nyu dissertation awards

Finding Dissertations

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• Finding Dissertations from Other Institutions
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NYU Dissertations Online

All dissertations completed at NYU are indexed in the online database  Dissertations and Theses Global. Users who wish to access NYU dissertations, especially dissertations completed since 1997, would be best served by searching this database. Many (but not all) dissertations will be available in full-text.

Dissertation Search Tip:

When searching the database, you can use the Advanced Search functions to limit your results to only dissertations completed at NYU or you can leave the "institution" field blank to search dissertations completed anywhere. 

Why can't I see the full-text? 

When dissertation authors submit their work to Dissertations and Theses Global , they have the option to  embargo the full-text for up to two years from that point. Authors may choose to embargo their dissertations for several reasons, for example, if they are planning to publish the dissertation (or a version of it) as a book. There are currently no options for NYU students to access the full-text of a dissertation if the author has chosen to embargo.  In some cases, the author can extend the embargo beyond 2 years. It is estimated that approximately 50% of dissertation authors at NYU choose to embargo.

Dissertations that have been embargoed will appear with the note, " At the request of the author, this graduate work is not available to view or purchase" in the upper right-hand corner of record.

• Dissertations & Theses Global This link opens in a new window Dissertations and Theses Global contains indexes, dissertations and some theses. Full-text is available for many dissertations and theses, including those from NYU.

NYU Dissertations in Hard Copy

NYU dissertations completed before 2007 are available in both print and microform at Bobst.

Bobst Library does not keep copies of any dissertations from the following programs:

• The Medical School and the Dental School maintain separate collections of their own dissertations
• Master's theses are not kept by Bobst Library. Check with the corresponding department or school to explore whether such theses are held.

Bound copies of dissertations are held offsite and must be requested through the catalog for delivery to the library.

Call number ranges for NYU dissertations (Dissertations from Tisch and Courant are under GSAS):

• LD 3907 .E3 - School of Education
• LD 3907 .G5 - Wagner School of Public Administration
• LD 3907 .G6 - Stern School of Business
• LD 3907 .G7 - Graduate School of Arts and Science (GSAS)
• LD 3907 .S3 - School of Social Work

Dissertations published before 2008 at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Wagner School of Public Administration, Stern School of Business, Silver School of Social Work, and Steinhardt School of Education are available on microform .

Using the Library Catalog to Find NYU Dissertations

If you already know the author or the title of the dissertation, you can search the Library Catalog with that information to locate our copy and either recall it from offsite storage or find it in the Microforms Center.

Search tip:

For those wishing to search Library Catalog for dissertations on certain subjects, perform an Advanced Search using the words "Dissertation" AND "[desired subject]."

• Search Library Catalog

Please note: NYU dissertations in the Proquest Dissertations & Global Theses database are indexed in Library Catalog regardless of whether or not they have been embargoed. Just because a dissertation record appears in the Library Catalog does not mean that it is available in full-text. 

Dissertations completed at NYU through 2007 are available on microform. Microform copies are located in the Microforms Center on LL2 of Bobst Library. These are arranged chronologically by school. Some of the older rolls of film contain more than one dissertation. These copies are each given a thesis number in chronological, alphabetical order. The thesis numbers are listed on each roll, corresponding to the cataloged location in the Library Catalog.

What are microforms?

Microforms are pieces of film that contain reproductions of magazines, journals, and other materials. Because newsprint and other types of paper often decay, microforms are used as a method of preserving content.  Microforms come in 2 formats: microfilm (on reels) and microfiche (sheets).

Where are the microforms?

Microforms are located on LL2 in the Microforms Reading Room.

Can I get help?

The Microforms Reading Room is staffed. In addition, notebooks with instructions are available.

Can I make copies?

All microform machines have printing capabilities; some machines also allow you to make PDFs.

Offsite Materials

Some of our materials are stored in an offsite facility. 

To get an item that is marked as offsite:

• Search for the item in the Library Catalog
• Click on the Title
• Click on the Availability Status/Call number link
• Click Request

Offsite materials usually arrive within 2 business days. You'll be notified once the item has arrived, and you can pick it up at the Circulation Desk.

