Application Information
The application portal for 2026-27 fellowships will open in mid-January, 2026.
The application deadline for the 2026-27 academic year is March 10, 2026, at midnight.
Each year the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics (WMC) hosts two or three UO graduate students as Graduate Research Fellows. The work of Graduate Research Fellows is designed to enrich the intellectual and scholarly environment of the Wayne Morse Center, and to advance research by UO faculty on that enlightens public understanding about significant issues and problems confronting society. The award is intended to help with expenses for students writing master’s theses or dissertations at the UO and to commission research on Wayne Morse. During academic year 2026-27, the Wayne Morse Center will support two to three Graduate Research Fellows with awards of $5000 each.
Eligibility
The Wayne Morse Graduate Research Fellows program is open to all UO graduate students, in any discipline or profession.
To be considered, an applicant must meet the following criteria:
- be a current University of Oregon student pursuing a master's degree or PhD,
- have obtained approval of their thesis or dissertation prospectus from their committee, and
- plan to remain enrolled at UO during the entire fellowship year.
Priorities and Criteria for Selection
The Wayne Morse Center welcomes Graduate Research Fellow applications from a rich variety of UO graduate students across numerous academic disciplines. As a center founded with a focus on law and politics, this program supports projects that address significant and enduring problems in public affairs affecting Oregon, the nation, and/or the world.
Applications are evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Significance of the research contribution and relevance to the Center’s mission
- Quality of the proposal
- Evidence of research progress
- Strength of recommendation and applicant promise
Proposals also are welcome for contributions to the Wayne Morse Monograph Series. This series focuses on some aspect of the career of Senator Wayne Morse and the issues that concerned him. Topics could, for example, include his work on education, civil rights, foreign policy, or labor. Projects may also take up public issues that have emerged since Wayne Morse’s death in 1974 but that are in the Wayne Morse tradition.
Duties and Conditions
- Wayne Morse Graduate Research Fellows will engage in scholarly research and writing as proposed during the academic year of their fellowship.
- Wayne Morse Graduate Research Fellows will participate in the intellectual life of the Wayne Morse Center in appropriate and feasible ways. For example, fellows might participate in a Wayne Morse Center event and attend special lunches for undergraduate Wayne Morse Scholars, Law Fellows, and graduate Fellows of the Center.
Application Process
Each year, applications are accepted via an online form and include the following:
- Abstract (not to exceed 200 words)
- Project description (not to exceed 1500 words), including:
- Conception and definition of the project: An explanation of the core research ideas, problems or questions being addressed in the project.
- Significance of the project: Importance of the research for addressing issues or problems confronting Oregon, the nation, and/or the world. Situate the scholarly contribution you plan to make within the larger scholarly literature (including references or bibliography).
- Plan of work and expected results: Be as precise as possible about the plan of work and your research and writing objectives during a proposed year as Graduate Research Fellow.
- Two-page summary of the curriculum vitae (CV).
- Contact information for your faculty advisor, for a letter of recommendation.
Deadline
The application portal for 2026-27 fellowships will open in mid-January, 2026.
The application deadline for the 2026-27 academic year is March 10, 2026, at midnight.
Please direct questions to Daniel Tichenor, Wayne Morse Center Co-Director, tichenor@uoregon.edu.