Summer 2027 Guidelines

Given disciplinary and programmatic differences across campus, programs and their nominees will have broad latitude in defining the key benchmarks that students will prepare for or complete.  Some humanities programs, for example, have extensive reading lists that students must master for candidacy exams; some science programs may require students at a particular stage to acquire and demonstrate new laboratory methods or other techniques; programs in many disciplines across campus require dissertation prospectuses and, often, formal prospectus defenses. These benchmarks, among others, would be appropriate.

The Summer Research Fellowships are designed to be a partnership between the Graduate School and campus doctoral programs.  The Fellowship stipend of $5,000 is shared on a $2,500 / $2,500 basis by the Graduate School and the program making a nomination.  A nomination from a program will signify commitment to the cost-sharing agreement.

Summer fellowships are awarded to specific students and are not transferable to other students.  Should the awarded student decline the award, the Graduate School will return its portion of unused funding to the fellowship pool and graduate programs will retain their portion of unused funding.

Eligible candidates are University of Maryland doctoral students who are at “mid-career.”  Mid-career is defined as the period just before, during, or just after the achievement of candidacy. 

Eligible students will have excellent qualifications, will be making demonstrable progress through their program, and will be able to show that a summer of focused research will enable them to prepare for or complete a key benchmark in their program’s requirements.  (Please see Appendix A)

The Summer Research Fellowships provide full support for students for the summer. Students who receive the Summer Research Fellowship must be relieved of their graduate assistantship over the summer.   

• Teaching assistants and administrative assistants are not eligible to teach or work during the summer of the award.
• Research assistants who must be in the lab to do their project must be relieved of lab duties that are not related to their research. 

A student may not be nominated concurrently for the Summer Research Fellowship and the Summer Internship Fellowship in the same award year.  Separate nominations for separate years are permitted.

Students may receive the Summer Research Fellowship only once. 

Fellowships may not be deferred.  

The Summer Research Fellowships carry no tuition remission

Programs must gather the needed materials and submit by the nomination deadline.  

Summer Research Fellowship Nomination packages

1. Nominee Cover Sheet

2. A student-written proposal (2 pages, max) The proposal should be written for a non-specialist and l should include:

   1. the nature of the research to be accomplished during the summer

   2. a plan for its execution

   3. the specific benchmark(s) that this award will enable the student to meet

   4. a clear indication of how the summer project fits within the program’s timetable for      completing graduation requirements

3. The student’s curriculum vitae (no more than two pages)

4. A letter from the student’s advisor or the major professor that addresses the student’s outstanding qualifications, the significance of the student’s scholarship or research, and the student’s timely progress through the program

5. The DGS Questionnaire: We ask the Director of Graduate Studies to complete the DGS Questionnaire in order to better inform the committee about disciplinary and programmatic differences. (If the student’s advisor is also the Director of Graduate Studies, the Program/Department Chair should complete the questionnaire).

Programs must gather the above materials, then submit the five (5) files to the Graduate School Awards Portal by the deadline. (Do not combine the files.) Submit nomination materials by going to the Awards Portal at terpengage.umd.edu/gsawards/s/.

The Graduate School’s Fellowship Selection Committee, representing academic disciplines from across the campus, will evaluate the nominations.  Students are specifically asked to write for a non-specialist audience.
Selection decisions will be reached on the basis of the student’s outstanding qualifications, the significance of the student’s scholarship or research, the quality and feasibility of the proposed plan, and the student’s timely progress through the program.

At the end of the summer, the Summer Research Fellows will be asked to brief but specific report.

Please direct questions to Program Director Robyn Kotzker in the Office of Funding Opportunities (rkotzker@umd.edu / 5-0281).