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FAQs for the Cooke Dissertation Fellowship
- How is my application evaluated?
- How many fellowships will be awarded?
- Am I eligible if I am a doctoral candidate in a field other than education?
- Is there information on past fellowship recipients’ dissertation proposals?
- What is the deadline?
- What can be sent via mail and what can be emailed?
- How would you like me to submit my letter of support and my official transcript?
- May I submit additional documents, such as letters of recommendation or appendices?
- When will the award decision be announced?
- How will I be notified?
- Will the Foundation give feedback if my application is not chosen?
- Must I be a US citizen to apply?
- Who was Jack Kent Cooke?
- What is the mission of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation?
- Am I eligible to apply if I am receiving funding from another source? Can I accept other awards?
- Am I eligible to apply if I have received funding from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation?
- Do applicants have to be low-income to be eligible for this award?
- What candidacy requirements must I meet to be eligible?
- How may I spend the award money?
- For how long can the award be used?
- I am not eligible this year due to the timing of my proposal defense. Could I apply next year?
- How are the fellowship funds paid?
- Can I work while using the Cooke Dissertation Fellowship award?
- Will the Foundation provide 1099 forms?
- What if I cannot attend Scholars Weekend?
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How can I publicize the Fellowship to members of my academic department or professional organization?
How is my application evaluated?
A committee of professors and researchers in diverse fields of study (e.g., education, sociology, economics, policy studies) read and evaluate the applications based on a number of criteria. These include: superior academic achievement, significance of the contribution to understanding the educational pathways of high-achieving, low-income students, quality of the proposal, and feasibility of projected timeline. As such, the Foundation suggests that you ask not only your dissertation advisor, but also colleagues from a variety of fields to review your application for clarity and consistency. In addition, please avoid jargon in an effort to make your application accessible to larger audience. For further information, please visit the Reviewer Recommendations page and the Eligibility Timeline.
Yes. Applicants are not limited to a particular field. However, the applicant’s dissertation must address issues related to furthering the understanding of the educational pathways and experiences of high-achieving, low-income students. Please see the Guidelines for more information on the criteria used in determining eligibility.
Is there information on past fellowship recipients’ dissertation proposals?
The 2011 Fellowship recipients all have biographies posted on our website. They are:
Brian Galla – Dissertation Proposal Title: Clarity in the eye of the storm: The role of inhibitory control in low-income adolescents' daily emotion regulation and its consequences for academic achievement
Rose Honey – Dissertation Proposal Title: The moose and the moon: Culturally integrated science education with American Indian students
Rachel Lambert – Dissertation Proposal Title: Authoring a mathematical self: Processes of identification with mathematics for young people in an urban school
Ricardo Ortega – Dissertation Proposal Title: Latina/o undergraduates navigating the undocumented university
What is the deadline?
The deadline for submitting the application and all additional materials is February 3, 2012 (11:59 p.m. EST).
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What can be sent via mail and what can be emailed?
The letter of support (and its accompanying form) can be submitted either via mail in a sealed envelope (signed across the seal) or email from the email address of the chair or advisor. The official transcript can also be mailed or emailed, depending on your university. The mailing address for the Foundation is: Cooke Dissertation Fellowship, Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, 44325 Woodridge Parkway, Lansdowne, VA 20176.
May I submit additional documents, such as letters of recommendation or appendices?
Please limit your application to the documents listed on the Application Checklist. We will not be able to accept additional documents.
When will the award decision be announced?
Award decisions will be announced in May 2012.
Recipients of the Fellowship will be notified by phone. Those who are not awarded Fellowships will receive a letter from the Foundation.
I am not eligible this year due to the timing of my proposal defense. Could I apply next year?
If you are not planning to defend your proposal before the February 3rd application deadline, you are welcome to apply the following year. The Foundation plans to offer dissertation fellowships in 2013 and beyond. We also plan to maintain our current annual calendar of announcing in the fall with applications due in February.
Must I be a US citizen to apply?
