Dissertation Year Fellowship

On the Donor

The Dissertation Year Fellowship, established in 2022/23, is a prestigious programme to enable selected outstanding final year PhD students to pursue an additional year of training at the University to bring their doctoral research to a higher level before graduation.  The Fellowship allows more time for students to work on their research and improve publication, and helps students to find better job after graduation. 

Purpose and Scope

Up to 100 fellowships may be made each year to outstanding full-time PhD students who have submitted a thesis for examination on the basis of the following aspects:  

• the quality of thesis: the PhD thesis should be rated by the Thesis Examining Committee as “outstanding (top 5%)” or “excellent (top 10%)”;
• the potential for the student to generate at least one research output regarded as 4 star (world leading) or 3 star (internationally excellent) according to the evaluation guidelines adopted for the latest UGC RAE  after one additional year of training; 
• publication records; and
• the recommendations of the primary supervisor, Departmental Research Postgraduate Committee (DRPC) and Faculty Higher Degrees Committee (FHDC). 

Each fellowship holder shall receive

• a Postgraduate Scholarships (PGS) equivalent to the HKU Presidential PhD Scholarship for up to 12 months;
• conference support for up to $13,500 per year; and
• a waiver of the continuation fee during the fellowship period. 

The start date of the Fellowship shall be determined by the Graduate School based on the recommendation of the primary supervisor, DRPC and FHDC. Normally, no student may be awarded the Fellowship for more than 12 months

Value of Award	Please see Purpose and Scope
Renewal Conditions	--
Type of Scholarships	Merit-based Scholarships for Current Students
Place of Origin of Students	Not specified
Level of Study	Postgraduate
Faculty	Not specified