Each year, the U. S. Army Center of Military History (CMH) awards up to three Dissertation Year Fellowships to help promote advanced study of military history in academia. The Center offers these fellowships to graduate students in Ph.D. programs who are writing dissertation that deal with some aspect of the history of land warfare.
The range of issues that pertain to the history of land warfare is vast. Suitable topics would include biography, military campaigns, organization and administration, policy, strategy, tactics, weaponry, technology, the social impact of warfare, training, logistics, and civil-military relations, to name a few. Recent topics that have been awarded fellowships include prisoner-of-war policies during the American Revolution, the political culture of the Army of the Potomac in the Civil War, and the development of Army aviation in the early Cold War. Any project that is well conceived and seems likely to make a contribution to the field of military history will be considered. However, preference will be given to topics relating to the U. S. Army.
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) a letter of recommendation from their academic director that includes a statement approving the dissertation topic; (4) two other letters of recommendation from individuals who can attest to their qualifications for the fellowship; and (5) a writing sample of approximately 25 pages. (Please submit an entire piece rather than a fragment.) Applicants must have completed by September all requirements for the Ph.D. degree, except for the dissertation. Any student who has held or accepted an equivalent fellowship from any other Department of Defense agency is not eligible for these awards. Individuals who accept a Center of Military History fellowship may not accept a fellowship from any other institution for a period concurrent with the Center’s fellowship.
Applications and all supporting documents for the Dissertation Fellowships must be postmarked no later than 15 January each year ; none is accepted when mailed after that date. The applicant is responsible for ensuring that all required documentation is mailed before the closing date.
More information on the fellowship and the application can be downloaded at on the CMH website. If you have questions, email Dr Jeffrey Seiken, the Executive Secretary of the CMH Dissertation Fellowship Program at usarmy.mcnair.cmh.mbx.dissfellow@mail.mil.