International Division Pre-Dissertation Scholarship

The International Division is pleased to offer International Division Pre-Dissertation Travel Scholarships to support overseas travel to potential field research sites for doctoral students.

Eligibility:

International Division Pre-Dissertation Travel Scholarships are available to students of any nationality who are enrolled in a doctoral program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and are planning to conduct preliminary dissertation field research abroad. Those enrolled in terminal master’s degree programs are not eligible for this award. This award is for early career PhD students (students in the first few years or coursework phase of their program) to conduct exploratory research and or begin to develop dissertation plans.

Award Details:

These are one-time awards of $5,000. Awardees are encouraged to spend approximately 10 weeks in the field (outside the United States) but are required to spend a minimum of 8 weeks in the field. Time abroad outside the summer months will be considered, though applicants should address these circumstances in their statement and should have their advisor address this topic in their letter of recommendation as well. Projects should include a social justice component.

Notes on awarding:

• Awards are considered taxable income.
• Awardees who have non-resident alien status will have taxes deducted from their award prior to payout.
• All other recipients will receive their awards through the Bursar’s scholarship system: if you have an outstanding balance on your student account all or part of your award may be used to pay that balance before being disbursed to you.
• Changing your proposed travel dates after receiving an offer is allowable. If, however, changing those travel dates reduces your time abroad, the award amount will be reduced proportionally; any change that results in less than 8 weeks abroad will result in forfeiture of the award.

Additional Criteria

We especially encourage applications from students whose research addresses challenges faced by disadvantaged persons and communities outside the United States and illustrates efforts to address these challenges and move toward social justice. The project can employ methods of inquiry from any discipline.

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