The Lake Institute on Faith and Giving at the Center on Philanthropy, Indiana University will offer a one year doctoral dissertation fellowship of $22,000 for the academic year 2010-2011. This doctoral dissertation fellowship will be given to a scholar whose primary research focus is in the area of religion and philanthropy or faith and giving. The fellowship is intended to support the final year of dissertation writing. The fellowship stipend will be paid in three installments: $10,000 at the beginning of the 2010-2011 academic year; $10,000 at the mid-point of the 2010-2011 academic year; $2,000 upon the successful completion of the dissertation.

Eligibility

Applicants for the Lake Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship must:

• be candidates for the Ph.D. degree at a graduate school in the United States.
• fulfill all pre-dissertation requirements by December 31, 2009, including approval of the dissertation proposal with the expectation that the dissertation will be completed no later than July 2012.
• have not received a similar grant or fellowship for the writing of the dissertation. Please note that Lake Doctoral Dissertation Fellows may not accept other awards that provide similar benefits in the same academic year. Smaller awards and/or those involving limited opportunities to teach may be permitted, at the discretion of the Research Advisory Committee of the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving.

Application Information

The application process for the 2010-2011 Lake Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship will open September 2009. All application materials must be received by January 31, 2010. Applications must include the following:

• an application form
• a current resume
• an executive summary no longer than 15 pages in length summarizing your topic and its relevance to the understanding of an important question(s) or issue(s) related to religion and philanthropy / faith and giving. Please write this executive summary so that scholars outside of your discipline would not have difficulty comprehending your proposal.
• a copy of the approved dissertation proposal describing the proposed work, demonstrating relevance to the field of religion and philanthropy, describing source materials and their availability, commenting on any special skills or interests you have for carrying out the proposed work, and giving a clear statement of the research or scholarly methodology to be employed.
• a selected bibliography no longer than two pages, double-spaced, indicating the major theoretical, practical and critical works that bear on your dissertation. “Selected” means you should include those works that most clearly demonstrate your command of the scholarship necessary to write the proposed dissertation. In most cases this will already be part of your proposal.
• a timetable detailing your chapter outline, your progress to date, and your schedule for the fellowship year. It should be no longer than one page, double-spaced.

Supporting Material

• Three letters of recommendation must accompany your application: one from your dissertation director and two from faculty members familiar with your work.
• One official transcript from the graduate school which will award the Ph.D. degree/

All requested material must be mailed to:

Richard Klopp
Associate Director
The Lake Institute on Faith & Giving
The Center on Philanthropy, Indiana University
550 West North Street
Suite 301
Indianapolis, Indiana 46202