Dean's Leadership Society Doctoral Dissertation Research Support Fellowships

With generous support from the Dean’s Leadership Society and the directors of the Center for Citizen Peacebuilding, the Peltason Center for the Study of Democracy, the Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies, and the Center for Theoretical Behavioral Sciences, the School of Social Sciences is pleased to announce funding to support doctoral dissertation research. Approximately five awards in the amount of $5000-$10,000 are expected to be made in the 2026-27 academic year.

Eligibility

To be considered for the DLS DDRS Fellowship, you must:
  • Be a Ph.D. student in good standing in the School of Social Sciences
  • Have advanced to candidacy by the time funding is disbursed (you may apply before advancing to candidacy) and no later than June 11, 2027.

Eligible Expenses:

Fellowship funds may be used to support costs directly associated with the project (e.g., research-related travel, data/software, field assistants, transcription, research subject participation compensation, etc.). Funds may not be requested for salary, conference travel, or UCI undergraduate research assistants and may not be used to cover general living expenses within proximity to UCI. Project expenditures must adhere to university policies.

Application Documents

  • The following information – to be entered into the UCI Review portal directly:
    • Full Name
    • Department
    • Email address
    • Advisor’s Name(s)
    • Project Title
    • Requested Amount
    • Date or anticipated date of candidacy

  • An NSF-style Project Summary, max length 1 page, with the following sections: Overview, Intellectual Merit, Broader Impacts (see NSF PAPPG – Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide).

  • An NSF-style Project Description, max length 10 pages, single or double-spaced, conforming to the following guidelines:
    • Arial (not Arial Narrow), Courier New, or Palatino Linotype at a font size of 10 points or larger; OR Times New Roman at a font size of 11 points or larger;
    • No more than six lines of text within a vertical space of one inch.
    • Margins, in all directions, must be at least an inch.
    • Paper size must be no larger than standard letter paper size (8½ by 11 or 11 by 8½).
    • Sections labeled “Intellectual Merit” and “Broader Impacts”
    • A brief section labeled “Other Funding” that describes other funding sources to which you have applied for your dissertation project. Include name of source, amount requested, and current status of application (awarded, declined, pending). If none, indicate “none”.

  • References, no page limit

  • An NSF-style Budget and Budget Justification, max length 5 pages. See PAPPG for budget form categories. Awards are expected to be between $5000-10,000 and requests may not exceed $10,000. No indirect costs are to be included.

  • A brief letter from your advisor confirming date or expected date of candidacy and review of application prior to submission using the following template: “I confirm that ______[student’s name] has advanced/will advance to PhD candidacy on _______[date]. I also confirm that I have read the student’s application and approve the project.”

Due date: October 15, 2026

Selection procedure:

The DLS DDRS Fellowship Committee will evaluate proposals using NSF Merit Review criteria, Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts (see the NSF PAPPG for more information on review criteria), and will announce recipients approximately eight weeks after the application due date.

How to apply:

Complete the application form and submit the required documents to UCI Review by 11:59 PM on October 15, 2026.

Questions:

Contact Dr. Holly Hapke, Director of Research Development at hhapke@uci.edu.

Note: If you receive the DLS DDRS Fellowship and subsequently receive an external grant for the same research, you must report this information to Director Hapke. You will not necessarily lose the DLS DDRS Fellowship, but your fellowship amount may be reduced so as to support as many graduate students as possible.

 

 

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