Summer Dissertation Fellowships.  The Graduate School awards 2018 Summer Dissertation Research Fellowships. The goal of this fellowship is to support doctoral and MFA candidates from under-represented groups who are currently working towards the completion of their dissertations or MFA theses. Students from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences bring fresh perspectives and insights to their departments, disciplines, and the UMass campus.

Ezekiel Babagario – has been awarded a Summer 2018 Graduate School Dissertation Fellowship. Ezekiel’s study examines the impact of an interfaith education program in the city of Kaduna in northern Nigeria.  His study is based on interviews with students, teachers and parents in two sections of Kaduna, one predominantly Muslim and the other predominantly Christian. The study looks at reactions to the interfaith program and activities in both schools and communities. He will spend the summer finishing data analysis and drafting his dissertation.

EPRA Summer Dissertation Fellowships. The EPRA department awards summer fellowships to enable doctoral candidates to spend the summer working on their dissertations without having to look for other sources of support.

Yi Sun has been awarded the EPRA Summer 2018 Dissertation Fellowship that will enable her to devote her summer to completing dissertation writing and finishing up her doctorate. Yi 's research examines China's discourse on South-South cooperation, with a focus on China's philosophy and practices in its engagement with higher education exchange and human capacity building with Africa. Since China has become one of the most sought-after destinations for African students abroad, Yi's research also investigates the relationship between human flows and higher education in the context of global economy. 

Mei Lan Frame also received an EPRA Department Graduate Student Summer Fellowship. She will spend the summer completing her research on the National College Entrance Exam of China, and how current reforms of the exam have affected a local high school in urban China. She will use the Fellowship to consult primary sources and government documents, from the 1920's to the present day about the Exam, at the Yenching and Fung libraries at Harvard.