Fellowships

The Gwen J. Barrett Memorial Fellowship

Barrett Selection Guidelines

The Barrett Fellowship, currently valued at $15,600, may be awarded to one or split between two well qualified Ph.D. students per academic year. The award is designed to give the student, or students, the time and freedom necessary to focus on writing his or her dissertation. Students should also note that the awarding of the fellowship in any given year is contingent on the availability of funding and the quality of the applicants.

Qualifications and Application for Barrett Fellowship

The Barrett Fellowship is designated by the Department as (1) a dissertation completion fellowship and (2) a merit fellowship. In accordance with this designation, the following qualifications must be met:

(1) Prior to consideration, the applicant must have completed all requirements for the Ph.D. other than the dissertation (including language requirements).

(2) It is probable that the applicant will complete (defend) his/her dissertation by the end of the fellowship period. This probability will normally be demonstrated by the prior completion of a substantial portion of the dissertation, and the presentation of a plausible plan for completing the remainder during the fellowship period. Applicants for the Barrett will be asked to present a written "completion plan" of no more than 1000 words for consideration by the Department. This plan will describe the work completed so far as well as the nature of the uncompleted portion of the dissertation, and provide a timeline for completing the remaining work. The Dissertation Advisor will advise upon and endorse this plan as one likely to lead to completion within the designated period.

(3) The department judges the applicant's work to date as of exceptional quality. Each applicant for the Barrett will be asked to make his/her dissertation work to date available to the full Department for their assessment.

STUDENTS MUST APPLY FOR THE BARRETT IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED. The application will consist of (1) the written completion plan (described above) signed by the applicant and the Dissertation Advisor and (2) all finished dissertation work. This material must be furnished to the Graduate Director no later than May 2. The Department will make an announcement of Barrett awardees (if any) by July 15.