Josephine de Karman Fellowship

The 2024-2025 de Karman Fellowship Application has moved online. Applications are due 11:59 PM Pacific Time, January 31, 2024. Only applications from final year PhD students enrolled at one of the following universities will be accepted. Late applications will not be considered.

• California Institute of Technology
• University of California, Berkeley
• University of California, Davis
• University of California, Irvine
• University of California, Los Angeles
• University of California, Riverside
• University of California, San Diego
• University of California, Santa Barbara
• University of California. Santa Cruz
• University of Southern California
• Stanford University

Announcement of 2024-2025 award recipients will be made approximately April 15, 2024.

Approximately six (6) dissertation fellowships, in the amount of $25,000 each, will be awarded for the regular academic year (fall and spring semesters or the equivalent where the quarterly system prevails), paid through the fellowship office of the university in which the recipient is enrolled for study in the United States. Study must be carried out only in the United States and all funds must be expended only within this country.

The fellowship is for one academic year and may not be renewed or postponed.

The de Karman Fellowships are open to PhD students in any discipline, including international students, who are currently enrolled in one of the California universities listed above. Only PhD candidates who will defend their dissertation in or about June 2025 are eligible for consideration for a 2024-2025 fellowship. Undergraduate students, master’s degree students, and postdoctoral scholars are not eligible for consideration. Special consideration will be given to applicants in the Humanities.

Potential applicants should note that the competition for de Karman Fellowships is extreme. To be competitive, applicants should have outstanding letters of recommendation, significant early scholarly contributions, and have completed a significant portion of the dissertation at the time of application.

Additional Information of Importance to Applicants:

1. PhD students who are not citizens of the United States may apply for a Josephine de Karman Fellowship if they are already enrolled in one of the California universities listed above.
2. The fellowships will be paid directly through the fellowship office of the university in which the successful candidate is enrolled for study in the United States. One half will be paid in September and one half the following February. NO UNIVERSITY OVERHEAD MAY BE APPLIED TO THE FELLOWSHIP AWARD. UNIVERSITY FINANCIAL SUPPORT IS VIEWED AS SEPARATE FROM DE KARMAN FELLOWSHIP SUPPORT. THE DE KARMAN FELLOWSHIP IS FOR MERIT, BASED ON A STATEWIDE COMPETITION. THEREFORE, IT IS HOPED THAT ONGOING UNIVERSITY SUPPORT COMMITMENTS ARE MAINTAINED WHILE A DE KARMAN FELLOWSHIP IS HELD.
3. The names, universities, and departments (and dissertation titles) of Josephine de Karman Fellowship awardees may be published on the de Karman Trust and Pasadena Community Foundation websites.
4. By the end of October following completion of their fellowship year, awardees ARE REQUIRED to submit an abstract of their dissertation and a one- or two-page report on their achievements as a result of having held a Josephine de Karman Fellowship. The report should include a brief breakdown of how funds were utilized.