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• Last Updated: Aug 30, 2024 11:53 AM
• URL: https://guides.nyu.edu/dissertations

Dynamical Systems Laboratory

Alain Boldini honored with Outstanding Dissertation Award 2023

Alain’s doctoral thesis, “Understanding Actuation in Ionic Polymer Metal Composites: From Physical Principles to Engineering Design,” has won in the category “Science & Technology” – focused on exploring the knowledge in STEM fields and applying existing scientific or engineering knowledge to practical goals, such as new technologies or inventions. Alain defended his thesis in April 2022 and received his Ph.D. in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering in May 2022.

Read more details about the award and laureates here .

Congratulations, Alain!!!

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Ph.D. Achievements

Fellowships.

• Zachary Ferguson (2022)
• Yixin Hu (2019)
• Zhongshi Jiang (2018)
• Francisca Gil-Ureta (2017)
• Adriana Lopez-Alt (2011 - 2014)
• Michael Paik (2024)
• Nektarios Paisios (2007 - 2010)
• Alexander Bienstock (2022)
• Martin Arjovsky (2017)
• Emily Denton (2016)
• Wojciech Zaremba (2015)
• Nguyen Tran (2010)
• Nikhil Bhattasali (2022)
• Thien Nguyen (2016)
• Noah Stephens-Davidowitz (2016)
• Giuseppe Narzisi (2010)
• Daniel Wichs (2010)
• Carles Domingo i Enrich (2019)
• Dilip Krishnan (2010 - 2011)
• Russell Power (2010 - 2011)
• David Brandfonbrener (2019 - 2022)
• Karl Otness (2019 - 2022)
• Theresa Avitabile (2012 - 2015)
• Alexander Wang (2023 - 2026)
• Sébastien Jean (PGS-D 2017 - 2019)
• Assimakis Kattis (PGS-D 2017 - 2020)
• Emily Denton (PGS-D 2015 - 2017)
• Emily Denton (PGS-M 2013)
• Yonatan Halpern (PGS-D 2013 - 2016)
• Yonatan Halpern (PGS-M 2012)
• Matthew Zeiler (PGS-D 2010 - 2013)
• Noah Amsel (2024 - 2027)
• Saroja Erabelli (2024 - 2027)
• Megan Richards (2024 - 2027)
• Jane Pan (2023 - 2026)
• Betty Hou (2022 - 2025)
• Yucen (Lily) Li (2022 - 2025)
• Ulyana Piterbarg (2022 - 2025)
• Alexander Bienstock (2020 - 2023)
• Nitish Hemant Joshi (2020 - 2023)
• Ethan Perez (2018 - 2021)
• Alex Wang (2018 - 2021)
• Lamont Nelson (2016 - 2019)
• Shravas Rao (2015 - 2018)
• Minjie Wang (2016 - 2017)
• Zachary Ferguson (2020 - 2021)
• Marc Finzi (2020 - 2021)
• Harish Karthikeyan (2020 - 2021)
• Zhongshi Jiang (2019 - 2020)
• Yixin Hu (2018 - 2019)
• Abhinav Tamaksar (2017 - 2018)
• Talal Ahmad (2015 - 2016)
• Emily Denton (2015 - 2016)
• Zvonimir Pavlinovic (2014 - 2015)
• Ashwin Venkataraman (2014 - 2015)
• Noah Stephens-Davidowitz (2013 - 2014)
• Jonathan Tompson (2012 - 2013)
• Preyas Popat (2011 - 2012)
• Russell Power (2011 - 2012)
• Arasu Arun (2023)
• Nitish Joshi (2023)
• Elaine Li (2023)
• Harish Karthikeyan (2021)
• Shiva Iyer (2020)
• Sebastien Jean (2020)
• Matthew Morse (2020)
• Siddharth Krishna (2018)
• Minjie Wang (2018)
• Zvonimir Pavlinovic (2017)
• Sainbayar Sukhbaatar (2017)
• Ashwin Venkataraman (2017)
• Laura Florescu (2016)
• Yonatan Halpern (2015)
• Liana Sorina Hadarean (2013)
• Aristeidis Tentes (2013)
• Vasileios Gkatzelis (2012)
• Dilip Krishnan (2012)
• Y-Lan Boureau (2011)
• Eugene Weinstein (2009)
• Yotam Gingold (2008)
• Marc'Aurelio Ranzato (2008)
• Raia Hadsell (2007)
• Shabsi Walfish (2006)
• Iuliana Ionita (2005)
• Yi Fang (2004)
• Lexing Ying (2003)
• Sixin Zhang (2010 - 2011)
• Ethan Perez (2020)
• Lamont Nelson (2017 - 2018)
• Emily Denton (2016 - 2017)
• Mukund Sudarshan (2019)
• Davi Colli Tozoni (2019 - 2020)
• Chelsea Tymms (2018 - 2019)
• Francesca Gil Ureta (2016 - 2017)
• Qingnan Zhou (2011 - 2015)
• Denis Kovacs (2010)
• Daniel Galron (2009)
• Octavio Braga (2008)
• Ian Spiro (2008)
• Adrian Secord (2007)
• Piotr Mirowski (2006)
• Raia Hadsell (Fall 2005)
• Venkatesh Mysore (2004)
• Yotam Gingold (2002 - 2003)
• Evgueni Parilov (2001 - 2002)
• Zhenyi He (2017)

