Dissertation Fellowship
APPLICATION DEADLINE: February 1, 2011
The Louisville Institute's 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 related to Christian faith and life, religious
institutions, and pastoral leadership.
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.
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
2) to help us understand more adequately the institutional reconfiguration of American
religion, or 3) to explore the nature and challenge of pastoral leadership, with
special attention to the conditions of contemporary Christian ministry in North
America and the character of pastoral excellence. 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 with the potential to
strengthen the religious life of North American Christians and their institutions while simultaneously advancing American religious and theological scholarship.
Applicants may not submit applications to more than one
Louisville Institute grant program within the same grant year (June 1-May 31).
Questions about eligibility may be sent to info@louisville-institute.org
Application Procedure
The necessary application materials for the Dissertation Fellowship
program may be downloaded from this web site.
Applications include:
-
Applicant Information
and Project Summary Form
-
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. Please do not exceed the space provided for your answers.)
-
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
-
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.)
-
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.)
-
One official copy of each of your graduate & professional school
transcripts sent by the institutions directly to the Louisville Institute
These materials, except for the Applicant Information and Project Summary Form (if submitted online) should be assembled in the order listed above using paper clips and not staples, and mailed to the office of the Louisville Institute or submitted by email attachment to info@louisville-institute.org by the annual deadline of February 1. Transcripts and letters of recommendation
should be sent by the institutions and individuals
directly to the Louisville Institute by the application
deadline.
All materials must be postmarked no later than February 1 each year.
Grantees will be chosen by a
selection committee that includes at least two members
of the Board of the Louisville Institute and one other
appropriate scholars. Recipients will be notified in early April, and the
awards must be used during the following academic year.
Duration of Award and Stipend
Dissertation Fellowships will provide a stipend of $19,000 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 the Louisville Institute's two-day Winter Seminar. Travel and
lodging expenses for the Seminar will be covered by the Louisville Institute.
Please note that
Louisville Institute grantees may not simultaneously hold two grants from Lilly
Endowment-funded organizations that total more than $45,000.