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Dr. John N. Nicholson Fellowship

The Dr. John N. Nicholson Fellowship provides financial support for outstanding Northwestern graduate students enrolled in PhD programs in the sciences, engineering and management. Preference is given to applicants of Greek extraction or descent.

The fellowships are named for Dr. John N. Nicholson, a physician who practiced in the Chicago area for more than 50 years. A leader in the Greek-American community, Dr. Nicholson established an endowment at Northwestern University to support academically superior and highly motivated graduate students in selected fields.

The Dr. John N. Nicholson Fellowship provides full tuition payment and a stipend for 9 months at the same rate as a University Fellowship. Awards are for one academic year only, but awardees may reapply.

Deadline

Monday, January 8, 2024 (by 11:59 pm); with letters of recommendation due by Friday, January 12, 2024 (by 11:59 pm).

Applications are by program nomination, only. TGS will consider a maximum of one application per program. Programs may have their own deadlines, so please check with your program. Programs must notify gradservices@northwestern.edu by Thursday, January 4, 5:00 pm of their nominees.

Eligibility

  • Recipients of the fellowships must be US citizens.
  • Northwestern students enrolled in PhD programs in basic sciences, engineering, or management are eligible to apply.
  • Each academic program may submit a maximum of one nomination.
  • At the time of application, nominees must be in the second, third, or fourth year of their Northwestern University PhD program.

Students receiving graduate assistance must meet adhere to the regulations governing recipients of University assistance.

Award

  • Full tuition payment and a stipend for 9 months at the same rate as a University Fellowship.
  • Awarded for three quarters beginning in fall quarter of award year. Awards are for one academic year only, but awardees may reapply through their fourth year in the PhD program.

Application instructions

The materials described below must be submitted as individual PDF files via the online grant/fellowship application tool.  Only those who have been nominated by their program may submit application materials via the application portal and will receive an email invitation to submit  materials only after the program submits the nomination.

  1. Statement of Purpose and Research Description (no more than four double-spaced pages total with one additional page for references): In lay terms, describe the proposed or ongoing research,  your research goals, and your career goals.
  2. Curriculum vitae
  3. Unofficial Northwestern transcript
  4. Letter of recommendation from advisor: When submitting the application via the online application tool, applicants will invite a faculty member to submit a letter of recommendation. (Note: Faculty member must be invited using their @northwestern.edu email address.) Applicants should notify the intended letter-writer well in advance of entering their name in the online application tool. 

Contact

Email gradservices@northwestern.edu for more information.