CMH Dissertation Fellowships: General Information

Purpose

To support scholarly research and writing among qualified civilian graduate students preparing dissertations in the history of warfare, the Center offers two Dissertation Fellowships each year. They are designed to support dissertations that explore the material culture of the Army or the more general areas of military history in all its many aspects.  Students specializing in history, archives, and museums are welcomed to apply. These fellowships carry a $15,000 stipend and access to the Center’s facilities and technical expertise.

Area and Topics of Study

For purposes of this program, the history of war on land is broadly defined, including such areas as biography, military campaigns, military organization and administration, policy, strategy, tactics, weaponry, technology, training, logistics, and the evolution of civil-military relations. In the selection of proposals for funding, preference is given to topics on the history of the U.S. Army. Topics submitted should complement rather than duplicate the Center’s existing projects.

Eligibility

Requirements Applicants who wish to become Fellows must be civilian citizens of the United States unaffiliated with the U.S. government; that is, they must not be military personnel, not in federal service as civilian employees, and not under contract to the U.S. government.

They must demonstrate their professional potential by submitting the following:

(1) Official transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate schools attended

(2) A proposed plan of research

(3) One letter of recommendation from their academic director that includes a statement approving the dissertation topic

(4) One letter of recommendation from an individual who can attest to their qualifications for the fellowship

(5) A writing sample of approximately 25 pages. (Please submit an entire piece rather than a fragment.)

(6) Application Document.  Please download here. (PDF download – 116KB)

IMPORTANT: Applicants must have completed by 1 September 2025 all requirements for the Ph.D. degree, except for the dissertation.

Requirements

At the beginning of the Fellowship Year, Fellows will meet virtually with the Chief of Military History, the Chief Historian, and the Executive Secretary of the Dissertation Fellowship Program. At some point during the Fellowship year, in consultation with the Center, the Fellow will present in an appropriate form and forum, an oral presentation on his or her work in progress. The Fellow will also prepare a brief written report at the conclusion of his or her fellowship year. The Center requires deposit in its library of one copy of the complete bound dissertation.

Stipends and Payments

The stipend of $15,000 for the fellowship is provided in one payment at the start of the academic year. From this sum, the recipient must meet travel and all other expenses in connection with the fellowship. The payment of the stipend is made directly to the Fellow upon receipt of certification from the parent academic institution that he or she is a candidate for the Ph.D. degree and is authorized to become a Visiting Research Fellow.

Role of CMH

The Center of Military History also undertakes to support the Fellow’s scholarly activities in the Washington area by making its collections accessible and its specialists available, insofar as official duties permit. Fellows receive desk space at the U.S. Army Center of Military History, if available, and are assisted in gaining access to archival and library sources within the Washington area as well as at the U.S. Army Military History Institute, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. Review of the dissertation by the Center is at the discretion of the Center and the candidate’s sponsoring institution, but responsibility for the control and approval of the dissertation remains with the academic institution and its faculty.

Application Submission

Questions concerning the application should be sent to: [email protected]

Applications and all supporting documents for the Dissertation Fellowships must be postmarked no later than 18 March 2025; none is accepted when mailed after that date. The applicant is responsible for ensuring that all required documentation is mailed before the closing date.

Completed applications should be mailed to:

U.S. Army Center of Military History

c/o Dissertation Fellowship Committee

102 4th Avenue, Building 35

Fort McNair, DC 20319-5060

Completed applications can also be emailed to: [email protected]

Evaluation and Selection  The Center of Military History conducts its evaluation of applicants on the basis of academic achievement, faculty recommendations, demonstrated writing ability, the relevance of the topic to U.S. Army history, and the nature and location of the proposed research. The awards are made on merit without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicapping condition, marital status, or political affiliation. The Center notifies all applicants of the competition’s outcome by a short notice or letter not later than 25 April 2025.