Continuing Student Fellowships

The Graduate School Founder’s Doctoral Completion Fellowships contribute to our commitment to advancing Cornell’s founding principle of “… any person … any study.”

The concept of “… any person” meant that people from all walks of life, all income levels, races, religions and genders could attend Cornell University. Similarly, “… any study” underscored the freedom to pursue academic interests wherever they lead. For more than 150 years, talented scholars representing the full, diverse spectrum of humanity have come to Cornell for a world-class educational experience unlike any other.

The Founder’s Doctoral Completion Fellowships are awarded on a competitive basis and are funded by the Graduate School and SUNY System. They are available to domestic advanced Ph.D. students who are U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or Indigenous peoples of Canada eligible to register as domestic students under the Jay Treaty. Applicants demonstrate excellence in their academics, leadership, and service, and have made significant contributions to Cornell’s founding principle and core values of providing a community of belonging where scholars representing different backgrounds, perspectives, abilities, and experiences can engage in purposeful discovery together in an environment of respect.

For the Fall 2027 application cycle, applicants may request support for the following funding periods.  

• Spring 2027: with or without support for Summer 2027
• Summer 2027
• Fall 2027: with or without support for Summer 2027
• Spring 2028: with or without support for Summer 2028

To be eligible for an award, nominees must have received at least one year of support (e.g. teaching assistantship, training grant, etc.) from their graduate field or special committee chair and meet the following conditions:

• Enrolled in a Cornell doctoral program for a minimum of three years by the time of nomination;
• Will have passed the A exam prior to the award period for the fellowship. 
• Be in good academic standing with a most recent Student Progress Review rating of at least Satisfactory.

Priority consideration is provided to nominees expected to complete all requirements for the doctorate within three semesters (spring, summer, or fall) from the semester of nomination.

A complete nomination consists of three separate Qualtrics survey submissions:

Student Application Form

Includes the submission of a personal statement and dissertation completion plan. 

Personal Statement (500 words maximum)

Cornell University was founded on the principle of being “an institution where any person can find instruction in any study” and remains committed to our core values of providing a community of belonging where scholars representing different backgrounds, perspectives, abilities, and experiences can engage in purposeful discovery together in an environment of respect. In your personal statement, please provide insight into how you have contributed to advancing Cornell’s founding principle and institutional core values. You may draw from your service, leadership, and scholarly activities that address:

• Your ability to engage with and contribute to effective, collaborative teams.
• How you have come to understand and value perspectives different from your own.
• How you have demonstrated persistence in overcoming a setback or challenge.

Your statement should reflect your unique perspective and experiences while illustrating how they have shaped your ability to contribute meaningfully to Cornell’s academic and community life.

Dissertation Completion Plan

Your dissertation completion plan must be drafted in consultation with your advisor to ensure a shared understanding and agreement on your timeline and productivity expectations. A backward-planning approach can help: start with your projected completion date and then work backward to schedule key milestones and deliverables, such as data analysis and the preparation and submission of draft and final chapters.

Your dissertation completion plan should include at least the following core elements: 

• A timeline with target dates for the completion of milestones associated with the progression of your dissertation. 
• A high-level schedule for check-ins and feedback meetings with your advisor(s). 
• Mutually defined expectations between your advisor and you for how and at what frequency you will communicate updates and exchange feedback. 
• A description of how you will engage with your special committee members to present your work and to elicit their feedback at a frequency relevant for your committee and graduate field. 

Committee Chair Nomination Form

Includes confirmation of the committee chair’s approval of the dissertation completion plan submitted by the nominee. It also includes the submission of a letter of nomination with a mentoring plan detailing how the committee chair will support the nominee through the successful completion of their doctorate and help them access postgraduate opportunities. The letter should also include a funding plan detailing how the nominee has been funded to date and how they will be funded through completion if the fellowship is not awarded. The mentoring plan may be informed by the FAIM mentoring framework and toolkit.

Director of Graduate Study (DGS) Nomination Form

Includes confirmation of review and approval of the dissertation completion plan submitted by the student nominee and the mentoring and funding plans submitted by the committee chair.

The student application and the nomination forms from the committee chair and DGS must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. on October 15. (If the application deadline falls on a holiday or weekend, applications will be due the next business day.) Fellowship award decisions will be announced by mid-November.

Doctoral research often requires extended periods of fieldwork, archival research, community-based research, international research, or data collection away from campus to develop impactful contributions to the discipline. Cornell’s policies already recognize the academic importance of such activities through in absentia status, which allows doctoral students to conduct approved research at locations more than 100 miles from campus while remaining under the guidance of their special committee.

To strengthen support for these students, the Graduate School has established the Doctoral Field Research Fellowship (DFRF) program, a competitive fellowship providing a semester of dedicated support for doctoral students engaged in academically required fieldwork to the development of a prospectus or in the early phases of the dissertation. 

The fellowship will provide recipients with: 

• Dedicated support for field-based dissertation research, for use in the U.S. or abroad.
• Recognition as recipients of a Graduate School competitive fellowship. 
• Fellowship funding, including:  
  • In absentia tuition fees ($200).
  • Cornell Student Health Plan (SHP) coverage (up to $2,046).
  • Full Graduate School stipend support for one term ($18,342 for fall or spring; $7,779 for summer).

This fellowship is intended to accelerate scholarly progress, increase competitiveness for external funding, and support timely degree completion. 

