[Poscgrad] DCFA Call for Nominations: Internal Department Deadline October 8th

[Diego Esparza]

Dear POSC Graduate Students,

I am writing to provide more details regarding the call for applications for the Dissertation Completion Fellowship Award (DCFA). The DCFA is intended to support Ph.D. students during the final stages of dissertation completion. Awards provide one or two quarters of stipend and tuition support at $12,300 per quarter.  However, the second quarter requires a detailed justification in the completion timeline and confirmation from the Dissertation Advisor

Graduate Division expects to award approximately 100 quarters of support campuswide, with an anticipated success rate of roughly 50% of nominated applicants. A departmental nomination is therefore necessary but does not guarantee an award.

Internal POSC Deadline:

The Political Science Department's internal application deadline is:

Tuesday, October 6, 2026, at 11:00 AM

This deadline is earlier than the Graduate Division deadline and allows the department sufficient time to review applications and select its nominees.

Applicants must:

Submit their application through the Graduate Division fellowship portal: 
https://grad.ucr.edu/account/login?r=https%3a%2f%2fgrad.ucr.edu%2fportal%2fcurrent_fellow_apps_2&cookie=1

Email a PDF copy of the completed application to diego.esparza at ucr.edu <mailto:diego.esparza at ucr.edu> with the subject line "DCFA Application."
Award Period and Graduation Requirement

The Fall 2026 DCFA competition supports students during Winter 2027.

Students awarded a DCFA for Winter 2027 and/or Spring 2027 are expected to complete all degree requirements and have their graduation posted by the end of the award period. Graduate Division has emphasized that failure of award recipients to graduate on schedule may negatively affect the department's ability to nominate students in future DCFA competitions.

Before applying, please carefully consider whether your dissertation timeline realistically supports completion during the award period.

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must:

Be a Ph.D. student who has advanced to candidacy by October 16, 2026.
Have no more than 7 units of incomplete grades.
Have a minimum GPA of 3.5.
Be making acceptable progress toward the degree (Advanced to Candidacy within 15 quarters of entry).
Be enrolled as a full-time student during the fellowship period (students may be on leave at the time of application).
Be either domestic or international students.
Application Materials

Applications require, among other materials:

A dissertation completion proposal.
A detailed completion timeline.
One letter of recommendation from the dissertation advisor (or faculty mentor).
Confirmation from the dissertation advisor that the proposed timeline is realistic and that the student can complete the dissertation within the award period.
Graduate Division also requires acknowledgment of the completion timeline by both the Dissertation Advisor and the Graduate Advisor.

Students seeking two quarters of support should provide a detailed justification for the additional quarter and ensure that this request is addressed by the dissertation advisor.

Proposal Preparation

The Graduate Committee strongly encourages applicants to develop a high-quality proposal and to seek feedback from faculty advisors before submission. Please review the attached DCFA guidelines carefully and consult the attached proposal-writing advice document when preparing your application.

Future Fellowship Competitions

The Dissertation Year Fellowship Award (DYFA) and HSI fellowship competitions are expected to open later in the Fall Quarter in November. A separate announcement will be circulated once those applications become available.  Please review the attached DCFA guidelines for complete information regarding eligibility, application requirements, and award conditions.

Best of luck with your applications.

Sincerely,

Diego Esparza 
Graduate Advisor
Department of Political Science
University of California, Riverside



Email Availability: In keeping with the principle of the right to disconnect, I generally respond to emails during regular business hours, Monday through Friday. I do not routinely monitor or respond to email after 5:00 PM, on weekends, or during university holidays.





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