No. US citizens, US permanent residents, and non-citizens are invited to apply. However, applicants must be attending an accredited institution in the United States.
Mr. Cooke was a philanthropist, businessman, and devotee of learning and the arts who left the bulk of his estate to establish the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation to help students of exceptional promise reach their full potential through education. Learn more about Mr. Cooke.
What is the mission of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation?
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation’s mission is to help lower-income students of exceptional promise reach their full potential through education. The Foundation provides challenging opportunities to high achievers from lower-income families through its Young Scholars Program, generous scholarships for undergraduate and graduate study, and grants to nonprofit organizations and educational institutions that support high-achieving lower-income students. More information about the Foundation’s mission can be found here.
Am I eligible to apply if I am receiving funding from another source? Can I accept other awards?
Fellows may receive federal/state government financial assistance or unnamed awards from their graduate institution without prior approval of the Foundation. Fellows should notify the Foundation if they recieve large “named” awards from other sources (such as foundations, corporations, or Fellowship funds).
Am I eligible to apply if I have received funding from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation?
No. Former and current Jack Kent Cooke Scholars are not eligible for the Cooke Dissertation Fellowship.
Do applicants have to be low-income to be eligible for this award?
No. Unlike the remaining scholarship programs we oversee, the applicants for the Dissertation Fellowship do not need to demonstrate considerable financial need. What does matter is the subject of your dissertation research and its relationship to the Foundation’s mission: to help lower-income students of exceptional promise reach their full potential through education. For more information on the Fellowship, please review the overview and the 2012 Guidelines.
What candidacy requirements must I meet to be eligible?
Applicants must have completed all pre-dissertation requirements prior to the application deadline. These pre-dissertation requirements include: course requirements, qualifying paper or comprehensive exams, official approval of the dissertation proposal, and any other program-specific requirements.
How may I spend the award money?
The Cooke Dissertation Fellowship may only be used to cover costs associated with writing a dissertation. How the funds are expended depends on each recipient’s individual need. Expenses may include tuition, fees, books, room and board, and research travel. Fellowship funds may not be used for activities that will benefit, supplement, or aid academic institutions or departments with which the Fellow is affiliated. The fellowship does not cover overhead.
For how long can the award be used?
The one-time award may be used for a period of no less than nine months and no longer than 18 months beginning in May 2012.
How are the fellowship funds paid?
Depending on the recipient’s time line, the Foundation will issue fellowship funds to the Fellow’s institution in one to three payments. Payment of funds is contingent on timely receipt of all specified forms, including a fellowship agreement. All fellowship funds are issued in a check to the Fellow’s institution. In order to receive payment, the Fellow will be required to submit a Cost of Attendance Form to his/her institution’s financial aid office. The financial aid office will provide the costs of attendance for the Fellow, sign the form, and transmit the form to the Foundation for processing. The institution will use any and all funds needed to cover the Fellow’s bill for tuition or fees and will disburse the remaining stipend amounts, if any, to the student.
Can I work while using the Cooke Dissertation Fellowship award?
The fellowship award is meant to help cover the educational costs a Fellow incurs while completing his or her dissertation. With this in mind, Fellows must seek approval for employment over 20 hours per week for a duration of more than three months. The aim of this request is to ensure that employment does not hinder Fellows' progress in completing their dissertations.
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Will the Foundation provide 1099 forms?
No. Fellowship funds will be paid to the Fellow’s graduate institution and, therefore, 1099 forms are not needed. Ascertaining tax liability and reporting the applicable portion, if any, to the US Internal Revenue Service is the sole responsibility of the Fellow.
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What if I cannot attend Scholars Weekend?
We ask that Fellows attend Scholars Weekend as an opportunity for the entire Jack Kent Cooke community of Scholars to gather. This event also gives Fellows a forum in which they can share their research. If you know when you apply for the fellowship that you cannot attend Scholars Weekend, please indicate that in your application and explain why. We will consider these requests on a case-by-case basis.
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