At a Glance
About
Marshall Foundation Dissertation Fellowship
Background
In 1930 Louise Foucar Marshall, ex-university professor, businesswoman and philanthropist, and her husband, Thomas Marshall, created a foundation that would, in Louise’s words, “carry on our work when we are gone.” It was the first private foundation in Arizona. Her goal was to create a permanent scholarship fund to aid deserving women who wanted to attend the University of Arizona and to help those less fortunate in the community. She was following the example of her mother who believed in supporting charitable causes, especially “aid to young men and women seeking an education.”
Today the Marshall Foundation, continuing Louise’s legacy, seeks to enhance the lives of the citizens of Tucson and Pima County through its support of charitable and educational institutions. To that end, The University of Arizona Graduate College with assistance of the Louise Foucar Marshall Foundation offers the Marshall Foundation Dissertation Fellowship to help Arizona resident graduate students complete their doctoral dissertation. A Fellowship is provided annually for up to six students by the Marshall Foundation and a Graduate Tuition Scholarship that covers in-state base graduate tuition is provided by the Graduate College.
A call for applications is issued annually as funds become available from the Marshall Foundation.
The Dr. Maria Teresa Velez – Marshall Foundation Dissertation Scholarship
Background
In honor of Dr. Maria Teresa Velez, Associate Dean, University of Arizona Graduate College, and her lifelong commitment to promoting graduate student diversity and inclusion, the Marshall Foundation and the Graduate College establish the Dr. Maria Teresa Velez doctoral completion scholarship. This award will be given annually to a graduate doctoral student whose dissertation shows a significant impact to the economy of the state of Arizona. One of the applications to the Marshall Foundation Dissertation Fellowship will be selected to be the Dr. Velez – Marshall Foundation Dissertation Scholarship. A separate application is not required.
Eligibility
UA doctoral candidates
- UA doctoral candidates whose dissertation proposal has been approved by their doctoral committee (Arizona Online doctoral students are not eligible to apply)
- Who have advanced to Doctoral Candidacy (will have been notified of this via email from Graduate Student Academic Services)
- Expects to defend their doctoral dissertation and graduate by Summer 2025
- U.S. citizenship or permanent resident
- Legal Arizona residency* (as determined by the UA Residency Office) – there are no exceptions to the residency requirement
- Cumulative GPA of 3.3 or above
- Demonstrated financial need as determined by the FAFSA or by the student's own statement of financial support needed to carry out the dissertation
- May not hold a concurrent Graduate Assistantship/Associateship or student wage position during the award period
*Applicants must be listed as Arizona residents in the UA system of record at the time of application to qualify for the award. To verify your residency, please log into UAccess Student > Personal > Personal Summary > Demographic Information > Residency Information. If the information incorrect, please contact the Residency Office.
The selected Fellows may not hold concurrent graduate assistant/associateships or student wage positions for Spring 2024 or defer the award for the following year.
Instructions
Required application information
Submit in a single PDF (single-spaced, Times New Roman, Helvetica or Calibri font, 12 pt, 1-inch margins):
- A detailed abstract of the dissertation, including the main research question or hypotheses, methodology and summary of result up to date (2 page maximum).
- A statement explaining the significance of your dissertation and its potential contribution to our understanding or improvement of issues facing Arizona, the nation and the world (2 page maximum).
- A mention of any peer reviewed publication or significant scholarly presentation of your dissertation research.
- A detailed timetable identifying dates by when you plan to finish your data collection, data analysis and a draft of each chapter, as well as the expected date of the Oral Defense.
- A copy of this year's FAFSA determination and/or your own statement of financial need (you must have financial need to qualify for this award).
- One (1) letter of recommendation from your Dissertation Committee Chair, or in rare circumstances, a committee member who best understands your project and can address your scholarly contributions to your field if this is not the case for your Chair. The letter should address your scholarship and verify that you will complete and defend the dissertation by Summer of the year of award. The letter should be emailed separately to MarshallFoundation@grad.arizona.edu.
Online application at https://webforms.grad.arizona.edu/funding-and-financial-resources/marshall-foundation-dissertation-fellowship-application
Deadline to submit for Spring 2025: October 25, 2024
Contact
For questions, please email MarshallFoundation@grad.arizona.edu