Programs

Dissertation Proposal Development Fellowship (DPDF) Program

Supporting the development of effective dissertation proposals in the humanities and social sciences

DPDF Fellows take a break from their fall workshop at the Milwaukee Art Museum, September 2008.

Credit: DPDF Fellow Zach Hilpert

Topics:

Predissertation Research

The Dissertation Proposal Development Fellowship (DPDF) program supports mid-stage graduate students in formulating effective doctoral dissertation research proposals that contribute to the development of interdisciplinary fields of study in the humanities and social sciences. Intended to help emerging scholars make the transition from learners to producers of knowledge within innovative areas of inquiry, the fellowship creates a space for multidisciplinary faculty mentorship and opens unique opportunities for both interdisciplinary and international network building.

The fellowship cycle includes spring and fall workshops designed and led by pairs of senior tenured faculty, which provide a framework for pre-dissertation research and guide proposal writing within the context of selected research fields. In the summer months, student fellows carry out exploratory field research on their topics to evaluate issues of feasibility and methods of investigation. Now in its sixth year, the program annually offers training in five fields to 60 graduate students.

The 2012 Research Fields are as follows: Ecological History, Gender Justice in the Era of Human Rights, Governing Global Production, Mediated Futures: Globalization and Historical Territories, and New Approaches to Transnationalism and Migratory Circulation.