Scholarships, Fellowships, and Awards
University departmental scholarships and awards are posted in the University of Connecticut Financial Aid System and are disbursed to the student’s fee bill account. If a student has already been packaged for Financial Aid, the addition of a scholarship(s) can result in adjustments to that aid. If a student has a balance on their fee bill, the scholarship funds will be applied to that balance and the student may request a refund for any remaining funds.
Applications Closed
Deadline was March 31, 2023
Arnold and Sandra Dashefsky Student Award for Excellence
For more information, contact the Awards Committee.
Application Closed
April 14, 2023
Click these links to apply. Award details can be found below.
For more information, contact the Awards Committee.
Undergraduate Awards
Arnold and Sandra Dashefsky Student Award for Excellence
To be eligible for the scholarship, students must be:
- Incoming or continuing graduate or undergraduate student enrolled full time in CLAS
- Be majoring in Sociology or related fields.
- Demonstrate outstanding academic achievement in one of the following topics: American Jewry, prejudice discrimination, racism, or anti-semitism.
- Submit an application letter and a curriculum vitae
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For the undergraduate award, nominations must be made by instructors who should provide in writing reasons for how the student meets academic excellence in the above topics. Instructors who nominate an undergraduate student please contact the student nominee to submit an application letter and a curriculum vitae to the committee.
Graduate students may self-nominate but need a letter of recommendation from a faculty member endorsing their nomination and academic excellence in the above topics.
Each award is for $250.
Janet M. Fierberg Scholarship
The Janet M. Fierberg Scholarship Fund in Sociology was endowed by I. Martin Fierberg and Janet M. Fierberg, an alumna of UConn who studied Sociology and had careers in Social Work. Two scholarships of a minimum of $2,000* each will be awarded this year to outstanding students in their Junior or Senior year at UConn who are planning to pursue graduate study in Social Work or Sociology or first year students in the University of Connecticut School of Social Work.
Applicants must be sociology majors or minors, first year students in the University of Connecticut School of Social Work, or students who have applied to and will be accepted into the University of Connecticut School of Social Work. All awards will consider need and future professional promise.
Applications must include:
- A letter of application in which you discuss your career interests in Social Work, or Sociology and relevant experiences in school, work or elsewhere;
- A copy of your transcript; and
- A statement of your financial situation that describes your resources, debts, and need.
Public Engagement Award
This award will recognize a sociology major for outstanding service to the campus and/or larger community in relation to the promotion of social justice. The winner of this award will be a student who has worked to make the campus and/or larger community more just, equitable, civil and compassionate places. The recipient acts as role models and as inspiration in relation to the discipline, in terms of helping to put Sociology’s theoretical commitment to social justice into practice. To apply submit a letter of nomination describing what the nominee has done. Self-nominations are welcome.
Sociology Undergraduate Research Grant Competition
In the fall semester, the Department of Sociology holds a grant competition for undergraduate research. It is open to Sociology majors, and it awards 5 grants of $500 each. Students will work with a Sociology Department faculty member during the spring semester. Students can propose their own research or work on a faculty member’s ongoing research project. The goal of this program is to give Sociology majors practical research experience.
Student Paper Award
This award will recognize the written work of a sociology major in the past year. The work could have been done for a research project, class, or other purpose. The winning paper will incorporate sociological thought and research in advancing our understanding of the social world. To apply, submit a copy of the paper as a Word document.
Additional Funding Opportunities
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) – Scholarships
UConn Office of Undergraduate Research – Funding Opportunities
UConn Financial Aid Office – Scholarships
UConn Education Abroad Office – Scholarships
Financial Aid and Scholarship Guide for Black Students
Graduate Awards
Arnold and Sandra Dashefsky Student Award for Excellence
To be eligible for the scholarship, students must be:
- Incoming or continuing graduate or undergraduate student enrolled full time in CLAS
- Be majoring in Sociology or related fields.
- Demonstrate outstanding academic achievement in one of the following topics: American Jewry, prejudice discrimination, racism, or anti-semitism.
- Submit an application letter and a curriculum vitae
-
For the undergraduate award, nominations must be made by instructors who should provide in writing reasons for how the student meets academic excellence in the above topics. Instructors who nominate an undergraduate student please contact the student nominee to submit an application letter and a curriculum vitae to the committee.
Graduate students may self-nominate but need a letter of recommendation from a faculty member endorsing their nomination and academic excellence in the above topics.
Each award is for $250.
Conference Participation Award
The Graduate School is committed to helping graduate students achieve their academic, professional, and personal goals during their time at the University of Connecticut. In support of this goal, The Graduate School offers a Conference Participation Award, previously known as the Doctoral Student Travel Award, to support students’ ability to present their research at national or international meetings and conferences, including both in-person and virtual events.
This conference participation fellowship in the amount of $750 will be awarded for the semester following the application submission and paid through the student’s fee bill. Students are responsible for knowing any and all travel advisories, restrictions, and relevant University policies and should plan accordingly. Students should stay up-to-date with information shared by the U.S. Department of State, State of Connecticut, and the University’s Travel Services office.
