faculty member of the institution at which the student is enrolled or from a member of the AMS at another institution.   Citizenship : Canada; United States.   Abstract : The American Musicological Society's Howard Mayer Brown Fellowship is intended to increase the presence of minority scholars and teachers in musicology. The fellowship will support one year of graduate work for a student at a North American university who is a member of a group historically underrepresented in the discipline of musicology. The fellowship is not restricted to dissertation work.

American Musicological Society Travel Grants for European Research

Applicants must be students attending North American universities who have completed all requirements except the dissertation for the PhD in any field of musical scholarship and who need to undertake research in Europe toward the dissertation.   Abstract : The American Musicological Society offers travel grants from the Eugene K. Wolf Travel Fund for European Research to encourage and assist PhD candidates in all fields of musical scholarship to travel to Europe to carry out the necessary work for their dissertation on a topic in European music.

American Philosophical Society Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research

Grants will be available to doctoral students; master's degree candidates are not eligible. Applicants who have received Lewis and Clark Fund grants may reapply after an interval of two years. The competition is open to U.S. residents wishing to carry out research anywhere in the world. Foreign applicants must either be based at a U.S. institution or plan to carry out their work in the United States. Student applicants should ask their academic advisor to write one of the two letters of recommendation, specifying the student's qualifications to carry out the proposed work and the educational content of the trip.   Abstrac t: The American Philosophical Society's (APS) Lewis and Clark Fund encourages exploratory field studies for the collection of specimens and data and to provide the imaginative stimulus that accompanies direct observation. Applications are invited from disciplines with a large dependence on field studies, such as archeology, anthropology, biology, ecology, geography, geology, linguistics, and paleontology, but grants will not be restricted to these fields. Each grantee will submit a brief report on his or her trip for archiving in the APS Library.

American Philosophical Society John Hope Franklin Dissertation Fellowship

Candidates must have completed all course work and examinations preliminary to the doctoral dissertation.   Abstract : The American Philosophical Society's (APS) John Hope Franklin Dissertation Fellowship is designed to support an outstanding doctoral student at an American university who is conducting dissertation research. The objective of the John Hope Franklin Dissertation Fellowship is to help remedy the serious shortage of faculty of color in core fields in the arts and sciences, by supporting the PhD projects of minority students of great promise (particularly African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and Native Americans) as well as other talented students who have a demonstrated commitment to eradicating racial disparities and enlarging minority representation in academia. The John Hope Franklin Fellow is expected to spend a minimum of three months in residence at the APS Library in Philadelphia, with full encouragement to conduct research at other libraries and archives in and around the city. Therefore, all applicants should be pursuing dissertation topics in which the holdings of the APS Library are especially strong, such as quantum mechanics, nuclear physics, computer development, the history of genetics and eugenics, the history of medicine, Early American political and cultural history, natural history in the 18th and 19th centuries, the development of cultural anthropology, or American Indian linguistics and culture.

American Sociological Association Minority Fellowship Program

Applicants must be members of one of the following underrepresented minority groups in the U.S.: Blacks/African Americans, Hispanics and Latinos/as, Asians or Pacific Islanders, or American Indians or Alaskan Natives. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, noncitizen nationals of the U.S., or have been lawfully admitted to the U.S. for permanent residence and have in their possession an Alien Registration Card. The fellowship program is primarily, but not solely, designed for minority students sufficiently advanced in their PhD program to demonstrate their commitment to a research career focusing on topics relevant to NIMH and NIDA research. Applicants for the MFP General Fellowship may be in earlier stages in their graduate careers, but must be accepted into a PhD program in sociology at the time the MFP Fellowship begins.   Citizenship : U.S. citizens are eligible.   Abstract : Through its Minority Fellowship Program, the American Sociological Association supports the development and training of sociologists of color in mental health and drug abuse research; this fellowship is open to graduate students pursuing a PhD in any area of sociology.

William Anderson Award

For the best doctoral dissertation in the field of state and local politics, federalism, or intergovernmental relations.

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation/ACLS Early Career Fellowships

The first part of this program, the Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellowships, makes possible a year of supported research and writing, to help students complete their dissertation. The second part of the program, Recent Doctoral Recipients Fellowships, provides support for a year following the completion of the doctorate for scholars to advance their research. A grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation supports this program.

American Psychological Association Dissertation Research Awards

The Science Directorate of the American Psychological Association sponsors an annual competition for dissertation research funding. The purpose of the Dissertation Research Award program is to assist science-oriented doctoral students of psychology with research costs. In 2003, the Science Directorate will grant this $1,000 award to approximately 50 students whose dissertation research reflects excellence in scientific psychology.

APF/Todd E. Husted Memorial Award

This is a single award in the amount of $1,000 for the dissertation research that indicates the most potential to contribute toward the development and improvement of mental illness services for those with severe and persistent mental illness. Applicants for the Husted Award must meet the same eligibility requirements as the Dissertation Research Awards.

Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange Dissertation Fellowships for Republic of China Students Abroad

Doctoral candidates who are Republic of China (ROC) citizens and who are completing the last stage of their PhD research at an accredited university in the American Region (the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, or South America) may apply. Only students who have graduated from an accredited university or college in the ROC, and who do not have foreign permanent residence status or citizenship, are eligible to apply. Grants are available only to doctoral candidates who are neither employed nor receiving grants from other sources.   Citizenship : China.   Abstract : The Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange provides grants for ROC students abroad to help finance the completion of dissertations in the humanities and social sciences.

DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellowship

Scientists who may reside in science, mathematics, engineering or computer science departments but share an interest in research using computing and mathematical methods may apply for this fellowship through the Department of Energy. Although their pursuits vary widely, the DOE CSGF helps these computational scientists develop a sense of community that’s often difficult to find in a single academic department.  It starts with practicum assignments at DOE laboratories, where interdisciplinary teams conduct research in ways far different than in academic departments.

Josephine De Karman Fellowship

Students in any discipline entering senior undergraduate year or graduate students entering the terminal year of a PhD program in the fall of 2010. Applicants should have manifested exceptional ability and serious purpose. Special consideration will be given to applicants in the Humanities and to those who have completed their qualifying examinations for the doctoral degree.

