About the Distinguished Dissertation Fellowship
The Distinguished Dissertation Fellowship (DDF) award recognizes and supports the most academically excellent PhD students who have achieved dissertator status at UWM or will do so by the start of the academic year of the award. Students are nominated for this award by their programs and compete with other nominees from across the university. Fellowship award decisions are made by a university faculty committee.
2026-2027 Distinguished Dissertation Fellowship Awards
UWM Graduate School Fellowship awards are for full-time study only and include an academic year stipend, coverage of in-state and out-of-state tuition, health insurance, and a $1,000 travel award. While the DDF includes a tuition waiver, fellowship awardees retain full responsibility for payment of segregated fees and additional instructional/course fees (including distance education) above basic graduate tuition levels. These fees are to be paid by the DDF recipient and are due at the start of each semester. The UWM Student Financial Services office provides more information on tuition and fees through this link uwm.edu/finances/finances/estimating-your-costs/tuition/. The 2026-2027 academic year stipend for DDF recipients is $17,000. Health insurance options provided by the Universities of Wisconsin can be explored through this Benefits Quick Guide: www.wisconsin.edu/ohrwd/benefits/download/quickguidegrad.pdf. Travel award money should be spent in accordance with UWM travel regulations by the end of the fiscal year following the year in which the fellowship award is held. The money will be spent on travel to present at a major national or international conference in the student’s discipline. Awardees retain full responsibility for segregated fees and additional instructional/course fees (including distance education) above basic graduate tuition levels. These fees are to be paid by the fellowship recipient and are due at the start of each enrollment term.
DDF Application Submission and Selection Process
The applicant’s complete DDF application, including the letter of recommendation from the Major Professor, must be submitted by the graduate program’s internal deadline. Contact your graduate program representative for internal application deadlines. Following the internal application deadline, each program evaluates all applications received, selects applicants for nomination, completes all nomination procedures, and forwards nominations to the formal competition. The Graduate Student Fellowships Committee reviews nominations and selects recipients based on application requirements and departmental assessment, through use of the DDF Application Rubric.
DDF applicants must have completed these steps prior to the start of the Fall 2026 semester:
- Confirmed Dissertator status through Doctoral Milestones.
- Completed all major and minor coursework.
- Completed PhD residency requirements.
- Attained dissertator status by the start of the academic year of the fellowship award.
A DDF recipient who has not attained dissertator status by the start of the academic year forfeits the award.
DDF Application Requirements
- Identification and Contact Information
- Residency and Citizenship Status
- Academic History & Details
- Graduate Degree Program and Major Professor Details
- Achievement and other relevant information:
- Honors, previous fellowship awards, publications (peer-review journals, newsletters, etc.), major exhibitions, performances, presentations (local, regional, national conferences, student-only conferences and annual meetings), departmental assistantships and/or other employment experiences or internships.
- Applicants are asked to clearly distinguished work that is published, completed, or still in progress.
- Dissertation Title and Abstract
- Letter of Recommendation from Major Professor
UWM Graduate School Fellowship Compliance
All fellowship recipients must be enrolled in a graduate degree program at UWM during the award period. Fellows must meet the Graduate School continuation requirements each semester and comply with the following UWM Graduate Faculty Committee regulations:
- Fellowship nominees/awardees must maintain a 3.0 GPA and make reasonable progress toward their UWM graduate degree. Fellowship nominees/awardees cannot be on academic probation and cannot have engaged in academic or non-academic misconduct during their current graduate program, based on transcript notations at the time of nomination/award. If the fellowship nominees/awardees become ineligible, the graduate fellowship award/offer is forfeited, effective the date that the sanctions are implemented.
- Fellowship recipients must have attained dissertator status by the start of the academic year and carry three dissertator credits per semester. A DDF recipient who has not attained dissertator status by the start of the academic year forfeits the award.
- Fellowship recipients may not hold any other external or internal fellowship or scholarship concurrently with a Graduate School award, except for small monetary awards under $10,000; the UWM Chancellor’s Graduate Student Award; or a philanthropic award.
- Fellowship recipients may not accept full-time employment. University appointments (maximum of 37.5% TA, PA or RA), or other student outside employment of up to 15 hours per week, are allowable.
Note: Fellowships are factored in determining eligibility for federal student aid. Please know that a fellowship stipend and tuition waiver may significantly reduce a student’s financial aid loan eligibility.
2025-2026 Timeline for 2026-2027 Distinguished Dissertation Fellowship
| October 15, 2025 | For All DDF Applicants, Graduate Programs, Faculty Advisors: The Graduate School Fellowship application system launches. DDF Applicants may open, begin, and complete their ’26-’27 DDF application. It is highly recommended for new DDF applicants to consult with their Graduate Program Representative and Major Professor prior to starting the DDF application, to learn of any additional requirements set by their graduate program. This includes the internal application deadline. |
| December 2025 | For New DDF Applicants: Deadline to submit the ’26-’27 DDF application. Please consult your Graduate Program Representative to learn your deadline date. Exact deadline date varies by graduate program. DDF applications must be marked as “complete” within the app system prior to the graduate program’s internal deadline. No exceptions will be made. |
| January 15, 2026 | For Graduate Programs and Faculty Advisors: Deadline for graduate programs to complete required evaluations of nominated applicants. All Graduate School Fellowship nominations must be submitted in the Graduate School Fellowship application system by each graduate program representative before January 15, 2026. |
| Mid-March 2026 | For All DDF Applicants, Graduate Programs, Faculty Advisors: Announcement of all UWM Graduate School Fellowship awards. |
| April 15, 2026 | For All DDF Applicants, Graduate Programs, Faculty Advisors: Deadline for all UWM Graduate School Fellowship recipients to accept any UWM Graduate School fellowship offer, per the Council of Graduate Schools April 15 Resolution. |
For questions regarding the Distinguished Dissertation Fellowship please email gs-fellowships-distinguished@uwm.edu.
Instructions for Graduate Programs
Funding is very limited and Distinguished Dissertation Fellowships are extremely competitive. Therefore, graduate programs are asked to be highly selective in nominating no more than two students for the DDF. Only students with all completed answers and documents will be considered nominated. Please verify all information in the application submitted by each nominee, confirming application status as complete with two letters of recommendation.
After the applicant’s information has been verified, use the online application to submit a summary statement detailing why the nominee is a strong candidate for the DDF. After submitting nomination materials, please notify all your program’s DDF applicants (non-nominated as well as nominated) regarding the status of their fellowship application. Please submit your nominations by Thursday, January 15, 2026.
Distinguished Dissertation Fellowships are highly competitive. Fellowships are awarded on the basis of the applicant’s previous academic record, scholarly and other achievements, status toward degree and faculty recommendations.
- Evaluation is based on the totality of information available. No single factor is decisive.
- It is understood that excellence takes many forms across disciplines.
- Each application is considered holistically, and factors such as academic background, experiences, perspectives, aspirations, values and accomplishments are taken into account.
For the sake of these fellowships, a “graduate degree program” is defined more broadly than the UW System definition to include any graduate program that meets both of the following criteria:
- Student must make specific application to the degree program on their applications to the Graduate School or department.
- Students cannot transfer out of the program without making explicit application to another program, even within the same department or unit.
Please see the timeline at the top of this page for the program nomination deadline. No nominations will be accepted after this date. DDF awards are capped at three awards per degree-granting program as recognized by the UW System.