Scholarships

• Sébastien Jean (2017 - 2018)
• Aahlad Puli (2022)
• Nektarios Paisios (2010 - 2011)
• Adriana Lopez-Alt (2010 - 2011)

Internships

• Jihun Yu (2010)
• Dzianis Yarats (2023)
• Pavel Izmailov (2020 - 2021)
• Ananth Balashankar (2018 - 2019)
• Yixin Tao (2016 - 2017)
• Thien Nguyen (2015 - 2016)
• Noah Stephens-Davidowitz (2014 - 2015)
• Sunandan Chakraborty (2012 - 2013)
• Aditya Dhananjay (2010 - 2011)
• Daniel Wichs (2009 - 2010)
• Afshin Rostamizadeh (2008 - 2009)
• Yotam Gingold (2007 - 2008)
• Ashish Rastogi (2006 - 2007)
• Shabsi Walfish (2004 - 2005)
• Ishan Agarwal (2023)
• Ioanna Tzialla (2021 - 2022)
• Gregory Benton (2020 - 2021)
• Shiva Iyer (2018 - 2019)
• Zvonimir Pavlinovic (2017 - 2018)
• Bowen Yu (2016 - 2017)
• Rahul Gopalkrishnan (2015 - 2016)
• Shravas Rao (2015 - 2016)
• Siddharth Krishna (2014 - 2015)
• Jonathan Tompson (2014 - 2015)
• Timothy King (2013 - 2014)
• Adriana López-Alt (2012 - 2013)
• Alex Rubinsteyn (2011 - 2012)
• Vasilis Gkatzelis (2010 - 2011)
• Antonina Mitrofanova (2009 - 2010)
• Piotr Mirowski (2008 - 2009)
• Ameet Talwalkar (2007 - 2008)
• Ananth Balashankar (2023)
• Harish Karthikeyan (2023)
• Yixin Hu (2022)
• Cheng Tan (2020 - 2021)
• Connor Defanti (2019 - 2020)
• Siddharth Krishna (2019 - 2020)
• Emily Denton (2018 - 2019)
• Sainbayar Sukhbaatar (2018 - 2019)
• Noah Stephens Davidowitz (2017 - 2018)
• Yonatan Halpern (2016 - 2017)
• Sunandan Chakraborty (2015 - 2016)
• Jonathan Tompson (2015 - 2016)
• Adriana Lopez-Alt (2014 - 2015)
• Russell Power (2014 - 2015)
• Vasilis Gkatelis (2013 - 2014)
• Dilip Krishnan (2013 - 2014)
• Y-Lan Boureau (2012 - 2013)
• Dejan Jovanović (2012 - 2013)
• Jay Chen (2011 - 2012)
• Daniel Wichs (2011 - 2012)
• Piotr Mirowski (2010 - 2011)
• Ameet Talwalkar (2010 - 2011)
• Yotam Gingold (2009 - 2010)
• Raia Hadsell (2008 - 2009)
• Michael Freedman (2007 - 2008)
• Iuliana Ionita (2006 - 2007)
• Yi Fang (2005 - 2006)
• Lexing Ying (2004 - 2005)
• Nur Muhammad Shafiullah (2023)
• Alex Bienstock (2022)
• Dzianis Yarats (2022)
• Yixin Hu (2020 - 2021)
• Emily Denton (2017 - 2018)
• Y-Lan Boureau (2011 - 2012)
• Samantha Kleinberg (2009 - 2010)
• Antonina Mitrofanova (2008 - 2009)
• Raia Hadsell (2007 - 2008)
• Heng Ji (2005 - 2006)
• Bing Sun (2004 - 2005)
• Chelsea Tymms "Tactile Perception of the Roughness of 3D-Printed Textures", Journal of Neurophysiology (2018)
• Cheng Tan "The Efficient Server Audit Problem, Deduplicated Re-execution and the Web" (with Mike Walfish), SOSP (Symposium on Operating Systems Principles) (2017)
