Grants & Fellowships

McColl Dissertation Year Fellowship

The application deadline for the 2025-26 McColl Fellowship is Tuesday, April 1, 2025, 11:59 PM EST. 

The Center for the Study of the American South offers the McColl Dissertation Year Fellowship in Southern Studies to support the completion of a dissertation by a doctoral candidate at UNC-Chapel Hill on a subject related to the history, culture, or society of the American south. We define the South broadly, to include the states of the southeastern U.S., adjoining areas, and regions that are conceptually or ideologically southern. The fellowship includes in-state tuition for up to 3.0 credit hours, health insurance, and a stipend of $20,600. This fellowship is made possible through the generous support of Hugh L. McColl, Jr.

Fellowships begin at the start of the fall semester and continue through the last day of the spring semester. Fellows will participate in campus discussions and present their research. Recipients may not defer the McColl Fellows35hip.

Applicants should submit a single electronic copy (as a merged PDF file) of the following to [email protected]:

• Curriculum Vitae (two pages)
• A two-page, double-spaced description of the project and its intellectual merits
• Timetable of completion and brief budget
• Recommendation from the advisor should: 1) state that the doctoral student is in good standing and has reached formal candidacy for the PhD by the beginning of the fellowship year, and 2) evaluate the intellectual quality of the project as well as the likelihood that the student can complete the dissertation during the year of the fellowship.

Please note that this fellowship does not require completion of the dissertation but should be awarded to students who are approaching the final phase of their writing and research.

CSAS Summer Research Grants

The 2025 CSAS Summer Research Grants application deadline is Tuesday, April 1, 2025, 11:59 PM EST. 

The Center for the Study of the American South invites UNC graduate and professional students in all disciplines to apply for $3,000 awards to support dissertation research, thesis research, and other academic projects pertaining to the U.S. South during the summer of 2025.

HOW TO APPLY:

Please email a single PDF that includes:

• Your name, email, and home department at the top of the page

• A two-page project proposal

1. 1. describe the research questions, objectives, and significance of the proposed research to the study of the South
   2. describe the sources and methodology employed

• A one-page project outline

1. 1. describe the structure of the project and a planned timeline of completion for the work

• A two-page curriculum vitae

Separately, have your advisor send a letter of recommendation here.

Jacquelyn Dowd Hall Fellowship

The 2025 Jacquelyn Dowd Hall Research Fellowship application deadline is Tuesday, April 1, 2025, 11:59 PM EST. 

The Jacquelyn Dowd Hall Research Fellowship is made possible by its namesake fund, in honor of the founding director of the Southern Oral History Program. The summer research fellowship provides one graduate student currently attending UNC Chapel Hill with a $4,000 award to pursue oral history research or fieldwork during the summer of 2025.

HOW TO APPLY:

Please email a single PDF that includes:

• Your name, email, and home department at the top of the page

• A two-page project proposal

1. 1. describe the research questions, objectives, and significance of the proposed research to the study of the South
   2. describe the sources and methodology employed

• A one-page project outline

1. 1. describe the structure of the project and a planned timeline of completion for the work

• A two-page curriculum vitae

Separately, have your advisor send a letter of recommendation here.