NORMAN JOHNSTON DEWITT FELLOWSHIP

2009-10 Instructions to Nominators and Applicants

Deadline:  12:00 noon, December 1, 2008

Eligibility:

This award is open to advanced graduate students in the humanities.  Students must be registered for credit in the University of Minnesota Graduate School at the time of application. 

Amount:

$22,000 for the academic year, plus tuition and subsidized health insurance for the academic year.  Summer 2010 health insurance will be provided if the Fellow remains eligible.  One award.

Instructions to the Nominating Program:

Relevant graduate programs may nominate one student.  The Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) should attach a nominating letter describing the program’s selection procedures, including the size of the eligible candidate pool and the decision process.

Program should submit four sets (collated and stapled) of the DGS nominating letter, application form and supporting documents, in the following order:

1)  The nominating letter from the DGS.

2)  The application.

• Signed and dated by both the nominee and the DGS.
• Application available online at http://www.grad.umn.edu/fellowships/applications.

3)  Research proposal, including title of project.

• Up to three pages, double-spaced, 12 point type, with margins not less than one inch, and title at top of page.
• Your proposal should describe the research or study you plan to pursue in the coming academic year.
• If you choose to include key references, they must fit within the three-page limit.

4)  Personal biographical statement.

• One page, single or double spaced, 12 point type, with margins not less than one inch.
• Your biographical statement should provide an account of the various sources, influences, and previous efforts that led to your choice of academic discipline and research area, while filling in any gaps in your record.  It should offer a picture of your motivation and purpose as well as a description of long-range personal and professional plans and goals.  It should not be an extension of the research proposal section.

5a)  A current University of Minnesota graduate transcript.

• Transcripts are available at http://onestop.umn.edu/onestop/grades.html.

5b)  An explanation of any “Incomplete” grades must be submitted with this application (if applicable).

6)  Two letters of recommendation.

• One of the letters must be from the major advisor.
• Each letter should be no more than one-page, on letterhead, with the recommendation cover sheet attached.
• Letters should be sent to the graduate program for duplication, rather than to the the Graduate Fellowship Office. DGSs may then include a copy in each of the four sets of applications.

Complete nomination packages should be submitted to the Graduate Fellowship Office, 314 Johnston Hall.

Instructions to the Applicant:

Consult the DGS about internal selection procedures and deadlines.  Letters of recommendation should be sent to the graduate program for duplication, rather than to the Graduate School Fellowship Office.  DGSs may then forward them with the application for their program’s nominee. The application is available online at http://www.grad.umn.edu/fellowships/applications.

Selection Criteria:

The review and selection will be conducted by University of Minnesota faculty, which will select the awardees
based on the following criteria:

• the strength of the overall academic record,
• the timeliness of progress toward the degree,
• the cohesiveness of the study or research plan and the clarity with which it is conveyed to the non-specialist,
• and the strength of the letters of recommendation.

Award Policy:

Duplicate Awards - Recipients may not hold concurrently a second fellowship, scholarship, grant, or similar award that duplicates the benefits of the Fellowship.

Supplementation - Recipients may hold concurrently a graduate assistantship of up to 25% time without reduction in the Fellowship stipend.  Likewise, recipients may hold concurrently a non-Graduate School-administered fellowship, scholarship, grant, or similar award, or outside employment, provided it does not exceed the value of a 25%-time assistantship in the student’s department.  Any additional support, in whatever combination, may not exceed the dollar value of a 25% assistantship in any given semester.

Terms of Award - Although recipients need not be in residence during the tenure of the fellowship, they must be registered for credit in the Graduate School both semesters of the academic year.

Notification:

Applicants will be notified of the outcome, in writing, by the end of March.

	Questions? Graduate School Fellowship Office 314 Johnston Hall 101 Pleasant Street SE Minneapolis, MN  55455 Phone: (612) 625-7579 Fax: (612) 625-6820 gsfellow@umn.edu