Background

ADFs are administered by our department and funds are provided by the College of Arts and Sciences. The number of ADFs will vary depending upon the amount of funding provided by the College in a given year.

Eligibility

These fellowships are typically given to students entering their fourth through sixth year in the program. Only students who have completed the M.A. by the start of the fellowship year will be considered. This fellowship does not include a tuition waiver, so fellows must be eligible for G901.

Students may not receive full-year ADFs in two consecutive academic years, although previous winners are allowed to apply again after the hiatus. There is no limit on the total number of semesters that a student might be supported through an ADF. Fellows are not allowed to hold other remunerative fellowships or scholarships concurrently with the ADF.

Fellows are expected to be on the Bloomington campus during the period of fellowship support, unless the research project requires relocation elsewhere (e.g., fieldwork, archival data collection, etc.), and they are not allowed to take on other employment during the fellowship period. These restrictions may be waived in special circumstances by the director of graduate studies and the fellow’s advisor.

Near the end of the period of fellowship support, fellows must provide the director of graduate studies with a one-page summary of their research progress and accomplishments (in order to be eligible for future departmental support), and fellows are encouraged to present their research at one of the department’s workshops during the period of support.

Award

Fellows will receive support for either one or two semesters. The ADF covers costs of mandatory health insurance.

Materials to submit

1. curriculum vitae
2. a research statement (no more than four pages, single-spaced in length) that describes research activities to date and outlines a research plan proposed for the fellowship year (the proposed project may or may not be related to the fellow’s dissertation)
3. evidence of research productivity (copies of publications, presentations at professional meetings, submissions, including those focused on pedagogy)

Criteria for selection (listed in descending importance)

1. demonstrated history of research productivity (e.g. presentations, submissions, publications)
2. quality of the research statement (especially, the feasibility and potential significance of the proposed research, and how the fellowship would contribute to the applicant’s professional progress)
3. timely progress toward the Ph.D. (successful applicants will have typically finished all course work)

Application deadline

The deadline to apply is February 1 Fellowship recipients are selected by the Graduate Recruitment and Evaluation Committee.

 View the Schuessler Award for Graduate Research

Submission Instructions