• Lingfan Yu "The Efficient Server Audit Problem, Deduplicated Re-execution and the Web" (with Mike Walfish), SOSP (Symposium on Operating Systems Principles) (2017)
• Siddhant Haldar "Teaching a Robot to FISH: Versatile Imitation from One Minute of Demonstrations", Robotic Science and Systems, Best Student Paper Award (2023)
• Zhongshi Jiang "ABC: A Big CAD Model Dataset For Geometric Deep Learning" (with Daniele Panozzo, Denis Zorin, and Francis Williams), SGP (Symposium on Geometry Processing) (2019)
• Tim King "Finding Minimum Type Error Sources" (with Thomas Wies), OOPSLA (Object Oriented Programming, Systems, Language, and Applications) (2014)
• Zvonimir Pavlinovic "Finding Minimum Type Error Sources" (with Thomas Wies), OOPSLA (Object Oriented Programming, Systems, Language, and Applications) (2014)
• Ameet Talwalkar "Ensemble Nyström Method", New York Academy of Sciences' annual Symposium on Machine Learning (2009)
• Yotam Gingold "From Rock, Paper, Scissors to Street Fighter II: Proof by Construction", Proceedings of Sandbox (2006)
• Vikram Sharma "Almost Tight Complexity Bounds for the Descartes Method" (with Arno Eigenwillig and Chee Yap), 31st International Symposium on Symbolic and Algebraic Computation (2006)
• Afshin Rostamizadeh New York Academy of Sciences Machine Learning Symposium (2008)
• Ian Spiro (Winter 2012)
• Ameet Talwalkar Honorable mention, George B. Dantzig Dissertation Award
• Ashwin Venkartaraman Honorable mention, George B. Dantzig Dissertation Award
• Zvonimir Pavlinovic "Inferring Annotations for Device Drivers from Verification Histories", IEEE/ACM International Conference on Automated Software Engineering (2016)
• Adriel Saporta "Don’t be fooled: label leakage in explanation methods and the importance of their quantitative evaluation" (with Neil Jethani and Rajesh Ranganath) AIStats (2023)
• Noah Stephens-Davidowitz (2018)
• Zvonimir Pavlinovic (2018)
• Afshin Rostamizadeh New York Academy of Sciences Machine Learning Symposium (2007)
• Jihun Yu "Reconstructing Surfaces of Particle-Based Fluids Using Anisotropic Kernels" (with Greg Turk), Symposium on Computer Animation (2010)
• Yotam Gingold "Controlled-Topology Filtering" (with Denis Zorin), Proceedings of SPM (2006)
• Zachary Ferguson (2024)
• Yotam Gingold "Computing Discrete Shape Operators in General Meshes" (with Eitan Grinspun, Jason Reisman, and Denis Zorin), Eurographics (2006)

