The annual deadline for fellowships to be held in the following academic year is March 1.
Graduate Dissertation Fellowships in 2023/2024 pay a stipend of $13,500 for one semester’s residence at the Center for the Humanities. These fellowships are separate from the Graduate Student Awards. Students who have won a BUCH Graduate Student Award are eligible for a Graduate Dissertation Fellowship in a subsequent year.
Visit our Graduate Dissertation Fellowship FAQ page for more information.
View past Graduate Dissertation Fellows.
AY 24-25 Graduate Dissertation Fellows
| Ying Gong |
Linguistics |
| Constanza Robles |
History of Art & Architecture |
| Henry Tonks |
History |
| Holly Wiegand |
English |
Defining the Humanities
The Center defines the humanities both as designated departments and as an expansive and flexible mode of inquiry. In keeping with the Congressional Act that created the NEH, the humanities include the study and interpretation of the following: linguistics; literature; history; philosophy; archaeology; comparative religion; ethics; the history, criticism and theory of the arts; those aspects of social sciences which have humanistic content and employ humanistic methods; and the study and application of the humanities to the human environment with particular attention to reflecting our diverse heritage, traditions, and history and the relevance of the humanities to the current conditions of life. We understand humanities methods as primarily critical or speculative, as distinguished from the empirical approaches of the natural and social sciences. We welcome nominees who share an interest in issues of interpretation and value that are central to humanities work.
Eligibility & Expectations
Eligible departments or programs may nominate up to two graduate students to apply for a Graduate Dissertation Fellowship. Faculty must be rigorous in selecting two students who are clearly nearing the end of their graduate work at BU. It is expected that all Graduate Dissertation Fellows (GDFs) will defend their dissertations by the end of August of the year in which they hold the fellowship. Applicants for 2024/2025 must defend by the end of August 2025. The Graduate Dissertation Fellowship is intended to be the final stage of each fellow’s graduate work at BU, and fellows should not continue their graduate student affiliation with their departments in the year after their award.
GDFs should plan to be in the Boston area to attend the BUCH Fellows Seminars during their fellowship semester. They are expected to focus exclusively on their dissertation work during their fellowship semester and not engage in additional employment while holding this fellowship. They are also eligible for office space in the BUCH suite.
Application Components
- Signed Dissertation Prospectus Approval Page
- Description of the applicant’s dissertation project and stage of writing, plus a bibliography
- CV
- Confidential letter of support from your First Reader.
- Confidential letter of support from your DGS.
*Only students who have been formally nominated by their department/program may apply