In its second summer, the Graduate School Summer Fellowship (GSSF) supported over 50 students with a three-month stipend of $6,000 allowing select doctoral students to dedicate significant effort toward their research project. The GSSF is designed to replace a teaching assistantship or other summer job, which may take a UNC Charlotte doctoral student away from their research.
Students have thanked the Graduate School on numerous occasions for giving them this opportunity. One such student, Michael Desjardins from the Department of Geography, CLAS, used his funding to travel to Cali, Colombia performing field research at health clinics, hospitals and neighborhoods, ultimately using his survey and collected statistical data in his dissertation research “Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika in Cali and Medellín, Colombia”
“The GSSF funding provided by the Graduate School also allowed me to focus on the second chapter of my dissertation,” says Desjardins. “Without the support of the GSSF, I would have made far less progress over the summer because I would have had to work to support myself. Being able to work full-time on my dissertation research brings me closer to my planned defense date in the spring of 2020.”
Dr. Julie Goodliffe, Director of Funding for the Graduate School explains, “Giving these students the opportunity to continue their research in the summer months through financial support, allows them to make progress toward a timely degree.”
Funding for the GSSF program was provided for summer 2019 from one-time money; therefore, there is no commitment or expectation that additional funding will be available in subsequent years. Contact Dr. Julie Goodliffe if you have questions regarding the Fellowship or a candidate for future years.