Conference Participants

• Yucen Li (2023)
• Jessica Berg (2022)
• Ulyana Piterbarg (2022)
• Ren Yi (2019)
• Yixin Hu (2018)
• Jing Leng (2017)
• Ioanna Tzialla (2017)
• Zhenyi He (2016)
• Azam Abdollahi Asl (2015)
• Emily Denton (2014)
• Chelsea Tymm (2014)
• Francisca Gil Ureta (2014)
• Laura Florescu (2013)
• Chaya Ganesh (2013)
• Adriana Lopez-Alt (2012)
• Maria Pershina (2012)
• Adriana Lopez-Alt (2011)
• Wei Wang (2011)
• Liana Hadarean (2010)
• Xin Li (2010)
• Antonina Mitrofanova (2009)
• Y-Lan Boureau (2008)
• Wei Xu (2008)
• Samantha Kleinberg (2007)
• Shasha Liao (2007)
• Elif Tosun (2007)
• Ayse Naz Erkan (2006)
• Raia Hadsell (2006)
• Heng Ji (2006)
• Elif Tosun (2006)
• Ganna Zaks (2006)

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Award-winning dissertations lead to coveted academic job posts

Each spring, New York University recognizes the best dissertation of the academic year , focusing their search on a handful of categories: Arts & Humanities, Public Health & Allied Health, Science & Technology, and Social Sciences, as well as on the Provost's current priorities and cross-school initiatives (such as aging, inequality, and urban studies).

This year, two 2020 Tandon grads garnered prizes, with Junaid Farooq’s "Cyber-Physical Dynamic Decision Mechanisms for Large Scale Internet of Things Systems & Networks" taking top honors in the Technology and Applied Science subcategory of Science & Technology, and Zhengbo Zou’s "Towards Emotionally Intelligent Buildings: An Integrated Approach to Quantify Human Emotions in Designed Spaces" chosen from among all the Urban entries.

The awards’ committee praised their work’s scholarly rigor, writing quality, and potential for academic and social impact and noted that their accomplishments were all the more noteworthy given the challenges of 2020.

Farooq and Zou were both pleased to receive the news, and they had happy news of their own to report: each had landed a professorship at a highly regarded school and embarked on what will undoubtedly be a long, satisfying career.

We talked to them to find out about their graduate school experience, their research, and their new jobs.

Junaid Farooq

My academic journey began at the National University of Sciences and Technology in my native Islamabad, Pakistan, and after earning my bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering there, I entered the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia, where I undertook my master’s studies.

Then I started working as a research assistant at a private research and development organization in Doha focused on emerging mobility and wireless technologies, and I was considering remaining in Qatar to pursue a career in industry. That changed, however, after I spoke to Professor Quanyan Zhu , who heads the Laboratory for Agile and Resilient Complex Systems at NYU Tandon. He is so passionate about his field and he conveys his excitement so well that I immediately knew that I wanted to work with him.

Some of the research I conducted in his lab involved developing decision-making methods in mission-critical Internet of Things (IoT) applications, for example, emergency and first responder systems. In the future, you will see a new generation of 911 systems, where your smoke detector might be able to directly send help to your home, rather than relying on you to wake up and hear the alarm. That’s just one example of what’s possible when machines can communicate amongst each other and request services without human intervention.

This emerging IoT technology’s scope spans healthcare, energy, transportation, and manufacturing. However, the IoT itself is not a standalone system; it’s made up of a variety of different systems and components such as endpoint devices, communication networks, cloud computing systems, and user devices. Furthermore, the footprint of the IoT is massive and the constituent components are often operated and controlled by completely different entities. Therefore, to effectively manage and allow for the autonomous operation of IoT’s components, we must develop policies and decision frameworks  that are implementable on machines at scale.

