Advanced PhD Funding

CCAS is proud to offer additional funding opportunities for its advanced PhD students. These opportunities are designed for students that have advanced to candidacy. For additional information, please contact the CCAS Office of Graduate Studies Fellowship Team directly at [email protected].

Dean’s Graduate Lectureship

The CCAS Dean’s Graduate Lectureship (DGL) provides exceptional PhD candidates with an opportunity to design and teach their own undergraduate courses. Drawing upon their own research expertise, awardees design and teach a Dean’s Seminar. These courses are designed to provide first-year CCAS students with opportunities to engage in lively discussions on topics relevant to the issues of our time. Proposals for these courses must fulfill the criteria for GPAC designation in at least one area.

Additionally, students will be awarded financial support from the Columbian College of Arts & Sciences. Recipients will receive the standard CCAS graduate assistant salary and stipend as well as required tuition for the semester (up to 9 credits). Recipients will receive one additional semester of their existing PhD package following the DGL semester.

Eligible applicants will:

Be advanced to PhD candidacy
Have at least one semester of Graduate Teaching Assistantship experience in their department
Consult their department’s Directors of Graduate/Undergraduate Studies, or chair to assess potential interest in the proposed seminar
Not be a previous DGL recipient
Plan to be in residence during fellowship semester
Complete the DGL in the fall semester of the year awarded
Be enrolled in their PhD program for less than 8 years

Applications for the 2025-2026 academic year closed on January 23, 2025. Please stay posted for information regarding the 2026-2027 DGL application.

Dean’s Dissertation Completion Fellowship

Offered annually, the Dean’s Dissertation Completion Fellowship (DCF) is intended to facilitate the completion of the PhD by providing eligible PhD students with a duty-free fellowship semester. Recipients will receive funding equivalent to the standard CCAS graduate assistant salary and stipend, as well as full tuition coverage for the required, 1-credit Continuing Research (CR) course.

Recipients of the DCF are expected to remain actively involved in the intellectual life of their PhD program–and in the broader CCAS scholarly community–as they work full-time to complete their dissertations. Recipients may not hold any paid or unpaid employment inside or outside GW while receiving the DCF, nor may they simultaneously hold any other major fellowships or grants from external organizations.

Eligible applicants will:

Be advanced to PhD candidacy
Plan to be in residence during fellowship semester
Have no more than one full year of dissertation work remaining at the start of the fellowship semester
Have exhausted or be in the final guaranteed year of PhD funding package
Be enrolled in PhD program for less than 8 years

Applications for the 2025-2026 academic year closed on February 6, 2025. Please stay posted for information regarding the 2026-2027 DCF application.

External Dissertation Fellowships

For students looking for additional dissertation research support beyond GW, several options are available. Application procedures, deadlines, and overall funding awarded will vary. Please note this list is not exhaustive of all opportunities.

Updated March 5, 2025