Contact
Further information can be found under Eligibility/Application Information. Other questions that are not answered in the information posted on this site can be directed by email to Susan Billmaier, Assistant Director of the Dissertation Fellowship in Women’s Studies and the Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, or by phone: (609) 452-7007, ext. 310.
The Charlotte W. Newcombe
Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: I am a foreign citizen. Can I apply for the Charlotte W. Newcombe Fellowship?
A: Yes, if you are a student in a doctoral program who has completed all pre-dissertation requirements in any field of study at a graduate school in the United States.
Q: I am a U.S. Citizen studying abroad. Am I eligible to apply for the Charlotte W. Newcombe Fellowship?
A: No. Only students currently enrolled in a graduate program in the US are eligible.
Q: If I have applied previously, can I re-apply?
A: No.
Q: Who should apply for the Charlotte W. Newcombe Fellowship?
A: Candidates should apply only if ethical or religious values are central to their dissertations and they can reasonably expect to complete their dissertations during tenure of the award.
Q: Is the deadline for the supporting materials the same as the deadline for the online application?
A: Yes, the deadline is the same for all materials.
Q: How many letters of recommendation should I submit?
A: You should have three letters, one from your dissertation director and two from faculty members who are familiar with your work.
Q: Can the Newcombe Fellowship be held concurrently with other fellowships?
A: No, applicants who have held a similar national award for the final year of dissertation writing, such as an ACLS, AAUW, Ford, MacArthur, Mellon, Pew, Spencer, or Whiting fellowship, are not eligible. Please note that any award supported by a national funder, even if it is subsequently allocated by a local institution, is considered to be a national award. It may be possible to combine some local awards with the Newcombe Fellowship, upon approval by the Newcombe Fellowship Director.
Q: What materials are required for a completed application?
A: The online application, graduate school transcript, and three letters of recommendation.
Q: Should I include primary sources in the bibliography?
A: Yes. Keep in mind that you need to demonstrate that you are familiar both with the literature in your field and with any other works that a scholarly reader would consider definitive for your topic. As the bibliography is limited to two pages, it is important to include the works that most clearly demonstrate your preparation to carry out the work you propose.
Q: How do I know that my online application was received?
A: At the bottom of your online application are two buttons, “Save” and “Submit.” When you have completed the application to your satisfaction, click on “Submit.” This transmits your application to the Newcombe competition database and returns you to the overview page (or “dashboard”) for your account. On that page, you will see your application listed under “Published/Submitted.” Please note that, once your application appears in this category, you will not be able to make further revisions.
If you see your application listed instead under “Saved/Unsubmitted,” it has not been successfully transmitted. Open it, return to the end of the application,
and press “Submit” again.
If you continue to have difficulty, contact the Applications Administrator.
Q: How do I know that my recommendation letters and transcripts have been received?
A: After you submit your application, you may login at any time to check the status of the receipt of your documents. At the top right corner of your application, there are check boxes that indicate what we have received; if a box is not checked your document is still missing.