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 10 University and Louis Bevier Dissertation Completion Fellowships for the 2026-2027 academic year.  All SGS doctoral students (School 16) are eligible to apply.
 

The fellowship provides:

• Stipend of $30,833
• 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 2027. Fellows may not hold other full-time awards or University HR 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 2026-2027 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: October 22, 2025

Student Deadline: January 21, 2026 

Faculty Letter Deadline: January 23, 2026

Graduate Program Deadline review and ranking period: January 27, 2026 - February 23, 2026

SGS level review: February 24, 2026 - March 24, 2026

Applicants and Programs notified of decisions: April 1, 2026

Deadline to accept decline: April 15, 2026

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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