Educational Testing Service Summer Internship Program for Graduate Students

The Educational Testing Service (ETS) program is open to graduate students who are currently enrolled in a doctoral program and have completed a minimum of two years of full-time graduate study in a program emphasizing one of the areas specified.   Abstract : The goals of the Summer Internship Program for Graduate Students are to provide research opportunities to individuals enrolled in a doctoral program in the fields described below and to increase the number of women and underrepresented minority professionals conducting research in educational measurement and related fields. Interns in this two-month program participate in research under the guidance of a senior ETS staff member in one of these areas: 1. Measurement theory; 2. Validity; 3. Natural language processing and computational linguistics; 4. Cognitive psychology; 5. Learning theory; 6.Linguistics; 7. Speech recognition and processing; 8. Teaching and classroom research; 9. Statistics; and10. International large scale assessments. Interns also participate in seminars and workshops on a variety of topics.

Ford Foundation Diversity Dissertation Fellowships

To increase the presence of underrepresented minorities on the nation's college and university faculties, to enhance diversity on campuses, and to address the persisting effects of past discrimination, the Ford Foundation offers predoctoral fellowships to PhD and ScD students who are U.S. citizens from one of the following minority groups: Native American Indian, Alaskan Native (Eskimo or Aleut), Black/African American, Mexican American/Chicano, Native Pacific Islander (Polynesian or Micronesian), and Puerto Rican. Must have completed all degree requirements except the writing and defense of the dissertation, including coursework, examinations, language requirements, etc.

Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation Dissertation Fellowships for Research on Aggression and Violence

Grants are made to PhD candidates who are in the writing stage of the dissertation. Usually, this means that fieldwork or other research is complete and writing has begun. Both the applicant and the applicant's advisor are asked to assure the foundation that the thesis will be complete within the grant year.   Abstract : Dissertation fellowships are awarded each year to individuals who will complete the writing of the dissertation within the award year. These fellowships are designed to contribute to the support of the doctoral candidate to enable him or her to complete the thesis in a timely manner. Applications are evaluated in comparison with each other and not in competition with the postdoctoral research proposals. Highest priority is given to research that can increase understanding and amelioration of urgent problems of violence, aggression, and dominance in the modern world. Particular questions that interest the foundation concern violence, aggression, and dominance in relation to social change, the socialization of children, intergroup conflict, drug trafficking and use, family relationships, and investigations of the control of aggression and violence. Priority will also be given to areas and methodologies not receiving adequate attention and support from other funding sources.

Hispanic Theological Initiative (HTI) Dissertation Year Grant

U.S. or Canadian citizens or legal immigrants.   Eligibility : Applicants must be in a school accredited by an agency recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and must have completed all program requirements but their dissertation.   Abstract : The overall goal of the HTI is to help identify and support talented women and men in the development of intellectual and scholarly tools for teaching and research. In addition to monetary support to help the awardee devote as much time as possible to writing, the HTI will also provide the dissertation year awardee with skilled editorial support in order to facilitate a timely completion of the dissertation; a mid-year workshop to monitor and encourage the writing process to provide a time for discussion of dissertation; and to provide collegial support.

Robert D. Hodgson Memorial PhD Dissertation Fund

Provides financial assistance to candidates preparing doctoral dissertations in geography.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: The Doctoral Dissertation Research Grant Program

Annual program to encourage doctoral candidates to engage in policy-relevant community, housing, and urban development research; to assist doctoral candidates in the timely completion of their dissertation research; to focus research on policy-relevant housing and community development issues; and to provide a forum for new scholars to share their research findings

Harold D. Lasswell Award

For the best doctoral dissertation in the field of policy studies (supported by the Policy Studies Organization).

Mathematica Policy Research Summer Fellowships

Students enrolled in a master's or PhD program in public policy or a social science are eligible. Fellowships will be held in Princeton, New Jersey; Washington, District of Columbia; and Cambridge, Massachusetts.   Abstract : Mathematica launched its summer fellowship program to promote careers in social policy research, particularly for scholars who might otherwise be drawn to government or academe. The program supports independent, self-directed research on economic or social problems that affect minority groups.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration/ United Negro College Fund Special Programs Corporation: Harriet G. Jenkins Predoctoral Fellowship Program

Annual fellowship program to increase the number of women, minorities, and people with disabilities participating in math, science, engineering, and technology disciplines of interest to NASA. Fields of study include: Aeronautics/aerospace, astronomy, bioengineering, biology, chemistry, computer science, earth sciences, engineering, environmental sciences, life sciences, materials sciences, mathematics, meteorology, physical sciences, physics, and science education.

National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants

In an effort to improve the quality of dissertation research, many programs in the Division of Social and Economic Sciences and the Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences accept doctoral dissertation improvement grant proposals. The following programs are most active in support of dissertation research: Archaeology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Cultural Anthropology, Decision, Risk & Management Science, Geography and Regional Science, Law and Social Science, Linguistics, Physical Anthropology, Political Science, Science and Technology Studies, Sociology, and Societal Dimensions of Engineering, Science, and Technology. In addition, the following Programs also support doctoral dissertation research when especially appropriate: Economics and Human Cognition & Perception.

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship   (Including Women in Engineering and Computer and Information Science Awards)

Offers recognition and three years of support for advanced study to approximately 900 outstanding graduate students in the mathematical, physical, biological, engineering, and behavioral and social sciences, including the history of science and the philosophy of science, and to research-based PhD degrees in science education.

National Science Foundation Mathematical Sciences Graduate Internship

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Mathematical Sciences (DMS) aims to provide opportunities to enrich the training of graduate students in the Mathematical Sciences through the provision of an NSF Mathematical Sciences Graduate Internship Program. This program will provide an opportunity for mathematical sciences doctoral students to participate in internships at federal national laboratories, industry and other approved facilities. Participation in an internship will provide first-hand experience of the use of mathematics in a nonacademic setting. The internships are aimed at students who are interested in understanding the application of advanced mathematical and statistical techniques to "real world" problems, regardless of whether the student plans to pursue an academic or nonacademic career.

Helen Dwight Reid Award

Fellowship candidates must have completed the preliminary examinations for the doctorate no later than February 1 prior to the application deadline.   Abstract : RFF will award fellowships in support of doctoral dissertation research on issues related to the environment, natural resources, or energy. RFF's primary research disciplines are economics and other social sciences. Proposals originating in these fields will have the greatest likelihood of success. Proposals from the physical or biological sciences must have an immediate and obvious link to environmental policy matters to be considered. This fellowship is intended to be the principal source of support for graduate students in the final year of their dissertation research.

E. E. Schattschneider Award

For the best doctoral dissertation in the field of American government.

