The Dean's Scholar Award
Relevant Downloadable Forms
The Dean's Scholar Award is a one-year, non-renewable award presented by the Dean of the Graduate College in recognition of a student's scholarly achievement. It is intended to provide the most distinguished, advanced-level graduate students with a period of time dedicated solely to the completion of their programs. The Dean’s Scholar competition is open to doctoral students who have passed the Graduate-College-required Preliminary Examination at the University of Illinois at Chicago and are well into their dissertation work, and also to MFA students who have passed second-semester review. It is anticipated that 4-12 awards will be made for AY 2008-2009. Applications will be reviewed by the Graduate College Awards Committee at their April meeting.
Terms of the Award
Recipients of the Dean's Scholar Award will receive a fellowship stipend of $20,000 for a twelve-month academic year. The recipient also receives a tuition and fee waiver from the Graduate College. The waiver covers the tuition (including differential, if any) service fee, health service fee, academic facilities maintenance assessment fee, library and information technology assessment, and $100/ per academic year towards Campus Care, if applicable. All other fees are the student’s responsibility.
An award recipient may not accept a teaching assistantship while on a Dean's Scholar, but may accept a Research Assistantship for no more than 50% time in his/her research field, or external support in the form of a fellowship for work directly related to the dissertation. The Dean's Scholar Award is designed to allow the student to work full-time on his/her degree. Any distraction from that goal is considered incompatible with the spirit of the award. Graduate hourly appointments are also not permitted.
Students supported by these fellowships are required to complete at least 12 semester hours each semester unless expressly authorized by the Dean of the Graduate College to carry a reduced program. Fellows are not required to register for the summer session by the Graduate College; however, individual departments may require summer registration. Fellows who register in the summer must enroll in at least 6 hours to be eligible for a summer tuition waiver. Fellows should check with the department to ensure that summer registration is not required for the degree program.
Fellowships and Student Loans
A fellowship will affect federal student loan or work-study. Typically, students with fellowships may not be permitted to borrow small amouns of federal loans due to course of attendance regulation. Check with the Office of Student Financial Aid on eligibility requirements.
If you have already received a refund for the current year in federal loans and you accept a fellowship, you may be responsible to return this refund to UIC. Contact the Office of Student Financial Aid for further information.
If applying for loans and/or work-study a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) must be completed. See the Graduate Student Guide from the Office of Student Financial Aid for more information.
Nomination Instructions
Eligible students may be nominated for the Dean's Scholar by their programs. Programs may submit up to 15% of their total fall enrollment. Programs in which 15% of the enrollment is less than 2 students, may nominate a maximum of 2. Programs in which 15% of enrollment is greater than 10 students, may only nominate a maximum of 10 or 15% whichever is less. Programs should refrain from submitting nominations that are clearly not competitive.
To nominate a student for the Dean’s Scholarship, an original plus five (5) copies of a nomination packet must be submitted to the Graduate College (MC 192) by 4:00 p.m. on March 19, 2010. No extensions will be granted. Hand delivery is recommended.
The packet should consist of the following materials complied in the order specified:
- A completed Dean's Scholar Transmittal Form;
- A completed Rating Form;
- A statement of research plans of no more than three pages describing the student’s dissertation or MFA project, the current status of the student’s project and the expected date of completion;
- Three letters of recommendation written within twelve months, one of which must be from the nominee's principle advisor;
- Copies of UIC transcripts;
- List of professional accomplishments including awards, honors, publications, and presentations, if any;
Deadlines
The Graduate College Awards Committee has established the following deadlines for submitting nominations for the competition:
March 19, 2010
Department Nominations Due in the Graduate College
April 20, 2010
Announcement of Awards
June 1, 2010
Last Day to Inform Graduate College of Acceptance
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