NDSU’s College of Graduate and Interdisciplinary Studies has awarded Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships to three students for the 2017-18 academic year. Each fellowship recipient will receive a stipend plus additional funding for academic travel and supplies. The awards are designed to increase the completion rate of doctoral students.
Support of $24,000 enables students to dedicate their time exclusively to dissertation research. In addition, $2,500 was awarded for research supplies and to support student travel for presentations at national and international meetings. Students are required to have advanced to candidacy for the doctorate and are expected to complete their dissertation during the year of funding.
Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship recipients, courses of study and dissertations are:
• Meghan Bennett, biological sciences, “Environmental cues mediating emergence rhythms of the alfalfa leafcutting bee.” Her adviser is Kendra Greenlee, associate professor of biological sciences. She is from Ely, Minnesota.
• Shanda Lauer, psychology/visual neuroscience, “Understanding the effect of alcohol on distance estimation.” Her adviser is Mark Nawrot, chair of psychology. Her hometown is Alexandria, Minnesota.
• Corina Todoran, occupational and adult education, “Figured Worlds: A comparative analysis of international doctoral students’ experiences in the U.S. academic setting.” Her adviser is Claudette Peterson, associate professor in the School of Education. Todoran’s hometown is Borsa, Romania.
Application evaluation criteria included a summary of quality of the student’s research and credentials, a timeline for dissertation completion within 12 months and the quality of the adviser’s mentoring plan.
As a student-focused, land-grant, research university, we serve our citizens.