Dissertation Fellowship Program

The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College sponsors the annual Dissertation Fellowship Program in the field of retirement or disability research. The program is funded by the U.S. Social Security Administration and provides funding opportunities for doctoral candidates to pursue cutting-edge research on retirement or disability issues. Research focal areas include:

Trends in disability and survey issues;
Informing long-term projections and models;
State and local pensions for non-covered workers;
Actuarial adjustment of benefits;
Economic effects of totalization agreements;
Measuring sources of income;
Risks and resources in older age;
Induced entry;
Opioids; and
Claimant representatives.

“Virtual Office Hours” Service

The CRR offers the opportunity for potential applicants to ask questions about topics, datasets, and research design. The goal of this service is strengthen the quality of the applications and ensure that proposals closely align with the U.S. Social Security Administration’s research focal areas. Please contact CRR Economist Gal Wettstein during the month of November to take advantage of this service.

Fellowship Awards

Up to three $28,000 fellowships are awarded to doctoral candidates enrolled in an accredited program at a U.S. university. Grant recipients may be required to present their work to the Social Security Administration in Washington, DC or Baltimore, MD.

Submission

The deadline for the 2020 Dissertation Fellowship Program is January 31, 2020. Download the proposal guidelines and the dissertation committee chair form. Review sample proposals that received awards: Sample 1, Sample 2.