The Doctoral Field Research Fellowship (DFRF) will advance three key Graduate School priorities: 

1. Enable High-Impact Research

Many doctoral projects require sustained field presence that cannot be effectively conducted while simultaneously holding on-campus teaching or research assistantship obligations. By providing a semester of uninterrupted funding, the fellowship enables students to gather critical data, conduct interviews, complete archival visits, engage with research partners, or undertake intensive field investigations. 

2. Increase External Funding Competitiveness

Cornell encourages graduate students to pursue external fellowships because they enhance professional development, strengthen research proposals, and increase flexibility in conducting fieldwork. The DFRF will reinforce this culture by requiring applicants to actively seek external support and develop competitive grant-writing skills.

3. Promote Timely Degree Completion

These fellowships are intended to support timely completion of the degree, not to extend time in the program. Extended dissertation timelines can create financial and academic challenges for students and programs. The fellowship will support research progress while reinforcing clear plans for degree completion. Recipients and their special committees commit to completing all degree requirements within the standard timeline for the field, in accordance with Cornell policy. 

Award Types 

The fellowship will provide full support for one term of doctoral study in two categories: 

Pre-candidacy (Pre-A Exam) ​​​​​​Funding 

• One term of summer support for students developing a dissertation prospectus or funding proposals while in absentia
• Planned research activities must be directly linked to the anticipated dissertation topic and must not delay the timing of the A exam. 
• Students must have completed at least two semesters of enrollment on campus to be eligible for pre-candidacy support. 

Candidacy (Post-A Exam) Funding  

• One term of fellowship support for students who have applied for external funding comparable to what they are asking from the DFRF
• Planned research activities must be directly linked to the anticipated dissertation topic. 
• Fieldwork must take place during the student’s fourth or fifth year of enrollment.  

Duration 

• Awards are limited to one academic term.
• Students may receive the fellowship only once during their doctoral program.

Eligible Activities 

Support may be used for: 

• Domestic or international field research.
• Dissertation-related archival research.
• Community-engaged or participatory research.
• Data collection activities.
• Site-based scientific research.
• Ethnographic research.
• Language-based field study directly tied to dissertation research.

Applicants must: 

1. Be enrolled in a Cornell Ph.D. program in good academic standing.
2. Have an approved and academically required dissertation research project requiring fieldwork or field research away from campus prior to the completion of their fifth year of study.
3. Be eligible for and approved for in absentia status consistent with Graduate School policy. (The Graduate School will accept in absentia requests for those supported on DFRF until December 15.)  
4. Post-A exam students have applied for external funding at least comparable to the funding being requested through the DFRF.
5. Demonstrate endorsement from their special committee chair and graduate field.
6. Submit a viable plan showing how the proposed fieldwork will advance dissertation completion.

To ensure the fellowship supports both research excellence and student success, applicants must complete a competitive application process that includes:

1. External Funding Application Requirement for Candidates (Post-A)

Post-A exam applicants must demonstrate that they have applied, or will apply during the current academic year, for at least two relevant external fellowship, grant, or research funding opportunities. 

Required documentation may include: 

• Copy of submitted application
• Funding proposal abstract
• Confirmation of submission
• Timeline for upcoming external applications 

This requirement aligns with Graduate School efforts to encourage students to pursue prestigious external fellowships and grants.

2. Degree Completion Plan

Applicants must submit a detailed completion plan demonstrating their commitment to finishing the Ph.D. within the normal time to degree within the field from initial enrollment. Time in the field on this fellowship may not extend the time to degree. The student’s dissertation completion plan must be drafted in consultation with their advisor to ensure a shared understanding and agreement on the timeline and productivity expectations. A backward-planning approach can help: Start with your projected completion date and then work backward to schedule key milestones and deliverables, such as data analysis and the preparation and submission of draft and final chapters. 

The dissertation completion plan should include at least the following core elements:

• A timeline with target dates for the completion of milestones associated with the progression of your dissertation.
• A high-level schedule for check-ins and feedback meetings with your advisor(s).
• Mutually defined expectations between your advisor and you for how and at what frequency you will communicate updates and exchange feedback.
• A description of how you will engage with your special committee members to present your work and to elicit their feedback at a frequency relevant for your committee and graduate field.

3. Field Research Work Plan

Applicants must provide: 

• Research statement (one to two pages) 
• ​​​Fieldwork and dissertation progress plan (one to two pages) 
  • Description of fieldwork activities 
  • Location and duration of research 
  • Explanation of how fellowship support will accelerate dissertation progress 

4. Faculty Recommendation

​​​​​A letter from the special committee chair addressing: 

• Research significance
• Student preparedness
• Feasibility of the proposed work
• Likelihood of successful and timely degree completion 

A letter of confirmation from the DGS indicating that they reviewed and approve of the student’s fieldwork plan.

Applications will be evaluated based on:

• Quality and significance of proposed research
• Need for dedicated fieldwork period
• Academic progress and readiness
• Strength of dissertation completion plan
• Efforts to secure external funding

Priority may be given to students whose fieldwork represents a critical and time-sensitive component of dissertation research and whose projects demonstrate a high likelihood of completion within the proposed timeline.

The student application and the nomination forms from the committee chair and DGS must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. on ​​Monday, Nov. 9, 2026. 

• Student application form 
• Committee chair may submit their letter of support to grad_funding@cornell.edu 
• DGSs may submit their letter of confirmation to grad_funding@cornell.edu, indicating that they reviewed and approve of the student’s fieldwork plan.