Rackham One-Term Dissertation Fellowships are intended to speed the process of completing the dissertation. They are awarded to students who are at the writing stage of the dissertation. This will permit candidates to work full-time in the final stages of their dissertations.

Award: A Rackham One-Term Dissertation Fellowship consists of candidacy tuition and registration fee plus a stipend of $14,596 (currently) for one term. Recipients will be eligible for GradCare health and dental insurance coverage provided by the Graduate School during the term of their award. A student may receive only one Rackham One-Term Dissertation Fellowship. SEAS may award up to four (4) recipients. 

Eligibility: A student must have achieved candidacy prior to the beginning of the term in which he or she receives a Rackham One-Term Dissertation Fellowship. The student must have established a dissertation committee and submitted the Nomination of Dissertation Committee form to the Rackham Academic Records and Dissertation Office prior to the beginning of the term in which he or she receives this fellowship. Recipients of this award may not be employed more than ten hours a week during the tenure of the fellowship. 

SEAS Application Process:

• PhD students interested in being nominated must have a faculty member complete the application link https://tinyurl.com/y3bnq58d no later than Monday, April 6th, 2026. A statement should be provided that describes the student's outstanding qualities and appropriateness for nomination as outlined above; it should also specify the student’s completion term.
• Students interested in being considered for one of these awards should check with their advisor to make sure a nomination statement has been submitted by the deadline.
• The SEAS Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, in conjunction with the SEAS Scholarship Committee, will determine four (4) students that will be awarded. Once decisions have been made, applicants will be notified of their status.