School of Graduate Studies/GradFund

Program Purpose:  The School of Graduate Studies University & Louis Bevier Dissertation Completion Fellowship is designed to provide support during a doctoral candidate’s final year of dissertation research and writing. The award is intended to support completion and recognize excellence. We anticipate awarding up to 15 University and Louis Bevier Dissertation Completion Fellowships for the 2025-2026 academic year.  All SGS doctoral students (School 16) are eligible to apply.
 

The fellowship provides:

• Stipend of $25,000
• Health insurance (if needed)
• Tuition remission for up to 2 research credits per semester (no more than 4 total for the academic year)

Eligibility: SGS doctoral students (School 16) who plan to complete their degree requirements and receive their PhD in 2026. Fellows may not hold other full-time awards or appointments concurrently with University and Louis Bevier Fellowships. 

Preference will be given to students who can demonstrate that they do not have promised funding for the 2025-2026 academic year or to students who can demonstrate that by foregoing a teaching assistantship, the fellowship will allow them to concentrate fully on completing their dissertations.

Program Timeline:

Competition Opens: November 4, 2024

Student Deadline: January 22, 2025 

Faculty Letter Deadline: January 24, 2025

Graduate Program Deadline review and ranking period: January 27, 2025 - February 24, 2025

SGS level review: February 25, 2025 - March 25, 2025

Applicants and Programs notified of decisions: April 1, 2025

Deadline to accept decline: April 15, 2025

Evaluation Criteria: Demonstrated excellence of the candidate, including (but not limited to):

 Applicant Quality

• Overall academic record
• Conference presentations and posters
• Publications
• Internal/external fellowships and grants
• Prizes and other forms of scholarly recognition

Project Quality

• Intellectual Merit
• Significance to the discipline

Plan for Completion

• Feasible plan to complete the dissertation with fellowship support

Availability of other sources of funding
 

Faculty Endorsement

• Strength of the letter of recommendation
• Graduate program/track review and scoring

Application Components: Your application consists of the following items:

• Your completed application form;
• Your CV;
• Transcripts (unofficial) from all of your graduate institutions;
• 2 letters of recommendation (One letter must be from your dissertation advisor/chair and the other should be from a member of your dissertation committee);
• A 5-page (double-space, Arial, 11-point font) proposal describing your dissertation project;
• A 1-page completion timeline;
• A 2-page project bibliography

Review Process: Only completed applications will be reviewed.  The review process is a three-stage review process. In stage one, a technical review will confirm your eligibility to be considered for the fellowship. Only eligible applicants will be moved forward to stage two.  In stage two, your application is reviewed, scored and ranked by your graduate program or track. In stage three, your application is reviewed by the multidisciplinary SGS University & Louis Bevier Fellowship Committee.  All decisions by the SGS Committee are final and confidential.

Questions? Please send your questions about the competition or application process, to: SGS_Awards@grad.rutgers.edu.

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The Office of the EVPAA will continue to award Presidential Graduate Fellowships for AY 2025-26. 

These fellowships are designed to provide supplementary support and are often used as a recruitment tool for our top pool of potential graduate students.  Fellowships will be funded through the OEVPAA for up to three years only.  Deans or chancellors/provosts may choose to provide funds for any additional years to create a five-year package.

Rutgers–New Brunswick has been allocated 12 Presidential Graduate Fellowship. 

Guidelines for Presidential Graduate Fellowships:

• Fellowships are available for doctoral students and will be awarded at $10,000 per student annually for up to 3 years.  Note that these are intended as supplements for appointments such as primary AY TA or GA, or to smaller, less competitive fellowships.  These Presidential Fellowships do not provide tuition remission or health insurance.  
• The Presidential Fellowship Award is supplementary and funds 3 years per student, assuming the student is making satisfactory progress.  Although OEVPAA funds do not extend beyond 3 years, deans or chancellors/provosts may choose to extend funding for years 4 and 5.
• Presidential Fellowships CAN be held simultaneously with other fellowships, or with TA or GA appointments.  Presidential Fellowships can also be used for summer supplementation for students on AY appointments.
• A faculty committee comprised of both graduate programs and professional schools will rank nominees; rankings will be sent to the Office of the EVPAA  and the EVPAA will approve final selections.

 
 Please send your questions about the competition or application process, to SGS_Awards@grad.rutgers.edu.