Leopold Schepp Foundation/Scholarships for Graduate Education

Annual awards are available to full-time enrolled college   Graduate   students to study at accredited colleges/universities. Primary considerations for awards are as follows:   Character   - references are required and school/college evaluations are taken into account,   Academic Ability , and   Financial Need . Applicant must be a U.S. citizen/permanent resident. Age limits for 1st time applicants are as follows: graduates - under 40 yrs old, post-doctorate work has no age limit. Graduates with only their dissertation left won't be considered. Applicant must attend an interview in New York City. Number of awards includes all undergraduate and graduate awards. Contact the enclosed address between June 1st and no later than November 30th for information/application guidelines, enclose a SASE. Leopold Schepp Foundation 551 Fifth Ave-Suite 2525 New York, NY 10176 (212) 986-3078

Smithsonian Institution Office of Research Training and Service Graduate Student Fellowships

Applicants must be formally enrolled in a graduate program of study, must have completed at least one semester, and must not yet have been advanced to candidacy in a doctoral program.   Abstract : Fellowships at the Smithsonian Institution provide students and scholars with opportunities to pursue independent research projects in association with members of the Smithsonian professional research staff. Graduate fellowships allow students to conduct research for ten-week periods in association with Smithsonian research staff members. Applicants must propose research in a field pursued at the Smithsonian. A specific and detailed research proposal indicating why the Smithsonian is an appropriate place to conduct the studies proposed is required. Fellowships are only offered to support research within Smithsonian facilities or programs. Fellows are expected to spend most of their tenure in residence at the Smithsonian, except when arrangements are made for periods of field work or research travel. Fields of research at the Smithsonian include American history, American material and folk culture, and the history of music and musical instruments; history of science and technology, history of art, design, crafts, and the decorative arts; anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, and ethnic studies; evolutionary, systematic, behavioral, environmental biology, and conservation; geological sciences and astrophysics; and materials characterization and conservation.

Smithsonian Institution Office of Research Training and Service Predoctoral Fellowships

Students enrolled in a university as candidates for the PhD or equivalent are eligible for predoctoral fellowships. By the time the appointment begins, the university must approve the undertaking of dissertation research at the Smithsonian Institution and certify that requirements for the doctorate, other than the dissertation, have been met.   Abstract : Predoctoral fellowships allow students to conduct research for periods of three to twelve months. Fellowships at the Smithsonian Institution provide students and scholars with opportunities to pursue independent research projects in association with members of the Smithsonian professional research staff. Persons interested in conducting research at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory should apply to that bureau directly.

Smithsonian Institution Office of Research Training and Services Minority Internships

Applicants must be minority beginning graduate students.   Abstract : The Office of Fellowships and Grants offers a number of opportunities to increase minority participation in Smithsonian Institution scholarly programs. Stipend awards are available for interns to participate in supervised ongoing research or museum-related activities for periods of 10 weeks.

Social Science Research Council

Sponsors fellowship and grant programs on a wide range of topics, and across many different career stages. Most support goes to predissertation, dissertation, and postdoctoral fellowships, offered through annual competitions. Some programs support summer institutes and advanced research grants. Although most programs target the social sciences, many are also open to applicants from the humanities, the natural sciences, and relevant professional and practitioner communities.

Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues

Dissertation and other awards available.

Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues Dalmas A. Taylor Summer Minority Policy Fellowship

To be eligible, an applicant must be a graduate student in good standing who is a member of an ethnic minority group (including, but not limited to, African American, Alaskan Native, American Indian, Asian American, Hispanic, and Pacific Islander) and who has demonstrated a commitment to a career in psychology or a related field with a focus on ethnic minority issues.   Citizenship : Unspecified.   Abstract : The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues established this award to honor the memory of Dr. Dalmas Taylor, who was instrumental in establishing the Minority Fellowships at the American Psychological Association (APA) and in increasing the profession's attention to inclusion of people of color. The fellowship will be administered in conjunction with the APA's Minority Fellowship Office and will provide an opportunity for a graduate student to work on public policy issues in Washington, DC.

Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI) Grants-in-Aid Program

The applicant must be a member of SPSSI.   Abstract : The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues Committee on Grants-in-Aid wishes to support scientific research in social problem areas related to the basic interests and goals of SPSSI and particularly those that are not likely to receive support from traditional sources. The Committee especially encourages proposals involving unique and timely research opportunities, underrepresented institutions, new investigators, volunteer research teams, and actual (not pilot) projects. Funds are not normally provided for travel to conventions, travel or living expenses while conducting research, stipends of principal investigators, costs associated with manuscript preparation, or the indirect costs of institutions.

Southern Regional Education Board Doctoral Scholars and Dissertation Scholars Programs (SREB) Dissertation Year Fellowships

For doctoral scholars who have reached the dissertation stage, a limited number of single-year fellowships are available. These fellowships are available only to minority scholars who plan to become full-time faculty members upon completion of their doctoral program. Applicants must meet the same eligibility requirements as Doctoral Scholars Program applicants and must have completed all program requirements, including successful defense of the dissertation proposal. Applicants also must be able to devote full time to completing the dissertation. Each Dissertation Year Fellowship recipient receives a one-year stipend of $12,000; a waiver of tuition and fees; a small stipend for research expenses; and expenses associated with the Doctoral Scholars Program annual meeting.

Stanford University Center on Adolescence Youth Purpose Research Awards

U.S. citizens and permanent residents may apply.   Eligibility : Doctoral candidates whose dissertation proposals have been approved. Applicants may be from any field that may inform youth purpose scholarship, including psychology, sociology, history, human development or education.   Abstract : The Stanford Center on Adolescence supports young scholars pursuing research related to youth purpose, defined as a stable and generalized intention to accomplish something that is at once meaningful to the self and of intended consequence beyond the self.

Otis Paul Starkey Fund

Supports doctoral dissertations or research papers devoted to regional study or significant problem areas in the U.S. or its possessions.

Leo Strauss Award

For the best doctoral dissertation in the field of political philosophy.

Morris K. Udall Foundation

Citizenship : U.S. citizens, permanent residents or nationals are eligible.   Eligibility : Each applicant must:  have completed all PhD coursework and passed all preliminary exams; have approval for the dissertation research proposal by February 21, 2010; and be entering the final year of writing the dissertation. The primary focus of dissertation research should be U.S. environmental policy or environmental conflict resolution. PhD candidates who hold a fellowship for the purpose of writing the dissertation during the year preceding or coinciding with the Udall Fellowship are not eligible.   Abstract : The Udall Foundation awards fellowships to doctoral candidates whose research concerns U.S. environmental public policy or environmental conflict resolution and who are entering their final year of writing the dissertation. Dissertation fellowships are open to scholars in all fields of study whose dissertation topic has significant relevance to U.S. environmental public policy or environmental conflict resolution. It is the foundation's intent that work conducted during the fellowship year be done in the United States.

Leonard D. White Award

For the best doctoral dissertation in the field of public administration.

