Dissertation Fellowships

Nomination
Eligible departments and programs may each nominate up to two students. Only formally nominated students may apply.

Year limit
No student may hold a dissertation fellowship beyond their 7th year. A student in their 7th year now would be in their 8th year during the fellowship, and is not eligible.

Defense timeline
Fellows must defend their dissertations by the end of the academic year in which they hold the fellowship. The fellowship is meant to be the final stage of graduate work at BU, so fellows should not continue as graduate students in their departments the following year. Faculty should nominate only students who will clearly be ready to defend.

During the fellowship
Fellows attend the BUCH Fellows Seminar during their fellowship year, focus exclusively on their dissertation during the fellowship semester, and do not take on other employment.

1. Signed Dissertation Prospectus Approval Page
2. A description of your dissertation project and stage of writing, plus a bibliography
3. CV
4. A confidential letter of support from your first reader, confirming you will defend by the end of the fellowship year
5. A confidential letter of support from your Director of Graduate Studies explaining the department’s reasons for your nomination

How do I apply?
Once your department nominates you, you’ll get an email with a link to the application in InfoReady Review. Log in with your BU login name and Kerberos password. You can save a draft and return to it anytime before the deadline.

How do my recommenders submit their letters?
Recommenders submit confidential letters directly to InfoReady Review. Request your letters through the Reference Letter section of the application, well before the deadline.

Can I apply if I’ve won a Graduate Student Award?
Yes. The two are separate, and past award winners are eligible for a Dissertation Fellowship in a later year.

Does BUCH offer postdoctoral fellowships?
No. BUCH fellowships are open only to BU faculty and BU graduate students.