College of Education’s Dissertation Completion Fellowship Announcement
Department of Educational Administration
2015-2016
The Graduate School and College of Education will continue to offer a number of “Dissertation
Completion Fellowships” for advanced doctoral students who could benefit from a $6,000 fellowship to
accelerate the completion of their dissertation. Awards will be for spring 2016 and summer 2016.
Eligibility
The competition is open to doctoral students who are positioned to submit the final versions of their
dissertations to the Graduate School by the end of summer, 2016; projected spring and summer PhD
graduates are therefore eligible. Students who have already defended their dissertations and are engaged
in final revisions at this time (even if it is likely that they will earn a spring 2016 degree) are not eligible
for the award.
In order to be eligible, all nominees for the Dissertation Completion Fellowships must have passed their
comprehensive examinations, and have a copy of the examination completion form on file in the Graduate
Records Office by November 1, 2015.
During the semester of the award, recipients may hold no more than a quarter-time assistantship. We
require reassurance about progress and timely completions because future funding for this award from the
University is always based in large part upon the success of these awards in expediting the completion of
strong dissertations. We are pleased that virtually all of last year’s recipients finished in a timely fashion,
which has kept our presence and strength visible across campus.
Review Process
There are two stages of the review process for this fellowship. First, applicants will submit their materials
to EAD for internal review. This also allows the departments and programs, which have greater inside
knowledge than the College committee, to make initial judgments about the applications. Each
department will then submit ranked nominations to the College-level review panel. Second, the College
review panel will evaluate applications and submit its selections to the Graduate School, which will make
the formal award.
Timeline
o By November 1, 2015: Have a copy of the comprehensive examination completion form on file
in the Graduate Records Office.
o By November 6, 2015: Submit all application materials to Kathy Dimoff in EAD.
o EAD will send complete nomination packages to the College review panel by November 19,
2015.
Application Materials
The nomination packet should include the following:
1. One copy of the approved dissertation proposal. We ask that proposals be no longer than 30 pages,
double-spaced. This limit does not pertain to essential appendices or reference lists. In some cases this
may mean submitting a single representative section, but in most cases the entire proposal may be
submitted. We want this in electronic (Word .docx) form from the departments, with the following
filename: DCF16Prop[your last name].docx.
2. One letter of nomination/support from the director of the dissertation that attends to the following:
it reaffirms the approval of the proposal, testifies to the dissertation’s strengths, and to the likelihood
of completion before the end of summer, 2016. The letter must also include a timeline for completion,
with major benchmarks, and should indicate the way in which the $6,000 award will help release time
to complete the dissertation. These statements are critical to the reviewers, so please address them
directly in the letter. Nominations without timelines will not be considered at the College level. The
College will need these letters in electronic form, so they should be submitted using the following
filename: DCF16Letter[nominee's last name].docx or .pdf
3. One MSU electronic transcript for all PhD program coursework. Here is how you secure and insert
your MSU transcript (submit only your PhD coursework):
a. Go to www.reg.msu.edu [MSU Registrar's homepage].
b. Select Student Services menu.
c. Select Transcripts.
d. Select the linked text that reads "Validate and Order using MSUNet ID and password".
e. Log in.
f. Under Transcript Order # 1, Select "Yes" to have your transcript sent to you.
g. Select "Electronic (PDF)".
h. Enter your phone number and complete mailing address.
i. Select Next.
j. Review the information that will have been inserted into the request, and Select "Submit
Order".
k. Within two business days you will receive an email with a link to your transcripts
l. Save the .PDF, rename it DCF16Transcript[your last name].pdf and attach it along with your
Proposal
Submission Instructions
EAD students should email the three application documents to Kathy Dimoff, dimoff@msu.edu by
Friday, November 6, 2015.
Note: Most faculty do not have formal assignments at MSU during the summer. Expecting them to focus
on the final stages of dissertation writing and the defense, therefore, is not something that anyone should
take lightly. Therefore, summer semester DCF recipients will be able to turn their dissertations in to the
Graduate School during the early part of fall semester, with defenses and final revisions completed after
mid-August, but well before the fall Graduate School deadlines. This should help reduce pressure to have
faculty members so deeply engaged in final dissertation work.
Please direct questions to Dr. Riyad Shahjahan (shahja95@msu.edu).