Woodrow Wilson Dissertation Grants in Women's Studies

Encourages original and significant research about women that crosses disciplinary, regional, or cultural boundaries.

The National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP) recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions.

Fellows benefit from a three-year annual stipend of $32,000 along with a $12,000 cost of education allowance for tuition and fees, opportunities for international research and professional development, and the freedom to conduct their own research at any accredited U.S. institution of graduate education they choose.

The fellowship is competitive, and those planning to apply should devote a sincere effort to their application. See the  NSF GRFP website  for more information on applying. The GRFP application is available at  www.fastlane.nsf.gov/grfp/.

Eligibility

• To be eligible for the NSF GRFP, you must:
• be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or permanent resident
• be in a research-focused master's or PhD program in an NSF-supported field
• be enrolled in an eligible program at an accredited United States graduate institution
• have completed no more than twelve months of full-time graduate study (or the equivalent)
• meet all other eligibility requirements as set forth in the current Program Solicitation

The "no more than twelve months" limit applies to your entire post-baccalaureate career, not just your current program. If you have completed less than twelve months of your PhD but have previously completed a master's degree, you would not be eligible for the GRFP.

NSF-Supported Fields

NSF supports a broad range of fields: chemistry, computer and information science, engineering, geosciences, life sciences, materials research, mathematical sciences, physics and astronomy, social sciences and STEM education and learning research.  View a complete list of NSF-supported fields.

The following programs and areas of study are  not eligible :

• Practice-oriented, professional degree programs (MBA, MSW, MPH, ED, etc.)
• Joint science-professional programs (MD/PhD, JD/PhD, etc.)
• Business administration or management
• Social work
• Education (except research-focused STEM education programs)
• History (except for history of science)
• Public health programs
• Medical programs
• Dental programs

Research with disease-related goals, including the etiology, diagnosis or treatment of physical or mental disease, abnormality or malfunction.

Questions About Eligibility

The official GRFP eligibility guidelines are published in the  program solicitation . All applicants should read these guidelines carefully.

Please call the GRF Operations Center at 866.673.4737 or email  [email protected]  if you have questions about the eligibility guidelines.

Additional Resources

A sample NSF GRFO application submitted Nov. 2011, courtesy of fellow Amy Herberle (Developmental Psychology):

• Sample Personal Statement
• Sample Past Research Experience
• Sample Proposed Research Plan

A sample NSF GRFP application submitted Nov. 2011, courtesy of fellow Daniel Peterson (Organismic and Evolutionary Biology):

A sample NSF GRFP application submitted Nov. 2011, courtesy of fellow Justin Helepololei (Anthropology):

Internet resources:

" Advice for Applicants to the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship " by Keith Jacks Gamble, UC Berkeley. Written 9/23/04, updated 1/23/06.

NSF Graduate Fellowship Advice , collected by Jennifer Wang, University of Wisconsin.

Sample NSF GRFP proposals: environmental sciences, policy and management . Compiled by Rachel C. Smith, UC Berkeley.

The UMass Boston Transdisciplinary Dissertation Proposal Development Program is designed for students who are ready to develop their dissertation proposals. Through participation in dissertation development seminars/workshops and summer research, students will develop cogent and fundable dissertation research proposals that draw on inter- or transdisciplinary theories, methods, or approaches. The 2022 Institute will be geared towards students planning to defend dissertation proposals in the 2022-2023 academic year.

• Information sheet
• Application form
• Recommendation form

What is the Transdisciplinary Dissertation Proposal Development Program?

An opportunity for 12-15 doctoral students to participate in dissertation proposal development training. Students receive up to $3,000 to fund summer exploratory pre-dissertation research. The goal of the institute is to help clarify a student’s research questions and scope, to help them learn how to develop dissertation research proposals for funding applications, and to offer ideas about ways other disciplines or methods might contribute to their research project. The institute is also designed to build a support network of peers and faculty beyond the student’s program.

Who Is Eligible?

Matriculated UMB Ph.D. students in the proposal development stage who can commit to attending two workshops:

• June 7 - 11
• September 9 – 11

Application Deadline:   April 4th 

For any additional information, please contact  [email protected]

Diana Kasem awarded 2024 Romantan International Fieldwork Grant

Graduate student Diana Kasem has received a 2024 Romantan International Fieldwork Grant.

Using “khayal ilmi” —Arab science fiction (ASF)— as a case study, her dissertation project explores the unique features of imaginary worlds in science fiction (SF) films and their relation to reality while filling gaps in existing ASF film discourses. It aims to examine how their narrative and SF techniques produce alternative representations and speculative perspectives on issues pertaining to colonization, exile, diaspora, collective traumas, hunger, environmental pollution, immigration, and communication. Kasem’s research explores the issues contextualizing imaginary worlds and examines what they are capable of theoretically and practically. This includes the intentions of filmmakers to shape past, present, and future narratives via the production of speculative visions and alternative representations that inspire resilient, positive outcomes or social change.

Developing this topic at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Diana Kasem has published two peer-reviewed articles on Arab science fiction and resilient communication in addition to a paper about twentieth century Arab science fantasy that will be translated into French and featured in the Arabofuturs exhibition in the Institut du Monde Arabe, France in April 2024. During summer 2024, she plans to visit the Arabofuturs exhibition in Paris to collect data from its museum’s collections of archives, books, and artworks, as well as conduct interviews with Arabic SF artists and filmmakers.

Integrative Learning Center N310 650 N. Pleasant St. University of Massachusetts
 Amherst, MA 01003-1100


Phone: 413-545-1311 
Fax: 413-545-6550 M-F 9:00am-5:00pm

Meï Receives 2024-25 UMass Lilly Teaching Fellowship, Mutual Mentoring Grant

Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences (CICS) Teaching Faculty Siobhan Meï has been selected as a 2024–2025 UMass Amherst Lilly Teaching Fellow . The program enables promising early-career faculty to develop and expand their expertise in undergraduate teaching while pursuing outside scholarly activity.  

Each year, UMass selects eight fellows from a large pool of nominees, focusing on those who "demonstrate considerable promise in teaching and scholarship, an understanding of student perspectives in teaching, strong interest in undergraduate student success, and a commitment to developing high-impact teaching practices." Selected fellows receive support from the UMass Center for Teaching and Learning in developing or redesigning an undergraduate course.   

During their fellowship year, participants attend regular seminars on pedagogy and complete a teaching portfolio that includes work with mentors. Following their fellowship, faculty demonstrate leadership in teaching by participating in teaching-related workshops, collaborating on teaching evaluation projects, or engaging in other teaching-related roles and functions on campus.  

