Doctoral Summit

Advanced doctoral students with a minimum 3.5 GPA, or equivalent, are encouraged to apply.  Advanced doctoral students are those who are done with classes, have taken their qualifying exams (or their program’s equivalent progress marker), or have completed their prospectus.  Potential applicants do not have to meet all three criteria to be considered eligible, but they should have made substantial progress toward the degree.  Students must submit both the online form and application packet to be considered.  Those who have previously been awarded are not eligible. Students must be willing to share a room with another same-sex student from a different university.  Roommates will be assigned by ACJS; scholarship recipients may not select their own roommates.  Candidates who are unable or unwilling to share a room with another same-sex student from a different University are not eligible for the scholarship. 

Scholarship Requirements and Expectations 

1. Participants must complete  8 hours and 45 minutes of professional development training, plus attend the ACJS DSS Orientation & Research Symposium, the Presidential Address, and Debriefing Dinner for another 4 hours and 15 minutes of participation time.  
2. Students will present a research poster at the Orientation & Research Symposium. The Doctoral Summit scholarship covers poster costs. 
3. Participants will prepare for the professional development training sessions by completing several short readings prior to the Summit.  The professional development training will be covered in six required sessions and one additional session of the participants' choosing: 

Required Sessions

• Juggling Work-Life Balance  
• Managing Stress and Maintaining Sanity 
• Navigating the Job Market 1 & 2 
• Identity-Based Barriers in Academia 1 & 2 

Options for Additional Sessions 

• Navigating the Politics of Research 
• Careers Outside of Academia 
• Tips for Junior Faculty Members 
• Tips for Completing the Dissertation  
• Academia Beyond Borders 
• Audience-Driven Research Communication 

4. A scholarship recipient may only miss one 75-minute required session because s/he is presenting research at another scheduled panel, and s/he is the first-author of that paper.  The session must then be made up by attending another optional session so that the total time in Doctoral Summit sessions equates to 13 hours.  Students who have more than one scheduling conflict with Summit events will be excluded from participating. The scholarship will be rescinded and offered to another student.  Recipients must notify the Dr. Button of any schedule conflicts when completing the Scholarship Agreement and Acceptance Form.   

5. Students who are selected to participate must complete the Scholarship Agreement and Acceptance Form by December 30, register for the conference, using the promo code (TBD), by January 15, and upload their research poster file by February 10. Those who fail to complete these tasks will be excluded from any Summit benefits and participation in closed sessions. 

6. The scholarship recipient must either join a Section or volunteer to serve on one of the Academy’s standing committees and/or Section committees in the year following the Summit to demonstrate their investment in the Academy.