Please note, fellowships are not guaranteed, as they are pending budgetary approval. We hope to provide funding to all eligible applicants, but eligible students who are not awarded in this cycle will be encouraged to apply in the next cycle.
Please review the eligibility criteria for the fellowship carefully before applying. Applications for this award are accepted in June and November.
Graduate School Funding Opportunities
Check the Graduate School website for a list of funding opportunities.
Graduate Travel Award
When department budget allows, Sociology graduate students within their funding years are eligible for an award of up to $250 per fiscal year to help fund conference related travel. Research travel is reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Students cannot receive more than $250 in a fiscal year in departmental funds. Fiscal years start on July 1st and run through June 30th of the subsequent year.
If a faculty member has agreed to provide travel support independent of the department please indicate this on the form and we will confirm their approval. This occurs in rare circumstances and requires a prior arrangement with the faculty member.
To apply, please provide the information below for department review and approval. You will be notified when a decision is made.
Michael L. Dunphy Award
The Sociology, History, and Political Science departments alternate in making an award of $250 for an outstanding graduate student who has:
- exceptional academic credentials
- financial need, and
- scholarly interest in any or a combination of the following fields: American politics, society, culture, and history.
This year the Sociology Department is authorized to make the award. The Graduate Program Committee has recommended as a threshold for academic excellence that applicants be post MA and have earned a GPA of a least 3.5 and as evidence of the student’s interests the topics of theses, dissertations, or papers submitted for publication. The committee also recommended that the applicant be within eligibility for departmental funding.
Applications must include:
- a statement indicating why the applicant thinks he or she should receive the award
- a curriculum vitae
- an unofficial transcript
- a brief statement of financial need, and
- a statement that the applicant is currently within her or his funding cycle (i.e., not beyond 5th year in program)
Sociology will next be awarding the Michael L. Dunphy Award in 2025.
Pre-Doctoral Fellowship
Information is provided by the department each year.
Ron Taylor Award
The Ron Taylor Award honors Professor Ronald L. Taylor, who served as Head of the Department of Sociology from 1981 to 1986. The award is made annually for the best paper by a graduate student in the Department of Sociology. In addition to the departmental recognition, the award includes a monetary prize. Papers for courses, for conference presentation, or for publication completed after January 2021 are eligible. In the case of co-authored papers, all authors must be graduate students in the department. Only one submission per student is permitted, with a maximum length of 12,000 words. Papers are to be submitted in Word format only and will not be accepted if they are submitted in PDF format.
Summer Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship
The Graduate School is committed to helping graduate students achieve their academic, professional, and personal goals during their time at the University of Connecticut. In support of this goal, The Graduate School invites applicants for the Summer Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, which is intended to support the successful completion of the dissertation. Please review the eligibility criteria for this fellowship carefully before applying. This is a one-time $2,000 fellowship. If awarded, the funds will be awarded for the Summer term and paid through the Office of the Bursar.
Eligibility Criteria:
- The applicant must be a doctoral student in a program that requires a dissertation.
- The applicant must be an active student when they apply and are awarded. Students who complete their degree during the prior semester cannot be awarded.
- The applicant must have documented successful completion of the General Examination by submitting the Report on the General Exam.pdf to the Office of the Registrar’s Degree Audit team no later than February 28, 2023.
- The applicant must have documented successful completion and submission of the dissertation proposal by submitting the Dissertation Proposal form.pdf to the Office of the Registrar’s Degree Audit team no later than February 28, 2023.
- The Dissertation Proposal form may be submitted to Degree Audit without IRB/IACUC approval. The milestone will be posted as "in progress" and that will satisfy eligibility for this application. IRB/IACUC approval must be submitted to Degree Audit when received so that the milestone may be updated to "complete" on the student record.
- Students in the following doctoral programs may submit their application without having the Dissertation Proposal milestone on their account:
- Communication
- Clinical Psychology
- Industrial and Organizational Psychology
- EPSY - Research Methods, Measurement, and Evaluation
- The applicant is not eligible if they have previously received a Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship.
- Students at UConn Health (with the exception of Public Health doctoral students) and UConn Law are not eligible to apply for this fellowship.
Students should check their unofficial transcript in Student Admin for the Dissertation Proposal and General Exam non-course milestones. If you have submitted the approved Dissertation Proposal and General Exam Report, those milestones should appear on your unofficial transcript. If the documents have only recently been submitted, the transcript will be updated shortly with the date the documents were received. If you have not submitted one or both documents, information about how and when to do so can be found on the Doctoral Degrees webpage (steps 1-3). You may submit your application for the fellowship even if the milestones have not yet been added to your record. If, at the time of review, the milestones are not on your record, The Graduate School will be in touch with Degree Audit to confirm the milestone documentation was received.
Please note, while we hope to provide funding to all eligible applicants, fellowships are not guaranteed, as funds are limited and pending budgetary approval.