<div dir="ltr"><div>Reminder: DCFA applications are due today (Friday, October 10). See below. --MB </div><br><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Wed, Oct 1, 2025 at 2:10 PM Marissa Brookes <<a href="mailto:mbrookes@ucr.edu">mbrookes@ucr.edu</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div>Dear <span>POSC</span> <span>Graduate</span> Students,<br><br>I am writing to inform you of the call for applications and upcoming deadline (<b>internal deadline: Friday, October 10</b>) for Graduate Division's <b>Dissertation Completion Fellowship Award </b>(<b>DCFA</b>) for students who will graduate by Spring 2026. Please note that departments are no longer allocated guaranteed fellowships; however, POSC is allowed to nominate up to three students for this award (one round in Fall for Winter/Spring plus another round in Winter for Spring/Summer). G<span style="color:black"><span>rad </span>Div </span>expects to support approx.<b> </b>50% of nominations campuswide.</div><div><br></div><div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="color:red">Dissertation Completion Fellowship Awards (DCFAs)</span></u></b><span style="color:black"><u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><ul><li style="margin-left:15px"><span style="color:black">The DCFA supports PhD students for their final 1 or 2 quarters.</span></li></ul><ul><li style="margin-left:15px"><span style="color:black">Awardees will receive a</span><font color="#000000"> $11,500 stipend </font><span style="color:black">per quarter and paid tuition. </span></li></ul><ul><li style="margin-left:15px"><span style="color:black">All awardees MUST complete their PhDs by Spring 2026; otherwise, our department will be banned from nominating <i>anyone</i> for this award in the next round.</span></li></ul><ul><li style="margin-left:15px"><span style="color:black">The Political Science Department is allowed to nominate up to 3<b> </b>students<b> </b>for DCFAs; however, <span>Graduate</span> Division </span>expects to support only ~50% of nominations campuswide. In other words, a department nomination is a necessary but insufficient condition for winning a DCFA.</li></ul><ul><li style="margin-left:15px"><span style="color:black">Applications require, among </span><font color="#000000">other things, a letter of recommendation from your dissertation advisor, who must acknowledge your timeline and confirm your plan to graduate within the award period. See attached PDF and the link below for more information on application materials.</font></li></ul><ul><li style="margin-left:15px"><font color="#000000">Please use this link to submit your DCFA application: <a href="https://grad.ucr.edu/portal/current_fellow_apps" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-US" style="text-decoration-line:underline;line-height:17.2667px">https://grad.ucr.edu/portal/current_fellow_apps</span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;line-height:17.2667px"> </span></font></li></ul><ul><li style="margin-left:15px"><font color="#ff0000">Please <b>ALSO</b> email a pdf of your application to <a href="mailto:mbrookes@ucr.edu" target="_blank">mbrookes@ucr.edu</a> with "DCFA application" in the subject line.</font><font color="#000000"> Last year we had issues with Slate, and I would rather that no one's application get lost in the system during the nomination process in case there are any technical difficulties. </font></li></ul><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Your applications are due <b><u>no later than 5:00 PM on Friday, October 10, 2025</u>. </b>Please note that this date is an internal <span>POSC</span> deadline and therefore <b><u>EARLIER</u></b> than the one listed in the attached PDF.  <span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:black">After our internal (departmental) review of applications, we will send our official nominations to <span>Graduate</span> Division. </span><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:black">Nominated applications will then be reviewed by faculty on the <span>Graduate</span> Council.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><b>Please read the attached application guidelines</b> <b>thoroughly</b> before beginning your application. The Graduate Committee emphasizes generating <b><u>a high-quality proposal</u></b>. Attached is advice for writing a strong proposal. In writing your proposal, we encourage you to prioritize the advice of the <span>POSC</span> <span>Graduate</span> Committee, as conveyed in the attached document, while also fulfilling the criteria set out by <span>Grad</span> Division on the official online form. We strongly encourage students to submit draft proposals to faculty advisors and incorporate their feedback before submitting their proposals.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Also, please note <span>Graduate</span> Division's <b><u>eligibility criteria</u></b> for the DCFA:</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:11pt;font-style:oblique;background-color:rgb(234,241,221)"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:11pt;font-style:oblique;background-color:rgb(234,241,221)">Eligibility Criteria for the DCFA:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:11pt;font-style:oblique;background-color:rgb(217,234,211)"><br></span></p></div></div><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div><div><span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)">1. Must be a PhD student who has advanced to candidacy by January 16, 2026.</span></div></div></blockquote><div><div><span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)"><br></span></div></div><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div><div><span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)">2. Must not have more than 7 units of incomplete grades.</span></div></div></blockquote><div><div><span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)"><br></span></div></div><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div><div><span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)">3. Can be on leave to apply but must be enrolled as a full-time student (12 units) during tenure of fellowship.</span></div></div></blockquote><div><div><span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)"><br></span></div></div><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div><div><span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)">4. International and domestic students are eligible to apply.</span></div></div></blockquote><div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </p><span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)">Graduate Division no longer requires applicants to be on normative time to be eligible for the DCFA. The pdf says something about applicants needing to be on normative time in order to be eligible to apply. Graduate Division has confirmed that this is not true. The only requirement is advancement to candidacy defending by the end of the fellowship period.</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><i>Before deciding to apply, <u>please be sure that you will finish your degree by the Spring 2026 deadline</u>. If even one POSC student who is awarded the DCFA by Graduate Division does not graduate on time, Grad Division will collectively punish our department by banning us from one or more future DCFA rounds</i>. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">See attached PDF for more information.</span></p></div><div><br></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Best of luck,</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">MB</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;font-size:12pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></span></p>P.S. The DYFA and HSI applications will not open until November. A separate announcement will be sent once those applications are available.</div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><span style="font-size:12.8px">--</span></div><div><span style="font-size:12.8px">Marissa Brookes</span><br></div>Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies,</div><div dir="ltr">Department of Political Science</div><div>Faculty Co-Director, Inland Empire Labor and Community Center</div><div dir="ltr">University of California, Riverside</div><div dir="ltr">Watkins 2223<br>(951) 827-5510<br><br></div></div></div></div></div>
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</blockquote></div><div><br clear="all"></div><div><br></div><span class="gmail_signature_prefix">-- </span><br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><font color="#000000"><span style="font-size:12.8px">Marissa Brookes</span><br></font></div><font color="#000000">Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies,</font></div><div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000">Department of Political Science</font></div><div><font color="#000000">Faculty Co-Director, Inland Empire Labor and Community Center</font></div><div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000">University of California, Riverside</font></div><div dir="ltr"><font color="#000000">Watkins 2223<br>(951) 827-5510</font></div></div></div></div>