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Graduate College Fellowship & Grant Competitions

The Graduate College offers several fellowship and grant programs to support University of Illinois graduate students. Students do not apply directly for these awards. Instead, departments submit nominations according to the competition schedule shown below. Students wishing to be nominated should contact their department’s Director of Graduate Studies for details.  

Major Awards:

Illinois Distinguished Fellowships

Doctoral recruitment fellowships for the University’s top incoming students.
 

Equity Doctoral Fellowships

Doctoral recruitment fellowships to promote inclusion and diversity by supporting students who represent a broad array of life experiences and perspectives.  
 

Equity MASTER'S FELLOWSHIPS

Master's recruitment fellowships to promote incusion and diversity by supporting students who represent a broad array of life experiences and perspectives. 

DISTINGUISHED GRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS IN THE HUMANITIES & ARTS

Doctoral recruitment fellowships for the University's top incoming students in select humanities and fine arts programs. 

ASPIRE Doctoral FELLOWSHIPS

Doctoral recruitment fellowships for participants in the Graduate College's Aspire Campus Visit program.

ASPIRE MASTER'S FELLOWSHIP

Master's recruitment fellowships for participants in the Graduate College's Aspire Campus Visit program.

Travel Grants for Master’s Projects AND Dissertation Research

Grants for students who need to travel off-campus to complete a master’s project or conduct dissertation research.
 

Dissertation Completion Fellowships

Fellowships supporting doctoral students as they finalize their dissertations.
 

Specialized Awards: 

Conference PRESENTATION Awards

Small grants supporting students traveling to a professional conference (or participating in an online conference) to present a paper, poster, or other creative work.
 

Diffenbaugh Fellowships

Fellowships supporting students from Missouri.
 

Marion Morse Wood Fellowships

Fellowships supporting research in interpersonal communication.
 

Emergency Grants

Small grants for students facing acute and unexpected financial distress.
 

Competition Schedule for 2024-2025

COMPETITION

NOMINATION DEADLINE

Anticipated Notification
of Results
Travel  Grants (Fall) - Dissertation / Master's Nov. 11, 2024 Dec. 20, 2024
Illinois Distinguished Fellowships (Rd 1) Jan. 10, 2025 Feb. 14, 2025
Equity Doctoral and Equity Master's Fellowships (Rd 1) Jan. 10, 2025 Feb. 14, 2025
Distinguished Graduate Fellowships in Humanities & Arts (Rd 1) Jan. 10, 2025 Feb. 14, 2025
Aspire Doctoral and Aspire Master's Fellowships Jan. 10, 2025 Feb. 14, 2025
Diffenbaugh Fellowships Jan. 29, 2025 Feb. 28, 2025
Marion Morse Wood Fellowships in Interpersonal Communication Jan. 29, 2025 Feb. 28, 2025
Illinois Distinguished Fellowships (Rd 2) Feb. 19, 2025 Mar. 28, 2025
Equity Doctoral and Equity Master's Fellowships (Rd 2) Feb. 19, 2025 Mar. 28, 2025
Distinguished Graduate Fellowships in Humanities & Arts (Rd 2) Feb. 19, 2025 Mar. 28, 2025
Travel  Grants (Spring) - Dissertation / Master's Mar. 14, 2025 Apr. 25, 2025
Dissertation Completion Fellowships Apr. 2, 2025 May 9, 2025

Fellowship Board & the Selection Process

The Fellowship Board selects recipients of the Graduate College’s main grant and fellowship programs. The Board consists of faculty members from across campus. See details on the selection process and the Board’s current membership.

Contact Information

217-333-0036