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The application deadline for the 2023-24 McColl Fellowship is March 27, 2023 11:59 PM EST. 

The Center for the Study of the American South offers the McColl Dissertation Year Fellowship in Southern Studies to support the completion of a dissertation by a doctoral candidate at UNC-Chapel Hill on a subject related to the history, culture, or society of the American south. We define the South broadly, to include the states of the southeastern U.S., adjoining areas, and regions that are conceptually or ideologically southern. The fellowship includes in-state tuition for up to 3.0 credit hours, health insurance, and a stipend of $20,000. This fellowship is made possible through the generous support of Hugh L. McColl, Jr.

Fellowships begin at the start of the fall semester and continue through the last day of the spring semester. Fellows will participate in campus discussions and present their research. Recipients may not defer the McColl Fellowship.

Applicants should submit a single electronic copy (as a merged PDF file) of the following to csas@unc.edu:

  • Cover sheet;
  • Curriculum Vitae;
  • A three-page, double-spaced description of the project and its intellectual merits;
  • Your timetable for completion and your availability to attend CSAS/SRC events; and
  • A writing sample excerpted from one chapter of your dissertation (approximately 15 pages).

Under separate cover, your faculty advisor should email a letter to csas@unc.edu that

  • Certifies that you are a doctoral student in good standing who will have reached formal candidacy for the PhD by the beginning of the fellowship year, and
  • Evaluates the intellectual quality of your project as well as the likelihood that you can complete the dissertation during the year of the fellowship. Please note that this fellowship does not require completion of the dissertation, but should be awarded to students who are approaching the final phase of their writing and research.