Graduate School Awards $216,000 in Dissertation Completion Fellowships

The Graduate School recently awarded $216,000 in Dissertation Completion Fellowships to 18 doctoral candidates. Fellowships were funded by the Graduate School with additional support from the Provost’s Office.

The Dissertation Completion Fellowship was designed by Dean of the Graduate School Jacqueline Urla to help students complete their dissertation after Covid-related disruptions. “Our graduate students have faced so many challenges due to Covid, from loss of access to labs and archives, having to redesign their research, care for small children, and even battling Covid themselves. Despite these challenges they have persevered. This fellowship gives recipients a semester to focus on their research and writing, bring their dissertation to completion, and earn their degree,” said Urla.  

Eighty-three students applied for the Dissertation Completion Fellowship; just over 20% of the applicants received funding. Fellowships were awarded to the following:

Maria Ximena Abello Hurtado, W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies

Elle Benjamin, philosophy

Samantha Davis, political science

Olivia Ekeh, W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies

Laura Fattaruso, geosciences

Shannon Gair, psychological and brain sciences (clinical psychology)

Andrew Grim, history

Jude  Hayward-Jansen, English

Sarah McCormick, psychological and brain sciences

Rivu Midya, electrical and computer engineering

Manish, Motwani, Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences

Joshua Nugent, biostatistics

Mariam Rashid, educational policy, research and administration

Sheikh Muhammad Sarwar, Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences

Emily Smith, chemistry

Amber Vayo, political science

Eric Vazquez Sanchez, comparative literature

Joshua Watson, mechanical and industrial engineering