The Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships are designed to encourage original and significant study of ethical or religious values in all fields of the humanities and social sciences, and particularly to help Ph.D. candidates in these fields complete their dissertation work in a timely manner. In addition to topics in religious studies or in ethics (philosophical or religious), dissertations appropriate to the Newcombe Fellowship competition might explore the ethical implications of foreign policy, the values influencing political decisions, the moral codes of other cultures, and religious or ethical issues reflected in history or literature.

The Newcombe Fellowships are provided to Ph.D. candidates at American institutions located in the United States who will complete their dissertations during the academic year 2020-2021.

Eligible applicants for the 2020–2021 Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship must:

• be candidates for Ph.D. or Th.D. degrees in an American doctoral program at a graduate school located in the United States. Candidates working on D.Min., law, Psy.D., Ed.D. and other professional degrees are not eligible.
• have all pre-dissertation requirements fulfilled by the application deadline November 15, 2019, including approval of the dissertation proposal.
• be in the writing stage of the dissertation. Usually, this means that fieldwork or other research is complete and writing has begun by the time of the award.
• must expect to complete the dissertation between April 1, 2021 and August 31, 2021.
• have never held a similar national award for the final year of dissertation writing. Applicants who have won such awards as the ACLS, AAUW, Ford, Mellon, NAEd/Spencer, or Whiting fellowship are not eligible.
• be in a humanities or social science department, writing on topics where ethical or religious values are a central concern.
• have never applied for the Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship before. Previous applicants may not apply.