Graduate Fellowship Administration

• Supersedes Faculty Document Nos. 3193 and 3200 
• Supersedes GFC Doc. 800 and GFC Doc. 1231

Overview

The Graduate School administers a wide range of fellowships and scholarships from a variety of funding sources. This policy is designed to clarify roles and responsibilities for the administration, nomination, and selection process for all fellowships administered by the Graduate School.  

Eligibility

Eligibility for available fellowships may be determined by multiple sources, including the State of Wisconsin, UW-System, and the Graduate Student Fellowships Committee. In the absence of eligibility requirements from other sources, the Graduate School shall determine eligibility. 

Selection Committees

Internal full-academic year Graduate School fellowships such as the Distinguished Dissertation Fellowship (DDF) and the Distinguished Graduate Student Fellowship (DGSF) shall be selected by the Graduate Student Fellowships Committee, a UWM standing committee.  

The full-academic year Advanced Opportunity Program Fellowships (AOPF) shall be selected by an ad hoc Graduate School committee convened annually for that purpose, the Advanced Opportunity Program Fellowship Selection Committee. The Advanced Opportunity Program Fellowship Selection Committee shall be made up of faculty from programs across campus appointed by the Graduate School. 

Other selection committees may be constituted by the Graduate School as needed. 

All other fellowships and scholarships offered through the Graduate School, whose selection is not made by external funding agencies or bodies, shall be administered by the Graduate School, unless delegated to another unit or committee.  

Nomination and Selection Process

For full-academic year internal Graduate School fellowships (e.g., DDF, DGSF) and Advanced Opportunity Program fellowships (AOPF) the respective selection committee shall: 

• Compose official descriptions of the fellowships and publish them on the Graduate School website. 
• Provide an evaluation rubric at the time of application to be used in the selection process. 
• Determine the number of nominees permitted from each program or unit, and define what constitutes a program or unit for the purposes of the competition.
• Determine the distribution of fellowships among the eligible categories of graduate students (e.g. master’s students, dissertators, etc.).
• Evaluate all nominees from programs according to criteria the committee specifies and through its own internal procedures for the review and evaluation of nominees. This may involve issuing clarifications of ambiguous eligibility requirements from other sources.
•  Establish deadlines for the submission of nominees by all programs.
• Establish any additional rules governing the selection process designed to support fairness and inclusivity, such as limits on the maximum number of awardees from each program, school or college, or division.

For full-academic year internal Graduate School fellowships (e.g., DDF, DGSF, AOPF), the Graduate School shall: 

• Create an internal system to accept applications from students, to receive official nominations from individual programs, and to make those nominations available to selection committees. 
• Determine the number of fellowships and the amount of each fellowship to be offered from the funding available, in consultation with the selection committees. 
• Communicate the results of the selection process to all nominees and programs. 
• Support the committee with technical assistance and data as needed. 
• Ensure proper payment to all fellowship recipients.

For all other fellowships the Graduate School shall establish eligibility requirements and conduct a fair and equitable selection process.

Concurrent Employment

While receiving full-academic year Graduate School fellowships (e.g., DDF, DGSF, AOPF), students are eligible to work an additional amount on campus not to exceed:  

• A maximum of 37.5% as a TA, PA, or RA. 
  OR
• Up to 15 hours per week in student hourly or outside employment. 

Requests for Exception to work in excess of the maximums for concurrent employment must be submitted to the Graduate School at least two weeks prior to the start of employment. Any exceptions to the limits on concurrent employment will be reviewed on a case by case basis. Students’ financial hardship, professional development needs, and satisfactory academic progress will be the main criteria in considering exceptions to this policy. Program staffing needs will not be grounds for approving exceptions to the maximum limits on concurrent employment. 

Transfer of Fellowship Support

Students who receive an internal full-academic year (e.g., DDF, DGSF, or AOPF) cannot retain the fellowship or renew the fellowship if they transfer to another program, even within the same department or unit.  

In the case of multi-year renewable fellowships such as the AOPF, recipients who transfer to a new program during the term of the fellowship must reapply as a new applicant from their new program. If successful, their eligibility for multi-year support will be reduced by the number of semesters of support received in their previous program.