USC GRADUATE SCHOOL DISSERTATION COMPLETION FELLOWSHIPS FOR 2012 - 2013 The USC Graduate School is pleased to be able

to offer Dissertation Completion Fellowships for students who are in the final stages of writing their dissertations during the 2012-2013 academic year. The goal is to provide funding for one year or one semester free from teaching or other obligations to allow outstanding Ph.D. students to complete their dissertations, especially in fields where research assistantships are generally unavailable. The fellowship includes a $23,000 stipend, tuition, health and dental insurance and university mandatory fees. Students may also be eligible for an additional $500 research and academic travel account. Each Ph.D. program may nominate up to three candidates. Please note the Dissertation Completion Fellowship is intended to facilitate the final completion and submission of dissertations. Recipients of the Dissertation Completion Fellowship will therefore not be eligible for further funding as a graduate student at USC upon completion of this fellowship. Students may apply for either one year or one semester of funding, depending on how close they are to completing their dissertation. The students description of the dissertation should demonstrate the projects contribution to the field and its grounding in relevant scholarship and methodology. At the same time, the proposal should be accessible to scholars in a broad range of fields. The dissertation description and plan submitted by the candidate to the PhD program should be in 12-point Times New Roman, single spaced, with 1 margins, numbered pages, and a header on every page that includes the students name and title of the dissertation. Incomplete applications will not be considered. A complete application will include: A. Information provided by the student to the PhD programs designated nominator 1. Description of the dissertation as outlined above (up to 1,000 words) 2. Plan for completion, including projected dates of completion of individual chapters, defense, and submission to Graduate School Thesis Coordinator (up to 500 words) 3. USC official or unofficial transcript or STARs report (scanned documents are acceptable) 4. Signature page signed by the student, students dissertation advisor, department chair and Dean or Deans proxy affirming satisfactory progress to the degree. B. Information provided by the students home program and uploaded as PDF documents by the PhD programs designated nominator: 5. One letter of recommendation from the thesis advisor addressing the quality of the candidates work, the value of the project for the field, and the likelihood that the dissertation will be completed in accordance with the plan submitted by the candidate. 6. A year-by-year list of support received by the student since matriculation in the program, including teaching assistantships, fellowships, summer funding, funding for research and travel to conferences, and any other funding designed to enhance the students professional development. Please note: We expect departments to have invested in the students they put forward for USC Dissertation Completion Fellowships. Only excellent students will be funded.