Dissertation Fellowship Program
 

The Louisville Institute's Dissertation Fellowship program is designed to support the final year of writing on promising Ph.D. and Th.D. dissertation projects dealing with aspects of American religious life that are related to the concerns of the Louisville Institute.

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 January 15 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.

Eligible proposals should promise a significant contribution to the study of American religion. Preference will be given to proposals that attempt: 1) to describe more fully how the Christian faith is actually lived by contemporary persons and to bring the resources of the Christian faith into closer relation to their daily lives and 2) to help us understand more adequately the institutional reconfiguration of American religion. Proposals on certain other issues of importance to the churches are also welcome. 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 that contribute in significant ways to our understanding of contemporary religious communities. Consequently, very few dissertation projects funded in recent years have dealt with American religion prior to the mid-nineteenth century.

Applicants may not submit applications to more than one Louisville Institute grant program within the same grant year (June 1-May 31).

Application Procedure

The necessary application materials for the Dissertation Fellowship program may be requested from the Louisville Institute or downloaded from this web site. All materials must be postmarked no later than January 15, each year.  Recipients will be notified in early April, and the awards must be used during the following academic year.

Applications include: 

  •  Applicant Information and Project Summary Form (Please fill out completely.)

  • Dissertation Fellowship Program Additional Information Form (This is a downloadable "fill-in" PDF file  that allows you to type directly into the form, save, and print the pages to mail in with the supporting application materials. If the size of the text boxes in the form will not display enough of your information, please use the form as a guide to provide the required information in the proper order.)

  • Dissertation prospectus of no more than seven to ten pages (double-spaced and typed in a 12 point font, 2500 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

  • Selective bibliography (2-3 pages double-spaced)

  • Dissertation Adviser's Letter of Recommendation Form (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.)

  • Faculty Letter of Recommendation Form (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.)

  • One official copy of each of your graduate & professional school transcripts sent by the institutions directly to the Louisville Institute

Please submit one copy of the complete proposal, using paper clips, without the use of staples and mail to the office of the Louisville Institute by the appropriate deadline. These materials, except for the Applicant Information and Project Summary Form (if submitted online),  transcripts and the letters of recommendation, should be assembled in the order listed above.  Transcripts and letters of recommendation should be sent by the institutions and individuals directly to the Louisville Institute by the application deadline.

Grantees will be chosen by a selection committee that includes at least two members of the Board of the Louisville Institute and two other appropriate scholars.

Duration of Award and Stipend

Dissertation Fellowships will provide a stipend of $18,000 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 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 the Louisville Institute's two-day Winter Seminar. Travel and lodging expenses for the Seminar will be covered by the Louisville Institute.

© 2003 The Louisville Institute