The Dean’s Scholar Fellowship is a one-year, non-renewable award presented by the Dean of the Graduate College in recognition of a student’s scholarly achievement. The award is intended to provide the most distinguished, advanced-level graduate students with a period of time dedicated solely to the completion of their programs. The Dean’s Scholar competition is open to doctoral students who have passed the Graduate College-required Preliminary Examination and are well into their dissertation work, and also to MFA students who have passed second-semester review. Nominations must come from the program. A maximum of ONE student may be nominated by each program.
https://arthistory.uic.edu/news-stories/nicoletta-rousseva-selected-as-a-deans-scholar-fellow/