In my dissertation I took an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on my understanding of the physical layer of communications, networking technologies, control systems, and operations research to unleash the power of the IoT. The dissertation set forth the theoretical foundations of decision and management science in IoT network design and operation. In it, I leveraged tools and theories from a diverse range of systems sciences such as mathematical epidemiology, spatial point processes, stochastic processes, optimal control theory, and optimization to address the challenges and problems at multiple levels across the IoT stack. In a nutshell, I attempted to close the gap between the theory of dynamic mechanism design, and wireless and IoT systems. The class of decision algorithms that I developed will enable the realization of future smart and connected cities with features including resilient communications infrastructure, next generation emergency response, critical infrastructure security, sensing and data markets.

I’m now working as an assistant professor at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, and I owe a lot of my success to Professor Zhu and NYU Tandon.

Zhengbo Zou

I earned my bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering in 2014 from Tongji University, in Shanghai, and the following year, I received my master’s degree in Advanced Infrastructure Systems from Carnegie Mellon, where Semiha Ergan used to teach and had left her mark. She studies building informatics, the quantification of human experience in the built environment, and infrastructure information modeling and visualization — all in an attempt to make buildings healthier and more efficient. When I heard she had started her new career at NYU Tandon, I knew that was where I wanted to earn my doctoral degree. I share her goal to improve the built environment; it plays an essential role in our day-to-day lives since people spend more than 85% of their times indoors.

There have been studies at the intersection of neuroscience and architecture that have revealed the impact of architectural design features on human emotional experience. Specifically, well-designed facilities can result in faster recovery in hospitals (up to 30%), better learning in schools (up to 25%), and higher productivity in offices (up to 25%) depending on factors like the amount of natural daylight, windows, and ceiling height. On the other hand, poorly designed buildings can have a negative influence on the residents’ physical and psychological well-being, as seen in Sick Building Syndrome (SBS).

I sought to fill a gap in the field: previous studies of human emotional experience of built environments mostly involve soliciting occupants’ feedback of the designed spaces using post-construction surveys that are qualitative and after-the-fact, which means these results can’t be used to help shape design decisions and may contain biased or incomplete questions.

Drawing on my interdisciplinary background in construction management, sensing, and advanced visualization technologies like virtual reality, I developed a novel alternative method: presenting design alternates as virtual environments and conducting experiments to gauge subjects’ physiological responses while navigating the virtual environments. My dissertation, set out to (1) propose a mechanism to quantify design features’ impact on human emotional experience using an integrated approach that combines biometric sensing and virtual environments; (2) identify a set of biometric sensors and their signal features that are effective in quantifying human emotional experience; and (3) propose an algorithm to accurately classify human emotional experience in design alternates using biometric sensing data.

I am now working as an Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia. I miss NYU Tandon, but it’s very exciting to be in Canada with new colleagues.

Associate Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering Quanyan Zhu

“I am unequivocally proud that Junaid has been recognized with the NYU dissertation award, which I believe will be a splendid harbinger of many other awards for him in the future. His work is the best attestation to his tremendous energy, astounding creativity, and relentless dedication.”

Associate Professor of Civil & Urban Engineering and associated faculty member at the Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP) Semiha Ergan

“Zhengbo is a stellar researcher and well deserves such a recognition. His technical know-how and determination to do societally important work are all hallmarks of a true change-maker. I am sure we will hear great news about Zhengbo in years to come.”

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Dr. Yunyu Xiao, PhD ’20, Receives NYU Outstanding Dissertation Award

Dr. Yunyu Xiao, a 2020 graduate of NYU Silver’s PhD Program who is now an Assistant Professor at Indiana University School of Social Work, has received NYU’s 2021 Outstanding Dissertation Award in the Public Health and Allied Health category for “Social Network Influences on Trajectories of Suicidal Behaviors Among Adolescents Transitioning to Adulthood.” NYU Provost Katherine E. Fleming said Dr. Xiao’s dissertation “stood out from other nominees’ for its great scholarly rigor, quality of writing, and potential for academic and social impact.”