Leveraging the strengths of the current program, Meï will develop two new Junior-Year Writing courses for CICS during her fellowship. "One of these courses will target students who are particularly interested in developing writing skills in the context of research communication, and the other course will emphasize the historical (and ongoing!) relationship between writing and social advocacy and activism in the tech space," she explains.    

In addition to the UMass Lilly Teaching Fellowship, Meï has been announced as one of five 2024-25 Mutual Mentoring Micro Grant faculty recipients for her project, “Rendering Revolution – Curation Across Disciplines.” Offered by the UMass Amherst Office of Faculty Development, the Mutual Mentoring Grant program provides funding to help faculty and librarians develop and strengthen their mentoring networks and grow as researchers, teachers, and leaders in their fields. This award will support Meï's ongoing research collaboration with Jonathan Michael Square, an assistant professor in Black Visual Culture at Pasrsons School of Design.  

Meï joined the CICS faculty in 2020. As a literary historian and translator, her background in translation studies informs her approach to teaching writing in CICS as a multimodal and multilingual form of human expression. Her research explores the intersections of fashion, narrative, and translation in Black Atlantic literary traditions. She received a PhD in comparative literature from UMass Amherst in 2022.

• Follow us on Social Media

Subscribe to the CICS eNewsletter

Douglass School Project receives grant to help restorations

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Douglass School Project, in Higginsville, Missouri, announced that it is a recipient of a grant awarded by the National Park Service.

The award comes through the African American Civil Rights (AACR) grant program. The amount awarded is $209,800. Part of this money has been earmarked for a historic structure survey which helps outline steps needing to be taken to moved forward with the restoration for the Douglass School. The remaining money would be used to replace exterior windows to prevent any further damage to the building.

The project began two years ago with a goal to restore Douglass School and establish a museum and learning center dedicated to preserving African American history in Lafayette County. In that time, critical repairs were made to stabilize the building, and extensive cleanup was completed.

READ ALSO : Worlds of Fun prepares to offer more in its 51st season

“Douglass School Project was one of the 39 projects to receive the AACR award, which focuses on the preservation of sites and stories directly associated with the struggle of African Americans to gain equal rights. Since 2016, the National Park Service has provided over $126 million through its program to document, preserve and recognize the place and stories associated with the places and stories associated with the struggle for civil rights of African Americans.” according to National Park Service Director Chuck Sams.

The project will rehabilitate the 1925 Douglass School building in Higginsville. The school served African American students in Higginsville and surrounding areas until 1955. The number of buildings that served the African American community in the area has significantly decreased. There were originally 20 school buildings remaining and there are now only two in the entire county. The museum and learning center will be established within the building to preserve the rich history of the African American community in this region once known as “Little Dixie.”

Douglass School Project is accepting donations to cover costs associated with repairs. Any support received so far is greatly appreciated. To make a donation, visit the website here or send a check to “Douglass School Project,” 214 W. 17 Street, Higginsville, MO. 64037.

READ ALSO : Jury trial set for man accused of firing fatal shot during Union Station shooting

Copyright 2024 KCTV. All rights reserved.

Harrison Butker jersey sales increase in aftermath of Benedictine College address

City of Kansas City tweets, deletes dig at Chiefs kicker

Restaurant chain scrambles to keep up with viral TikTok trend

Tavia Hunt shares thoughts on motherhood, married life following Chiefs kicker’s commencement speech

Kansas City, Kansas hospital to halt labor, delivery services

Latest news.

Wrongly branded as a felon for decades, Kansas City great-grandmother secures court victory

Local nonprofit thankful for community support after truck stolen

1 adult, 1 juvenile dead after house fire reported in rural Eastern Kansas

Community gathers in Independence to remember those lost in the line of duty

Chiefs Kingdom weighs in on Harrison Butker’s commencement speech

Official websites use .mass.gov

Secure websites use HTTPS certificate

A lock icon ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the official website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

• search    across the entire site
• search  in Executive Office of Veterans Services
• This page, Executive Office of Veterans Services Announces Grant Awards for Veteran Community Initiatives, is   offered by
• Executive Office of Veterans Services

Press Release  Executive Office of Veterans Services Announces Grant Awards for Veteran Community Initiatives

Media contact   for executive office of veterans services announces grant awards for veteran community initiatives, jacqueline manning.

Boston, MA — The Executive Office of Veterans Services (EOVS) today announced $2 million in grant funding through the Veterans Community Initiative (VCI) Grant program for 15 community organizations. Following recommendations from the Veterans Reintegration Advisory Committee (VRAC) report , this funding will support informal and formal peer support efforts as well as fund innovative programming to address suicide prevention in the veteran and servicemember community in Massachusetts. 

"We are wholeheartedly dedicated to empowering our servicemembers, veterans and their families with comprehensive support across Massachusetts, said Secretary Jon Santiago. "This funding strengthens the backbone of our veteran community by expanding crucial peer support networks and broadening our suicide prevention efforts, ensuring that we meet the evolving needs of our veterans with precision and compassion.” 

The VCI Grant will benefit 15 organizations that demonstrate innovative approaches to veteran services. The recipients are:   

The Veterans Reintegration Advisory Committee (VRAC), established through a legislative mandate , consists of private and nonprofit stakeholders addressing veterans' mental health and suicide.  In January 2024, VRAC released the report , “An Examination of Suicide Among Veterans and Their Reintegration into Society,” outlining a framework to reduce veteran suicide. 

The committee found that in Massachusetts, 1 in 9 suicides involved current or former military personnel, often impacted by mental health or substance use disorders, and more likely to attempt suicide by lethal means. Key strategies include systematic data collection, rapid access to treatment, investment in peer services, and comprehensive training for healthcare providers in military culture and suicide prevention. The VCI grants announced today aim to connect and support these efforts. 

For more information about the Veterans Community Initiative (VCI) Grant and the projects it supports, please contact (857)-303-6051.  

Executive Office of Veterans Services 

Help us improve mass.gov   with your feedback.

The feedback will only be used for improving the website. If you need assistance, please contact the Executive Office of Veterans Services . Please limit your input to 500 characters.

Thank you for your website feedback! We will use this information to improve this page.

If you would like to continue helping us improve Mass.gov, join our user panel to test new features for the site.

2024 Faculty and Student Awards

May 15, 2024 English

Congratulations to English faculty and students on their awards and accomplishments!

Faculty awards & fellowships.

