Marcia J. Citron Graduate Research in Musicology Fund

Awards from the Marcia J. Citron Graduate Research in Musicology Fund are granted annually to support doctoral research in musicology. The Fund was established in 2020 thanks to the generosity of Marcia J. Citron (MA 1968, PhD 1971) to provide support for outstanding research conducted by doctoral students in Musicology in the Department of Music at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This fund is administered by the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in consultation with the Chair of the Department of Music. Applications for funding will be reviewed by the department’s Graduate Admissions and Financial Aid Committee.

Award Stipulations

The Citron Fund supports outstanding dissertation research. Applicants must be in good academic standing and hold ABD status, that is, they must have completed all PhD requirements, except for their dissertation. Applicants will normally have the option of applying for support in either the spring or summer semester in response to calls made by the Director of Graduate Studies. Applicants who have exceeded their guaranteed departmental funding will be given priority. In AY 2023-24 the call for applications will be made early in the spring semester for a summer award.

Awards from the Citron Fund are not deferable or renewable and are intended to facilitate full-time study. Recipients are expected to focus on dissertation research and not to undertake more than twenty hours each week of paid or unpaid employment during the fellowship term. There are no provisions for the payment of tuition. Students who are receiving financial aid should contact the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid for information on how receiving an award may impact aid packages.

An equivalent award from another source may not be held concurrently. Students may elect to accept the award on a non-stipendiary basis (thus freeing scarce resources for others).

Application

Applications will consist of the following:

1. Project Description: A brief (1000 character) dissertation project description. Include your name and the project’s title on this page.
2. Dissertation Summary: A current dissertation summary of up to fifteen double-spaced pages (approximately 3000-4000 words) that articulates the project’s research merit. The summary should include a detailed rationale of the project (supported by, but not limited to, an assessment of relevant secondary literature) and should contextualize the writing excerpt submitted within an overview of the whole.
3. Timeline: A timeline (1-2 pages) for completion of the dissertation, including information about progress to date.
4. Justification of Financial Need: A brief (300-word) paragraph that explains your financial need. You should explain costs related to research, analysis, and writing, as well as clarify your current funding package from the Department of Music (e.g. anticipated teaching assignments). Please account for funding you have already received in conjunction with this research project including, but not limited to, pre-dissertation fellowships, language-learning fellowships (e.g. FLAS), and off-campus research fellowships. Please indicate other funding sources to which you have applied or intend to apply.
5. Writing Excerpt: A fifteen-page maximum, double-spaced excerpt of writing related to this project. This should not replicate the project summary nor review secondary literature. It should clearly represent your project and demonstrate the outstanding potential of your research. This excerpt should be one that clearly represents or bolsters your overall thesis. Please use endnotes for your citations. The fifteen double-spaced page maximum does not include notes, figures, musical examples, or tables.

Please note that letters of recommendation, curriculum vitae, and a bibliography are not required.

Evaluation

Applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

1. Research Merit: The outstanding contribution of the research to relevant scholarly fields as described in the application and as evidenced in the writing excerpt.
2. Explanation of Need: This encompasses both the financial need of the project and the need for sustained research time as conveyed in the timeline and other supporting materials.
3. Feasibility: The committee will consider the feasibility of the research planned for the time supported by the Citron Fund along with that of the timeline to completion as described in the application.
4. Clarity of Presentation: Completeness of the application, polish of the individual components of the application package, and cleanliness of the writing excerpt (e.g. citations).

Recognition

All recipients of the Citron Graduate Research in Musicology Fund are required to submit a final report to the Director of Graduate Studies (1-2 pages) summarizing the research activities supported by their award. The report should be submitted no more than 30 days after the end of the semester (or summer) in which they receive the award.

The purpose of the report is to detail the importance that this funding had on the student’s intellectual development and dissertation progress. Thus, in addition to summarizing the activities undertaken with the support of the fund, students should reflect on their development as scholars and their dissertation project’s promise for relevant musicological fields.

Students may also be asked to publicly present their funded work on behalf of the Graduate Program in Musicology.

Status as of August 2023