Vocation of the Theological Educator Dissertation Fellowship
ANNUAL APPLICATION DEADLINE: February 1
The Dissertation Fellowship program is designed to support the final year Ph.D. or Th.D. dissertation writing for students engaged in research pertaining to North American Christianity, especially projects with the potential to strengthen the religious life of North American Christians and their institutions, including seminaries, while simultaneously advancing American religious and theological scholarship.
Eligibility
Applicants must be candidates for the Ph.D. or Th.D. degree who have fulfilled all pre-dissertation requirements, including approval of the dissertation proposal, by February 1 of the award year and expect to complete the dissertation by the end of the following academic year. The Fellowships are intended to support the final year of dissertation writing.
Proposed projects may employ a variety of methodological perspectives, including, but not limited to, history, ethics, the social sciences, biblical studies, and historical, systematic, and practical theology. They may also be interdisciplinary in nature.
In all its grantmaking, including the Dissertation Fellowship program, the Louisville Institute is interested in funding projects with the potential to strengthen the religious life of North American Christians and their institutions while simultaneously advancing American religious and theological scholarship. The Louisville Institute also has an interest in strengthening the quality of theological school teaching.
Applicants may not submit applications to more than one Louisville Institute grant or fellowship program within the same grant year (June 1-May 31).
VTE Doctoral Fellows are encouraged to apply for the Dissertation Fellowship program. It is also open to outstanding students who may not intend to teach in theological education but whose dissertation projects have the potential to strengthen the religious life of North American Christians and their institutions. Questions about eligibility may be sent to info@louisville-institute.org.
Application Procedure
Applicants must plan to complete their Ph.D. or Th.D. degree in the current academic year. Applicants should describe their commitment to the Christian church and theological education and suggest how their doctoral work has prepared them appropriately for a career in theological school teaching. Applicants may represent a variety of academic disciplines, including, but not limited to, history, ethics, the social sciences, biblical studies, and historical, systematic, and practical theology.
- Applicant Information Form and Application Summary
- Dissertation Fellowship Program Additional Information Form
- Dissertation prospectus of no more than 5 to 7 pages (double-spaced and typed in a 12-point font, 2000 word limit) in which you articulate clearly the thesis of the dissertation, summarize its argument, and discuss its contribution to the study of religion in America and to the vitality of American religious life.
- Selective bibliography (2-3 pages double-spaced)
- Dissertation Adviser's Letter of Recommendation Please give the letter of recommendation form to the person writing on your behalf and ask him or her to return this form directly to the Louisville Institute along with the letter of recommendation. (To help ensure that your completed application is accessible to the Louisville Institute, please fill out your application in either Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat.)
- Faculty Letter of Recommendation Please give the letter of recommendation form to the person writing on your behalf and ask him or her to return this form directly to the Louisville Institute along with the letter of recommendation. (To help ensure that your completed application is accessible to the Louisville Institute, please fill out your application in either Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat.)
- One official copy of each of your graduate & professional school transcripts sent by the institutions directly to the Louisville Institute
With the following exceptions, we prefer that you send most application materials by either uploading documents through our website or by e-mail attachments in either *.pdf or *.doc format to info@louisville-institute.org by the annual deadline.
- Transcripts must be submitted in hard copy.
- The letters of recommendation should be sent by the letter writers directly to the Louisville Institute by the application deadline. While it is our preference to receive them by hard copy on letterhead, letters will be accepted on letterhead by email attachment in *.pdf or *.doc format or by fax, with hard copy to follow.
- If you choose to send your entire proposal in hard copy, please assemble it in the order listed above using paper clips and not staples and mail to the office of the Louisville Institute by the annual deadline of February 1.
Duration of Award and Stipend
Dissertation Fellowships will provide a stipend of $22,000 for twelve months beginning in September. Fellowships are not renewable. All tuition, medical insurance, and required fees are the responsibility of the student.
Conditions
Grantees may not accept other awards that provide a comparable stipend during the tenure of this fellowship nor may they undertake substantial outside employment (more than fifteen hours per week) without written permission. Persons who decline the offer of a Louisville Institute Dissertation Fellowship are ineligible to reapply in a subsequent year. The Dissertation Fellowship program has no residence requirement. In the year of their award, however, all fellows are expected to participate in one meeting at the Louisville Institute. Travel and lodging expenses for that meeting will be covered by the Louisville Institute. Please note that Louisville Institute grantees may not simultaneously hold two grants or fellowships from Lilly Endowment-funded organizations that total more than $45,000.