Long Faculty Fellowship: Gerard Passannante

Professor Gerard Passannante has been selected as the AY24-25 Long Faculty Fellow. Passannante will use the time afforded by the Long Faculty Fellowship to develop a course that puts imagined museums into dialogue with real institutions, as students consider the museum as a critical performance space, a site of political and social resistance, and a site of cultural imperialism and theft. The class centers experiential learning, which will entail visits to area collections and archives, and conversations with the people who work there, including curators and directors at the Phillips collection, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. The course will also introduce students to guests like the author Chloe Aridjis and filmmaker Jem Cohen.

Faculty Service Award: Karen Nelson

Director of the Center for Literary and Comparative Studies Karen Nelson received the Faculty Service Award. The Faculty Service Award seeks to recognize a member of the Department of English faculty who is particularly dedicated to service to the department, leadership, and support of graduate students.

"Karen Nelson is a wonderful member of the our literary community who is tirelessly dedicated to service. She goes above and beyond in her mentorship of graduate students, organizing of departmental events and community, and more. She is instrumental in supporting faculty of all stages in learning about funding and other opportunities."

"Her devotion to the students of the department alongside her willingness to be honest about the state of our world and the attentive detail she pays to everyone and everything makes her deserving of this award year after year."

Kandice Chuh Mentorship Award: David Simon

Professor David Simon received the Kandice Chuh Mentorship Award. Named for former UMD English Professor Kandice Chuh, the Mentorship Award seeks to honor a faculty member for their fostering of community, intellectual generosity, support and commitment to graduate students and their causes.

"David is the embodiment of intellectual generosity. His feedback on graduate papers is evidence of that. He is thoughtful, engages openly with ideas, asks questions and makes suggestions for how you can improve your analysis. His openness spreads to the classroom and individual mentorship meetings. David is dedicated to helping students build generative thoughts, ideas and writing."

"David Simon is a thoughtful and supportive mentor to all graduate students who meet him. He does what many won’t: he thinks with you. As a result of our conversations and feedback on writing, my dissertation is so much stronger and exciting. And maybe most importantly—I enjoy the work more! He is a treasure of the English department!"

Professional Track Faculty Teaching Awards: Aysha Jawed, Alan Montroso and Daune O'Brien

Lecturer Aysha Jawed, Lecturer Alan Montroso and Senior Lecturer Daune O'Brien received the 2024 Teaching Excellence Award, with an honorable mention to Lecturer Liam Daley.

Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award: Lillian-Yvonne Bertram

Professor Lillian-Yvonne Bertram has received a 2024 Grants to Artists award from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts. The $45,000 awards are unrestricted, and “intended to provide recipients with the financial means to engage in whatever artistic endeavors they wish to pursue.”

Dumbarton Oaks Fellowship: Vessela Valiavitcharska

Professor Vessela Valiavitcharska has received a Dumbarton Oaks Fellowship in Byzantine Studies for 2024–25.

Teaching Innovation Grant: Marisa Parham

Professor Marisa Parham was awarded a TLTC grant for NarraSpace. $400k will support innovation in digital storytelling and interactive scholarship, with a focus on investigating ways to center BIPOC, queer and transnational perspective through experimental and emergent technologies.

Graduate Student Awards & Highlights

Da Som Lee and Dylan Lewis won the James A. Robinson Awards for outstanding graduate student teaching of undergraduate courses. Lee also received the Mary Savage Snouffer Dissertation Fellowship.

Diana Proenza and Annemarie Mott Ewing won the Outstanding Graduate Assistant Award. Proenza also won the English Summer Archival Research Award.

Aaron Bartlett received honorable mention for the Sally Mitchell Prize for North American Victorian Studies Association Best Graduate Student Paper.

Fernando Duran received the Wylie Dissertation Fellowship.

Dalton Greene received the Kwiatek Fellowship.

Charlie Mitchell won the Kinnaird Award (M.A.) and Declan Langton won the Kinnaird Award (Ph.D.)

Jeannette Schollaert won the Carl Bode Dissertation Prize.

Job Placements

Frederick O’Neal Cherry Ph.D. '24 is assistant professor of African American literature at Auburn University.

Alexis Walston Ph.D. '24 is assistant professor of English at Belmont University.

Creative Writing Accomplishments

Current students.

Kimberly O'Connor MFA ’09, judge of the Academy of American Poets Poetry Prize, has chosen “Manic Pixie Dream Sestina” by January Santoso, a first-year MFA student.

Mary Lynn Reed MFA ’13, judge of the Katherine Anne Porter Fiction Prize, has chosen “In the Shape of a Man Whose Feet Face Backwards” by Subraj Singh, a third-year MFA student. Singh's “All That Hunger, All That Thirst” was published in Agni 98. “Ship Sister” was published in the New England Review. Singh is a finalist for the 2024 Chautauqua Janus Prize and was also admitted into the Ph.D. Program in Creative Writing at the University of Missouri, Columbia.

Preet Bhela’s poem "Hollows" received an honorable mention in the 2024 Pratt Library Poetry Contest, and will be published in the Little Patuxent Review this summer. Preet will also be reading at the Pratt Library on August 20 along with the two other honorees.

Eliamani Ismail has new publications with Puerto Del Sol, Brittle Paper, and Hooligan Magazine. Ismail was also invited to be a featured reader at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah, and was a BIPOC scholar at this year’s Washington Writers Conference. Eliamani also became a fiction editor at Lampblack Magazine.

Olivia McClure published a poem in Atticus Review.

Tega Oghenechovwen’s "We Can Start This Story” was published in the Kenyon Review.

Annie Przypyszny’s poetry was published in Broad River Review, Atticus Review, the Institutionalized Review, South Florida Poetry Journal, SPANK the CARP, Barnstorm Journal, Cola Literary Review and the Madison Review.

Ava Serra's “Methodology: Inner Child Mercy Massacre” was included in Under Her Eye. “Internal Ultrasound on a PMDD Patient;” “Baby Diner Blood Rent;” “a coward pretends he’s bambi” and “This is Not a Conversation About My Body” was published in Jelly Bucket. “This is Not a Conversation About My Body” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. “Sarah” was published in Salt Hill.

Elizabeth Bryant, Corinne Brinkley and Tega Oghenechovwen have been named 2024 Kimbilio Fellows and will attend The Kimbilio Retreat on the Taos, New Mexico campus of Southern Methodist University in the Carson National Forest this summer. Bryant also received a full scholarship to the Juniper Summer Writing Institute at UMass Amherst and a Douglass Center grant for summer funding.

Tega Oghenechovwen was accepted for the 2024 Tin House Summer Workshop at Reed College.

Emily Banks MFA ’15 has been hired as a tenure-track assistant professor of English and creative writing at Franklin College, where she previously was a visiting assistant professor.

