Dissertation Grants

Dissertation Grants General Information 

Thanks to a generous grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., the Hispanic Theological Initiative (HTI) offers HTI Dissertation Scholars the opportunity to compete for ten $30,000 HTI/Lilly Dissertation Fellowships. These highly competitive fellowships are not based on financial need. To apply, students must first be enrolled in HTI for the 2025-2026 academic year, and be All-But-Dissertation (ABD), and/or be able to submit an approved dissertation proposal/prospectus by February 1, 2024. Only completed applications in the HTI office by February 15, 2025, at 11:59 pm (EST) will be forwarded to the Selection Committee.

To be considered for a fellowship, the dissertation proposal/prospectus must show evidence of the engagement of Latine subject matters via one or more of the following: ideologies, methodologies, authors, etc. The Selection Committee needs to see clear evidence of this engagement and the bringing of new arguments from a Latine perspective in the applicant’s field.

Please carefully read the Dissertation Grant Requirements listed to ensure you are eligible.*

Dissertation Grant Requirements

• Applicant must be a full-time Latine PhD student at an HTI consortium member institution.
• The HTI consortium school must enroll the HTI scholar before they can apply for the fellowship.
• Applicant must be 1) a US-born Latine/Hispanic student, or 2) born in a Spanish-speaking and/or Portuguese-speaking Latin American country or Caribbean Island.
• Applicant must submit evidence of passed comprehensive exams and a full copy of an approved dissertation proposal/prospectus, including a bibliography.
• The dissertation proposal/prospectus must show evidence of the engagement of Latine subject matters via one or more of the following: ideologies, methodologies, authors, etc.

The application process has two steps:

1.  Applicants will complete a Registration Form due at the HTI office by January 1st, 2025, at 11:59 pm (EST).

Once the applicant fills out the form, the applicant’s advisor and another faculty member familiar with the applicant’s work will receive an email asking them to submit letters of recommendation due at the HTI office by February 1, 2025, at 11:59 pm (EST).

2.  The Application Form is due at the HTI office by February 15, 2025, at 11:59 pm (EST).

In addition to completing the application form and the two letters of recommendation by the advisor and another faculty member, students must submit, with the application form, the following items:

• Recent high-resolution (300 x 300 pixels), professional-looking, color headshot photo in jpeg format
• One-paragraph biographical profile (maximum length 120 words, single-spaced) 
• Curriculum vitae
• One-page vocational essay (maximum length, double-spaced)
• Unofficial transcript in pdf format showing All But Dissertation (ABD status) 
• Dissertation proposal and bibliography, approved by the institution’s Committee on Degrees or equivalent oversight committee.
• Proposed writing time-line clearly indicating progress of the dissertation chapters in one-year period (e.g., First chapter by August 15, 2025).

* Please be informed that if you are also applying for any other grants funded by the Lilly Endowment Inc. (e.g., the Louisville Institute, or the Forum for Theological Exploration), and are awarded, you will need to relinquish one of the grants. Before doing so we encourage a conversation with the HTI Executive Director. Lastly, HTI Scholars are only eligible to receive one HTI Dissertation Grant during this grant cycle.