Dr. Xiao’s award-winning dissertation addresses the important public health issue of suicide, which is the second leading cause of death among individuals aged 10-34 in the United States. In particular, she focused on identifying substantial disparities in suicidal thoughts and behaviors that exist across race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status in this age group. “While much existing research is cross-sectional and studied static suicidal behaviors in one-time point,” Dr. Xiao explained, “I took a life course perspective and examined the trajectories of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts ‒ that is, changes in suicide risks from adolescence to adulthood. More innovatively, I integrated the Network Episode Model in explaining the social network influences on suicidal trajectories over time. I further explored how future orientation may buffer the negative effect when kids had a low closeness to parents.”

Dr. Xiao’s dissertation contains three interrelated studies, two of which have been published to date.  Study 1, published in Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research , identifies the changes in suicidal behaviors from adolescence to young adulthood and sociodemographic disparities in the suicidal trajectories. Study 2, published in Psychological Medicine , examines the effects of structural and functional types of social networks during adolescence on suicidal trajectories across sociodemographic backgrounds. Study 3 (under review) investigates how changes in social network profiles over developmental stages influence suicidal trajectories. This study also explores the protective effect of future orientation in the above association.

Among the key findings of Dr. Xiao’s dissertation research were that female, Black, and sexual minority adolescents were more likely to be in high-risk suicidal trajectories across life stages; a greater family cohesion reduced the chance of adolescents reporting suicide risks over time; people with low values of parental closeness during early adolescence and whose parental closeness decreased quickly over time had more chance to be in high-risk suicidal trajectories; and having a future orientation can protect against the negative impact of low parental closeness on high-risk suicidal trajectories, especially for Black and Hispanic populations.

Associate Professor and PhD Program Director Victoria Stanhope applauded Dr. Xiao’s honor. “Yunyu is richly deserving of this prestigious recognition. She has a deep commitment to her work reflected in the rigor of her research and its potential to provide solutions to one of the country’s most pressing public health crises. Her dissertation’s identification of disparities in suicidal trajectories and the influence of social networks and future orientation on those trajectories will improve suicide assessments in critical time periods and inform the design of more effective, culturally appropriate, strength-based suicide interventions.”  

Dr. Xiao expressed gratitude to NYU Silver’s PhD Program and her dissertation committee for their support and encouragement throughout her dissertation process. In particular, she said “I am grateful to my committee chair and mentor, Dr. Michael A. Lindsey , who has been a role model educating me on the importance of social work researchers to bring social impact. I also want to give special thanks Dr. Victoria Stanhope for her patience and kindness that helped me achieve the best during my doctoral study. As an Asian immigrant, the global pandemic and current political unrest, Anti-Asian racism, and structural inequality further motivate me to contribute to the health disparity research. I am honored to receive this university-wide award, and I am committed to improve the scientific rigor of public health social work studies and bring impact to improve the lives of those vulnerable populations.”

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GSAS Global Dissertation Fellowships

Nyu shanghai graduate fellowship.

Shanghai Graduate Fellowship remains closed as of April 2023.  Please check this website for any additional updates.

Each semester, 3-4 awards are available for NYU students who have advanced to the dissertation stage to conduct advanced research or writing in residence at NYU Shanghai. Awards are not limited to GSAS students; students from any NYU school or department are welcome to apply. Successful candidates will join an active community of scholars in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, where interdisciplinary study and cross-fertilization is more the rule than the exception, and will be warmly encouraged to participate in weekly faculty seminars. Applications are especially encouraged from students engaged in research projects related to the strengths of the NYU Shanghai faculty, including but not limited to projects primarily focused on China and surrounding regions. Students are encouraged to visit the NYU Shanghai  website  to browse profiles of faculty in their discipline and inquire directly with NYU Shanghai faculty about their interest in being a fellowship mentor.