Derek Ellis MFA ’19 completed his first year in the Ph.D. program in creative writing at SUNY Binghamton University.

Book Publications

“Family Lore” by Elizabeth Acevedo MFA ’15, published in August 2023 by Ecco, was a Good Morning America Book Club pick; winner of the NAACP Image Award in Outstanding Literary Work, Fiction and shortlisted for The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize.

“Green Island” by Liz Countryman MFA ’06 is forthcoming in June 2024 from Tupelo Press.

“Velvet” by William Fargason MFA ’14 was published in May 2024 by Northwestern University Press.

“City of Laughter” by Temim Fruchter ’02, MFA ’19 was published in January 2024 by Grove Atlantic.

“The Bomb Cloud” by Tyler Mills MFA ’08 was published in March 2024 by Unbound Edition Press.

“Bitter Water Opera” by Nicolette Polek MFA ’19 was published in April 2024 by Graywolf Press and was a New Yorker Best Book of 2024.

Undergraduate Student Awards

The Henrietta Spiegel Creative Writing Award

Each year, we honor outstanding creative writing minors with the Henrietta Spiegel Creative Writing Award. Henrietta Spiegel was the widow of a UMD faculty member. After her husband’s death, she completed her B.A. in English in 1989 at the age of 85 with a GPA of 3.9. Upon the completion of her degree, she established this award to honor undergraduate work in creative writing judged by the creative writing faculty to be the most outstanding. This year’s Henrietta Spiegel Creative Writing Award for Fiction goes to Allison Faith Choi and the award for Poetry goes to Caleigh Marie Larkin.

The Sandy Mack Award for the Outstanding English Honors Thesis

English Honors is a selective program within the English major, one in which students take intensive writing and research seminars, and develop a lengthy critical thesis or creative workover the course of three semesters. An award is given each year to the student with the most outstanding overall record in English Honors. This award is named for Sandy Mack, the faculty member who developed the English Honors Program and guided it for a decade. This award goes to Bossman Kwaku Owusu-Ayim for “I. The Old Genesis & II. His Grateful Children,” directed by Rion Scott and Emily Mitchell.

The Joseph W. Houppert Memorial Prize

The Joseph W. Houppert Prize was named for Joseph Houppert, a scholar of the English Renaissance and a distinguished member of this department from 1963 until his death in 1979. Professor Houppert was always very concerned with the teaching of undergraduate students and particularly for the teaching of good writing. Consequently, his colleagues established this competition in his memory, with a prize to be awarded annually to the undergraduate who has written the best essay on Shakespeare during the academic year. The Houppert Prize was awarded to Ariel Marie Hammerash for her essay entitled “Apparitions and Agency: The Staging of the Banquet Scene in The Tragedy of Macbeth.”

Sara Ann Soper English Undergraduate Service Award

The Sara Ann Soper English Undergraduate Service Award was established by Shannon Altman, who graduated in 1999 with a double degree in English and Education. While she was an undergraduate, Shannon designed and implemented an undergraduate tutoring service at nearby Eleanor Roosevelt High School. Two years after she graduated, she gave the department a significant gift to endow the Sara Ann Soper English Undergraduate Service Award to honor a graduating senior who has volunteered time, energy, and commitment to community service. Shannon named the award after her mother, as a testimony to her achievements as a role model for others. This year, the recipient of the Sara Ann Soper Award is Julia Janet Pavlick.

The Mike Angel Award

The Mike Angel Award recognizes a student who has faced extreme hardship in completing his or her degree, and has demonstrated distinction, extraordinary merit, and perseverance as an English major. It was established by faculty and students in 1984 to honor the achievements of Mike Angel, a fine student and wonderful human being who overcame great obstacles in order to earn a B.A. in English. This year’s Mike Angel Award goes to Nicholas John Pietrowski.

The Joyce Tayloe Horrell Award

The Joyce Tayloe Horrell Award is the largest award by the department to any student, and was established in 1989 through the generosity of Joseph Horrell in memory of his wife Joyce Tayloe Horrell. Tayloe Horrell was an Honors graduate student, a scholar of the works of the writer Henry James, and a teacher in the English Department from 1960 until 1967. The Horrell Award is conferred annually on the English major who has demonstrated the highest academic achievement overall among the graduating class. It is a pleasure to present this year’s Horrell Award to Abigail Fealy Furman.

Academic Excellence Awards

In every graduating class, certain students stand out for their consistently high performance. Today, we are presenting thirteen Academic Excellence Awards to those students with the most outstanding academic records in their major coursework. Each of these students has received a major GPA of 4.0.

• Isabella Francesca Diaz Baker
• Emma Rose Behrens
• Abigail Fealy Furman
• Shannon Estellyn Ganley
• Chloe Lilah Johnson
• Laura Catherine Kazdoba
• Ananyaa Malhotra
• Rachel Abigail Morris
• Auset Nso Nkem
• Bossman Kwaku Owusu-Ayim
• Cassandra Annalee Rochmis
• Rebecca Shriver Scherr
• Alison Vy Vo

Professional Writing Contest Awards

• Elijah Martin: Alternative Media, "The 'Right To Repair' Smartphones"
• Andy Szekerczes: Grant Proposal, "Young Writers Workshop"
• Elena Rangelov: Campus Proposal, "Improving Meat-Restricted Diet Accommodations in UMD Dining Halls"
• Asma Tariq: Civic Proposal, "Combating Feline Upper Respiratory Infections in Montgomery County Adoption Centers"
• Pearl Tamrakar: Review of Research, "The Impacts of Health Disparities on Minority Health"
• Asongafac Asaha: Artistic Review, "Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio: A Retelling of the Real Boy"
• Cody Cochrane: Manual, "How to Build a Desktop Computer"
• Sara Stromberg: Manual, "Terrapin's Turf Server Training Manual"
• Matthew Heinz: Narrative Non-Fiction, "Oh, Deer: An Exploration of White-Tailed Deer Management. Its Impacts in Suburban Maryland"
• Riley Lowther: Bill Analysis, "Collective Bargaining @ UMD Campuses"
• Sage Phillips: Business Proposal, "Carbon Neutral Florida Gypsum Plant"
• Jessica Gorski: Business Proposal, "Expanding La Finca's Online Sales to Brick & Mortar"

Suggestions or feedback?

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Machine learning
• Social justice
• Black holes
• Classes and programs

Departments

• Aeronautics and Astronautics
• Brain and Cognitive Sciences
• Architecture
• Political Science
• Mechanical Engineering

Centers, Labs, & Programs

• Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL)
• Picower Institute for Learning and Memory
• Lincoln Laboratory
• School of Architecture + Planning
• School of Engineering
• School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
• Sloan School of Management
• School of Science
• MIT Schwarzman College of Computing

Professor Emeritus Jerome Connor, pioneer in structural mechanics, dies at 91

Press contact :.

