Dissertation Completion Fellowships
Dissertation completion fellowships provide advanced doctoral students in the humanities and social sciences with an academic year of support to write and complete their dissertation.
- Dissertation
- External Fellowships
- Instructions for Dissertation Completion Fellowships
- Fellowships from Harvard Research Centers
- Jens Aubrey Westengard Fund
- Research Fellowships
- Summer Fellowships
- Maximizing Your Degree
- Before You Arrive
- First Weeks at Harvard
- Harvard Speak
- Pre-Arrival Resources for New International Students
- Alumni Council
- Student Engagement
- Applying to Degree Programs
- Applying to the Visiting Students Program
- Admissions Policies
- Cost of Attendance
- Express Interest
- Campus Safety
- Commencement
- Diversity & Inclusion Fellows
- Student Affinity Groups
- Recruitment and Outreach
- Budget Calculator
- Find Your Financial Aid Officer
- Funding and Aid
- Regulations Regarding Employment
- Financial Wellness
- Consumer Information
- Life Sciences
- Policies (Student Handbook)
- Student Center
- Title IX and Gender Equity
Eligible students in the humanities and social sciences are guaranteed a dissertation completion fellowship (DCF) between the G4 and G7 years and must apply for the DCF in advance of the dissertation completion year.
Before applying, students should:
- review DCF opportunities offered by Harvard research centers (see below) and search the CARAT database for DCFs offered by non-Harvard agencies
- review dissertation completion fellowships policy
- follow the instructions for dissertation completion fellowships and apply by February 14, 2025, at 11:59 p.m.
Award description and confirmation typically occurs in early May.
While there is no guarantee of a DCF beyond the G7 year, requests will be considered upon recommendation of the faculty advisor.
Instructions for departments can be found on the instructions for dissertation completion fellowships page.
Harvard Research Centers
Other dissertation completion fellowships are available through the Harvard research centers.
- Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History Dissertation Completion Grants
- Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies Dissertation Completion Fellowships
- Edmond J. Safra Graduate Fellowships in Ethics
- Mahindra Humanities Center Mellon Interdisciplinary Dissertation Completion Fellowship
- Center for European Study Dissertation Completion Fellowship
- Radcliffe Dissertation Completion Fellowships
- Weatherhead Center for International Affairs Canada Program Dissertation Research and Writing Fellowships
- Weatherhead Center for International Affairs Dissertation-Writing Grants
External Dissertation Completion Fellowships
Search the CARAT database for dissertation completion fellowships offered by non-Harvard agencies. Here are a couple of examples:
- American Association of University Women Dissertation Fellowship
- Charlotte W. Newcombe Fellowship
Please contact the Academic Programs office with any questions.
Fellowships & Writing Center
Academic programs, share this page, explore events, related news.
Writing with Focus: How to Tackle the Distant Deadline
We all write for deadlines. Sometimes we set our own deadlines, but usually we write to timelines set by our programs, professors, and application cycles. I personally always find the hardest deadlines to write for are those that are far away.
Using Writing to Squash Your Inner Critic: Three Strategies
Have you ever sat down to write up a grant proposal, a conference abstract, or the next section of your dissertation and found yourself paralyzed by the blank page? This paralysis, known variously as blank page syndrome or writer’s block, can stem from many causes, but a common one is the intrusion of your inner critic.
With Apologies to Rabbits
There’s often a fine line between letting research guide you and getting lost chasing ideas down rabbit holes. While I have never tried to catch a rabbit, I imagine it is (at least roughly) something like cutting through the underbrush, chasing a trail, following it to ground, and at long last finding that little gap in the earth where you should dig.
How to Build a First Draft from an Outline
You’ve decided to write a paper or fellowship application, but now it’s time to start drafting. There are almost no sights more intimidating to an academic than a blank page that you hope will soon be filled with brilliant arguments and turns of phrase.
IMAGES
VIDEO