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Center for Environmental Futures Dissertation Fellowships, 2026/27

With generous funding from the Office of the Provost, the Center for Environmental Futures (CEF) will offer 1-2 Mellon Dissertation Fellowships next year in partnership with the University of Oregon’s College of Arts and Sciences.  

These fellowships intend to provide University of Oregon PhD students working in the interdisciplinary field of the Environmental Humanities with one academic year of support in order to complete their dissertations.  

The fellowships include a 9-month stipend comparable with a .45 FTE GE position, one academic year’s tuition, and the UO Student Health Plan. (Note that this is different from the GTFF Health Plan.).  

Fellows will be asked to contribute 5 hours per week of support to CEF activities under the supervision of the Directors. Responsibilities may include a combination of the following: 

  • Assistance with grant applications 
  • Exhibition research and planning 
  • Coordination of Interdisciplinarity 101 talks 
  • Assistance with symposium and/or workshop planning 
  • Organizational assistance with Understories Writers Workshop 
  • Assistance with other CEF initiatives 

Eligibility 

  1. Full-time UO doctoral students who have been advanced to candidacy at the time of application and are conducting research for and/or writing an approved dissertation on an Environmental Humanities topic are eligible to apply.  
  2. Applicants must expect to defend within one year of the fellowship term.  
  3. Fellows may not teach during the fellowship term. If the recipient holds a GE teaching appointment during the 2026-27 academic year, they will be required to give it up for the fellowship term.  
  4. Research projects must be identifiable as speaking to the concerns and methods of the Environmental Humanities, but applicants may be enrolled in any department, college, or school. The term Environmental Humanities can refer to any project focused on an environmental, ecological, or environmental justice topic and emanating from a Humanities or humanistic Social Science department, or from interdisciplinary programs and fields such as Environmental Studies or Ethnic Studies.  

Conditions 

  1. Upon receipt and acceptance of a CEF Dissertation Fellowship, the fellow must sign an agreement outlining their commitment to make significant progress toward the completion of the dissertation during the fellowship term and their willingness to adhere to all other conditions of the program.  
  2. The CEF Dissertation Fellow must give a Work-in-Progress talk (WIP) for the Center’s “Interdisciplinary 101” workshop during the fellowship year, preferably in the Winter or early Spring quarter.  
  3. Fellows are required to dedicate 5 hours per week to working closely with CEF Directors on projects associated with CEF. 
  4. At the conclusion of the fellowship year, the fellow must submit a brief report on the fellowship year.  
  5. Fellows must acknowledge the Center for Environmental Futures in any work resulting from research conducted during the fellowship term.  
  6. Fellowship recipients must immediately notify the CEF of any conflicts with the guidelines and conditions of this fellowship program. Fellows who receive another fellowship, doctoral research award, or appointment for the same academic year (September 28, 2026 through June 11, 2027), whether internal or external, must inform the CEF immediately, and may be required to choose between the CEF fellowship and the other opportunity.  
  7. Maintain full-time enrollment in 603 Dissertation credits over the length of the fellowship.  
  8. While we recognize that limited travel may be necessary, we expect that CEF Dissertation Fellows will be in residence in Eugene and on the UO campus during their fellowship term, and will attend at least one CEF event per quarter, in addition to their Work-in-Progress talk.  
  9. Shared office space at the Center is provided, and we encourage fellows to work in the office as much as possible. One of the benefits of the fellowship is participation in the CEF community.  

Submission Guidelines  

You will submit the following materials to asu3grad@uoregon.edu by 5pm on February 13, 2026. Fellowships will be announced by end of March 2026. 

  1. An abstract of the dissertation (250 words or less) in language clear to a non-specialist.
  2. A narrative proposal (limited to 2 single-spaced pages). Bibliographic information is optional and is included in the 2-page limit. Adhere to the format and chronological organization outlined below, using the headings provided. Proposals should address:
    • Conception and definition of the dissertation: Describe the topic of the dissertation, explaining the ideas, problems, or questions in the Environmental Humanities to be explored. Make clear the relationship of the project to your own future research objectives.
    • Significance of the dissertation: Explain the significance of the dissertation and its anticipated contribution to the body of research and writing in the area of the Environmental Humanities.
    • Plan of work and methodology: Specifically outline the plan of work, methodology, and schedule for the work to be completed during the fellowship term. Briefly describe any work already completed, the present state of the dissertation, and any stages to be completed after the fellowship term. Be as precise as possible about the activities you plan to undertake during the fellowship period. If you plan to engage in off-campus research or other travel during the fellowship period, you must explicitly address and justify your plans here.
  3. An abbreviated curriculum vitae (not to exceed 2 pages) including: 
    • education, including title of dissertation; 
    • academic honors or awards received; 
    • employment history;
    • scholarly accomplishments; 
    • the names and affiliations of two academic references in addition to your dissertation advisor.  

All applications must:  

  • use language that is jargon-free and clear to readers outside of your discipline  
  • have one-inch margins  
  • be set in 12-point Times New Roman font  
  • strictly adhere to specified page limits  

Submitting your proposal  

Save the complete application document as a single PDF. A complete application document includes:  

  • abstract (250 words or less)  
  • narrative proposal (2 pages or less)  
  • curriculum vitae (2 pages or less)  

Submit your application PDF: Email the PDF to ASU3,  asu3grad@uoregon.edu, and to your dissertation advisor for approval. The deadline to send this email is 5 p.m. on February 13, 2025.  

Title your submission “Application for CEF Dissertation Fellowship—Your name.”  

Your advisor must send a 1 paragraph statement of approval to asu3grad@uoregon.edu by February 13, 2025.