Previous image Next image

Jerome J. Connor ’53, SM ’54, ScD ’59, professor emeritus in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and a member of the MIT faculty since 1959, died on March 31. He was 91 years old.

Over a remarkable career spanning nearly six decades at the Institute, Connor was a prolific scholar and highly respected mentor to several generations of students, many of whom now hold notable positions in academia and industry around the world. His earliest research contributed to the pioneering numerical methods widely used today in structural engineering, such as the finite element method, and was also an early pioneer of the boundary element method. In addition, Connor was the lead proponent of the technical discipline referred to as motion-based design, which is based on limiting displacements against earthquake effects by means of structural control. His leadership role in the application of numerical methods to structural engineering led to significant advances in the numerical simulation of structural and material behavior.

“He was well-known for his intellectual leadership, exceptional dedication to the department, and extraordinary mentoring of students, faculty, and staff,” says Oral Buyukozturk, the George Macomber Professor in Construction Management, who first met Connor when he was an adjunct associate professor at Brown University and was invited to lecture at MIT.

Connor led the department in new teaching and research directions, advocating the importance of materials research and of design education in the civil engineering curriculum. For over 20 years, Connor led the high-performance structures track in the Master of Engineering (MEng) program as faculty advisor. In addition to classroom teaching, he helped MEng students think outside of the box in their design of skyscrapers and bridges. He often accompanied students on weeklong national and international visits to prominent construction sites during MIT’s Independent Activities Period. With his wife Barbara and their family, he regularly entertained students at their summer home on Cape Cod. His dedication and development of the program contributed to its success and recognition at peer institutions as one of the best professional MEng programs in the nation — eagerly sought out by students in structural engineering.

“Connor was truly devoted to our students and he was passionate about the field of structural design. He introduced a number of pedagogical innovations that we still use today, such as semester-long design projects as well as on-site visits to innovative, signature projects together with their design engineers,” says John Ochsendorf, professor of architecture and civil and environmental engineering, who taught with Connor for 10 years and currently leads the structural mechanics and design track of the MEng program.

Adoring mentor and visionary

Connor was a beloved mentor, and from 2007 to 2014 organized and managed MIT undergraduates’ participation in the National Steel Bridge competition. Buyukozturk recalls how “he was always coming up with new and innovative concepts for the competition; several times his team was selected as top in the nation and year after year his students were placed in the top three.”

MIT professor emeritus of civil and environmental engineering Eduardo Kausel, who was a graduate student of Connor’s and then later a colleague, remembers him fondly as an incredible teacher and colleague.

"Jerry was an excellent teacher and I enjoyed taking his advanced computational mechanics class. He was brilliant in computational mechanics and excelled in everything he did,” says Kausel. “As a colleague, he was always kind and had a gentle demeanor; I never saw him getting angry or voicing harsh words. He also had this fantastic ability to mentor students who would go on not only to become very successful as outstanding professionals, but also very wealthy,” Kausel says.

Kausel also remembers Connor’s uncanny ability to look into the future and know where the next big trend occurred in the field. Connor was one of the first researchers to work on the boundary element method in structural engineering. The method is effective in understanding how fluid interacts with structures to ensure its stability, safety, and efficiency. Connor also experimented with artificial intelligence well before it became popular and played a significant role in leading a team of MIT researchers in the development of the STRUDL computer code, which became a highly influential software package for structural analysis and design.

In addition to structural mechanics, he pursued computational fluid mechanics, helping develop early finite element analysis in both the time and frequency domains. His models had applications to offshore engineering, including tidal circulation, and the behavior and design of marine structures for resiliency in withstanding extreme events, including those related to climate change.

Buyukozturk credits the way the department has evolved into what it is today because of Connor’s direction and vision. “Priorities for research change over time, but Jerry set forth a basic roadmap for prioritizing research in computational mechanics, engineering design, and the development of sustainable materials that cut across the entire department in a wider scope,” he says. 

Influential wide-ranging career

Born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, on May 19, 1932, Connor attended Boston College High School and received his bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD degrees in civil engineering from MIT. Before he returned to MIT to become a faculty member, he went to work at the Army Materials Lab in Watertown, designing missile systems during the Vietnam War. While on sabbatical in 1983, he served as the dean of the Department of Engineering at Northeastern University and the director of the MIT Sea Grant Program.

Over the span of his career, Connor’s research in structural mechanics attracted the interest of the international community. He spoke at conferences around the world and consulted on many engineering projects, including the Hancock Tower glass crisis, the Twin Towers in New York, and the Parthenon in Greece, among many others. His papers were cited and published among the top engineering journals, and he was honored with numerous awards, including an honorary doctorate from the University of Thessaloniki in Greece. He authored many books on structural engineering, the boundary element method, motion-based design, and computational fluid mechanics. His books have been used in doctoral programs at universities around the world.  

Connor led a rich and adventurous life outside of his academic one. Known as “Jerry” to his friends and colleagues, Connor traveled to more than 25 different countries around the world with his wife, Barbara, but was especially fond of the Provence in southern France. Some of his memorable adventures included taking the family by Volkswagen bus throughout Europe during the holiday periods and, during a sabbatical from MIT in 1970, sailing to England on the Queen Elizabeth 2 with his then-young children.

Connor is survived by his wife Barbara, and by his six children: Patricia and her husband Richard, Stephen and his wife Madeline, Brian and his wife Michele, Michael and his wife Christine, Mark and his wife Kathy, Tracy and her husband Maurice, and 14 grandchildren. Gifts in Connor’s memory can be made to Boston College High School .

Share this news article on:

Related links.

• MIT Sea Grant
• Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Related Topics

• Civil and environmental engineering

Related Articles

Robert Logcher, professor emeritus of civil and environmental engineering, dies at 85

Previous item Next item

More MIT News

Researchers develop a detector for continuously monitoring toxic gases

Read full story →

The beauty of biology

Navigating longevity with industry leaders at MIT AgeLab PLAN Forum

Jeong Min Park earns 2024 Schmidt Science Fellowship

Scientists use generative AI to answer complex questions in physics

Elaine Liu: Charging ahead

• More news on MIT News homepage →

Massachusetts Institute of Technology 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, USA

• Map (opens in new window)
• Events (opens in new window)
• People (opens in new window)
• Careers (opens in new window)
• Accessibility
• Social Media Hub
• MIT on Facebook
• MIT on YouTube
• MIT on Instagram