GradLife26

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Hey everyone -- Does anyone know of dissertation research fellowships that don't require you to be ABD at the time of application? It seems like most major dissertation research fellowships for 2017-2018 are due this fall (i.e. by Nov. 1, 2016), and require you to be ABD before you apply. I won't take my exams until December at the earliest or until the Spring of my 3rd year. Since I do international research, I'm hoping to get one of these grants. Thanks for your suggestions! I'll start with the one that I know... 1. Fulbright US Student Competition

For some countries, the stipend estimates for the upcoming year are listed on the country's Fulbright page. I look at each country on the US student page, and then clicked the link to the host country's Fulbright page - hope that helps!

SuperMod, Thank you, this is really helpful insight. I hadn't even thought about the committee, and that it may be possible to switch areas with less feather-ruffling by adding specialists later to the committee. I apologize again for being vague, and thanks for the encouragement to value my personal safety and comfort. Perhaps it's just my program but that never seemed to be anyone's concern, so I've been feeling like a wuss for wanting to jump ship toward other interests. Your idea about doing research without spending as much time on the ground is also a good one. I appreciate having these options and a better understanding of what might be involved were I to change concentrations entirely, or come up with a new project that allows me to keep my current advisor involved but does not require such intense fieldwork. Again, many thanks for your suggestions.

Thank you so much for your suggestions. They are very helpful and I apologize for being so vague. My department is large but the professors know each other quite well - so I'm worried that no one in the other concentration would want to work with me if I were to be seen as a quitter. I might need to repeat coursework, which I'm ok with, although this might affect my funding by changing my timeline. It's helpful to consider what you've mentioned: that I'm not the first person to change concentrations. My question now then is this - how does one go about doing that smoothly and professionally? Should I have a reason other than the fact that I don't like the daily experience of doing research in that country? It's in the middle of a civil war, although that hasn't ever stopped "serious" academics. Is that professional? How can I go about explaining this to my advisor? Is any excuse better than no excuse? Perhaps I should repost this as a separate thread. In any case, I sincerely appreciate your advice and will talk to my DGS in person in the fall. Thank you.

Hello, I'm currently in a humanities PhD program at a top university. I applied based on what my interests were, and what I had been successful in as an undergrad, let's call it area studies A. However, after years of doing this work as a masters and now PhD student, I'm positive that I don't want to continue research in this area. I don't like the experience, I don't like living in Area Studies A, I don't manage well the numerous languages and technical skills required to do this work, and I'm not very interested. I've been told it's good for PhD students to find a research question by asking "Why me, why now" - a problem that is important and that I am capable/ fit to explore. For many reasons, I am not fit to do this work, and I thrive doing other things - Area studies B - that are outside of my field of study. You know how this works - that reputation, advising, etc. can make or break your career. People invest a lot of training into you and don't want you to waste their contacts, or their funding. How can I stay in my department (discipline) and switch area studies? Will I have to change advisors? Redo coursework? Will anyone even take me? Can I stay in the program? Will people find me a credible scholar? How do I find another research topic considering that I have less experience in Area studies B? For context, I'm starting my second year in the PhD program and will have to choose my examination fields in the next few months. This might be my only chance to do something different. I'm at a loss and seeking any and all advise, and would like to hear about those with similar experiences. Many, many thanks