GC-Mellon Transpacific Thought and the Problem of Asia Dissertation Fellowship

Deadline for Applications: February 26, 2024, by 5pm

 

The Graduate Center is pleased to announce the Transpacific Thought and the Problem of Asia Dissertation Fellowships, with funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Sawyer Seminar Grant. The Dissertation Fellowships will be awarded to two, possibly three students in any field of the humanities or social sciences pursuing research related to the transpacific, Asia, and/or Asian racialization in the United States. Dissertation Fellows will be expected to participate in activities associated with the Sawyer Seminar, including presenting research, attending bi-weekly seminars, workshops, and auditing a graduate course in spring 2025. The award provides a financial aid fellowship of $30,000, a $1,000 research budget, and covers in-state tuition for GC students.

 

Eligibility Requirements and Guidelines

 

Students must be matriculated to a doctoral degree program at the Graduate Center or New York University and must be registered or on an approved leave of absence during the 2023-2024 academic year to be eligible to apply. For your application to be considered, you must be officially advanced to candidacy (level III) by the application deadline.

 

A student holding a five-year fellowship from the Graduate Center may not hold a dissertation fellowship concurrently with the five-year award. A student with a five-year award may apply, but if selected for a dissertation fellowship the student will have to choose between the five-year fellowship funding and the dissertation fellowship funding. Students are eligible for a dissertation fellowship after completing their five-year fellowship.

 

A student with Graduate Center funding that is not part of a five-year award (a freestanding Graduate Assistantship A, B, or D and/or financial aid fellowship) may apply for the dissertation fellowships but, if offered an award, the total funding (Graduate Assistantship salary plus financial aid fellowship) may not exceed $55,000.

 

Dissertation Fellowships are intended for students who expect to complete the dissertation during 2024-2025 award year. Fellowship recipients are required to be registered and in residence in the NY metropolitan area during the award year. Students who plan to defend their dissertations in Summer or Fall 2024 are not eligible to apply.

 

Please be advised that if you are planning any travel as part of your research, the university requires you to have travel insurance. Please see the International Travel Requirements Page for complete details.

 

Students must have met Human Subjects Research Protection guidelines before commencing research with human subjects.

 

 

APPLICATION COMPONENTS

 

Each application must include the following:

 

1. Cover sheet

 

2. Proposal

 

1. 9-page project description including a 150 word abstract (the abstract should be single-spaced at the top of page 1).  The project description should include discussion of the research questions, relevant literature, methodology, sources, and a time-line/description indicating progress.

 

1. 1-page selected bibliography

 

The text describing the dissertation project should be double-spaced using a 12-point font with numbered pages and a 1-inch margin.  The abstract and bibliography can be single-spaced.

 

3. Two-page curriculum vitae.

 

4. Current Graduate Center transcript. Students may submit the unofficial student copies.

 

The application materials should be assembled as a single document in pdf or word format in the following order:

 

1. 1. Application cover sheet
   2. 9-page proposal
   3. 1-page bibliography
   4. 2-page CV
   5. Transcript (unofficial student copy is sufficient)

 

5. One letter of reference to be submitted electronically by your adviser (see instructions).

 

 

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

 

The completed application must be submitted no later than 5pm on 26 February 2024. The applications are to be submitted as per the following instructions.  Your adviser must submit a letter of recommendation by the same deadline, 26 February 2024.

 

 

Instructions for submitting your application:

 

1. Combine your cover sheet, proposal (including abstract and bibliography), curriculum vitae, and transcript, into a single file (either as a pdf document or a word document).
2. Use the following format when naming your document:

Last Name, First Name, Program

3. Email your application as an attachment to fellowshipapps@gc.cuny.edu.

Please put “Transpacific Thought” in the subject line of the email and use your graduate center email when submitting the application.

 

 

Instructions for Faculty Recommenders

1. Prepare your reference letter as a regular word or pdf document on letterhead.
2. Use the following format when naming your document:

Student Last Name, First Name

1. Email your letter to fellowshipapps@gc.cuny.edu.  Please put “Transpacific Thought” in the subject line of the email.

 

 

Questions may be directed to Professor Kandice Chuh at kchuh@gc.cuny.edu.