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University of Michigan School of Information

UMSI Dean's Fellowship

The UMSI Dean’s Fellowship is a merit-based award that recognizes research excellence and provides late-stage PhD students (4th year or beyond) with dedicated support to focus on advancing their dissertation research.

Two UMSI Dean’s Fellowships will be awarded each fall and winter semester.

Recipients of the UMSI Dean’s Fellowship will receive one semester of funding, covering tuition, stipend, benefits and a $1,000 award.

Eligibility

  • UMSI PhD students who will be in their 4th year or beyond in the fellowship year

  • Are in good academic standing

  • Have not been awarded a Dean’s Fellowship before and are not awarded another fellowship for the same academic year (fall/winter semesters) 

  • Have fulfilled their GSI requirement 

Application deadline

  • May 1 for fall and winter fellowships

Selection and notification

  • Applications will be reviewed by the doctoral committee, who will recommend to the dean at least 4 nominees for each academic year (2 per semester) representing diverse areas of UMSI research. 

  • The doctoral committee will take into account early research contributions and activities appropriate for the area of study, strength of academic work, strength of essay and advisor support. 

  • The dean will finalize the selection of fellowship recipients. 

  • Awardees will be notified by June 15.

How to apply

When completing the application form, be prepared to provide the following materials: 

  • Current CV

  • Short essay 
    In fewer than 500 words, describe the proposed contributions of your research and how they connect to aspects of the UMSI strategic plan goals and values. Some may see an immediate connection; for others, this will be an opportunity to use new lenses to think through the contributions of your work. Think creatively! Connecting your research interests to the interests of others — whether that's employers, foundations, agencies or philanthropists — is a valuable skill.

  • The PhD program team will provide your U-M academic transcript to the Doctoral Committee.

  • Your advisor should send a statement of support (up to 500 words) by the deadline by completing this form.