HFA Graduate Student Research Intensive Semester Fellowship

The HFA Graduate Student Research Intensive Semester (GRIS) Fellowship will provide a graduate student enrolled in a doctoral degree program in HFA with funded, dedicated time for concentrated scholarship, fieldwork, or lab work, free from standard teaching or administrative duties during Spring 2027. This fellowship competition is open to doctoral students in good standing who are at the proposal stage.  

One fellowship will be offered for Spring 2027. Apply by Monday, October 12, 2026. 

Eligibility Requirements 

UMass Amherst students enrolled in a doctoral degree program in HFA and in good academic standing according to their departments’ graduate program handbooks are eligible to apply. To be considered, applicants must be at the proposal stage, having completed qualifying exams or equivalent. and anticipate completing the dissertation proposal in Spring/Summer 2027. 

GRIS Activity 

The goal of the GRIS Fellowship is to allow doctoral students time to focus on their research and related activities, so fellowship recipients are not allowed to teach or hold administrative positions during the award period. The recipient must have scheduled check-in meetings with the proposal committee or advisor during the RIS period. 

Application Procedure 

The application form is available on the UMass InfoReady portal. The application deadline is Monday, October 12, 2026. 

The following documents are required at the time of application:    

• Research statement and timeline 
• Curriculum vitae 
• Letter of recommendation from your proposal advisor 
• GPD statement 

Who to Contact 

Lisa Green, Associate Dean for Graduate Education and Student Success, lgree [at] linguist [dot] umass [dot] edu (lgreen[at]linguist[dot]umass[dot]edu)