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Alvin H. Johnson AMS 50 Dissertation Fellowships

Eligibility

The Society makes available three dissertation-year fellowships each year. Anyone is eligible to apply who is registered in good standing for a doctorate at a North American university and has completed all formal degree requirements except the dissertation at the time of full application. AMS awards are not intended for support of early stages of research: it is expected that a fellowship recipient’s dissertation will be completed within the fellowship year.

Any submission for a doctoral degree in which the emphasis is on musical scholarship will be eligible.

Competition and Application Procedures

The Society’s president, with confirmation by the board of directors, maintains a fellowship committee of at least fifteen respected musicologists from whom three judges, through a system of rotation and replacement, are chosen by the chair of the committee in any one year. Although the membership of the Fellowship Committee will be made public (and is widely representative of fields of study), the individual judges for the competition in any one year are not identified.

Applications must be sumitted online via the AMS Web site.

1. A 150-word project description.
2. A current dissertation prospectus of twelve to fifteen pages (c. 3000-4000 words).  The prospectus should include a detailed rationale of the project (supported by, but not limited to, an assessment of relevant secondary literature), an overview of each chapter, and a clear statement of progress to date, all written in prose.
3. A bibliography of two to three pages citing the most important relevant primary and secondary sources.
4. A sample chapter (preferably not an introductory chapter reviewing the literature).
5. A curriculum vitae.

Applicants should also arrange the following:

1. Two supporting letters of recommendation, one of which is from a member of the student’s dissertation advisory committee.  Letters of support may be sent directly to the Chair of the AHJ AMS 50 Dissertation Fellowship Committee. PDF format is preferred. Send as an attachment to an e-mail, to <a50-recomms at ams-net.org>, or via fax to the AMS office (877 679 7648 or 207 798 4254).
2. A letter from the registrar or departmental Director of Graduate Studies attesting to the student's ABD (all-but-dissertation) status. Submit in the same way as letters of recommendation.

Awards

AHJ AMS 50 Fellowships are awarded solely on the basis of academic merit. Winners receive a twelve-month stipend, currently set at $19,000. Fellows may elect to accept the award on an honorary or partly honorary basis (thus freeing scarce resources for others). The fellowships are intended for full-time study. An equivalent major award from another source may not normally be held concurrently or consecutively unless the AMS award is accepted on an honorary basis. Fellowhips are for one year and are not deferrable or renewable. There are no provisions for the payment of tuition: it is hoped that graduate schools will provide tuition fellowships or waivers.

The winners are selected in the Spring, announced in the August issue of the AMS Newsletter, and given formal recognition at the Annual Meeting and Awards Presentation of the Society.

Application Deadline: 5:00 p.m. EST, 15 December 2009. The deadline for the current round of submissions has passed.