Each NYU Shanghai Graduate Fellowship award includes a stipend, which will reflect 3.5 months (one semester) of the GSAS minimum monthly stipend for the academic year. In 2020-2021, the minimum monthly stipend is   $3,278, which equates to  $11,473 over one semester. For students still within their MacCracken award term, the waiver of maintenance of matriculation fees, and 100% coverage in the NYU comprehensive health insurance plan for an individual will be covered under the terms of the MacCracken award. For non-MacCracken students as well as students beyond the term of their MacCracken award but still financial aid eligible, a waiver of maintenance of matriculation fees, and 100% coverage in the NYU comprehensive health insurance plan for an individual will also be included in the award. No student is eligible to receive both a Washington Square based fellowship and a Global Dissertation Research and Writing Fellowship in the same year. Work space will be made available on the NYU Shanghai campus.  Download the NYU Shanghai Graduate Fellowship Application

ELIGIBILITY

• If selected, NYU Shanghai Graduate Fellows commit to being in residence at NYU Shanghai for the entirety of their award semester. Short leaves may be permissible for legitimate academic reasons, however, extended time away may result in forfeiture of the fellowship. 
• During the award semester, applicants must be within seven years of their first term of enrollment in the doctoral program or deemed to still be financial aid eligible. Eligibility beyond seven years may be extended on an exception basis, consistent with the Graduate School's normal review of financial aid eligibility. The common reasons for extension are (a) time off for an official leave of absence; (b) up to four semesters of fieldwork, if the field work occurred within the first seven years of enrollment and the student did not receive a GSAS or other institutional stipend for the semester(s); and (c) exceptional academic circumstances that are beyond the student's control (e.g., the academic advisor left; serious illness).
• Applicants must have a minimum grade point average of 3.3 and must have earned 100 percent of credits required for the degree by date of award (courses with I, NR, W, and F grades are not considered successfully completed).
• Fellows should not be projected to defend their dissertation before the conclusion of their award semester.

HOW TO APPLY

Shanghai Graduate Fellowship will remain closed as of November 1st, 2021.

For questions, please contact  [email protected] . Applications will not be reviewed until after the deadline.

NYUAD Dissertation Writing Fellowship in the Humanities and Social Sciences

Program overview.

The Dissertation Writing Fellowship is offered to enable graduate students to share in the energetic, multi-faceted research environment within the Humanities and Social Sciences Divisions at NYUAD.

The Dissertation Writing Fellowship will be conducted in residence at NYUAD and is open to NYU PhD scholars working in all areas of the Humanities and Social Sciences, with successful applicants taking advantage of working for the year with a NYUAD faculty member in their field.

NYUAD invites applications for this Fellowship from NYU PhD students whose dissertations will be advanced works in progress during the Fellowship year. Preference will be given to applicants whose research topic can benefit from NYUAD expertise in related fields while contributing to NYUAD's fast-developing research environment. Fellows are expected to enrich the NYUAD intellectual community by sharing their work with faculty and students and participating in scholarly networks within the university.

Application Open: January, 2024

Application deadline: march 1, 2024. students should submit their application materials to  [email protected] . , download the nyu abu dhabi dissertation writing fellowship application, award terms & benefits.

*Up to three Fellowships will be available in 2024-2025.*

• The Dissertation Writing Fellowship runs for the 12-month 2024-2025 academic year. During this period, scholars are offered work space in the appropriate academic Division, full use of NYUAD's library facilities, in-kind graduate housing at NYUAD's campus on Saadiyat Island, a fellowship stipend of $30,000, waiver of maintenance of matriculation fees, international health insurance, and support for economy travel to and from Abu Dhabi for the program.
• Dissertation Writing Fellowship recipients are responsible for conforming to tax requirements of their home countries.
• Receiving the Dissertation Writing Fellowship is contingent on successfully passing the UAE security clearance process and obtaining a UAE visa.
• Students should submit their application materials to [email protected]. All application materials must be received by March 1, 2024.

Contact Info

Emily hollenbach.

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Doctoral Funding, Awards, and Grants

Doctoral studies, funding packages for full-time nyu steinhardt phd students.

Full-time NYU Steinhardt PhD students are eligible for a generous five-year funding package that includes an annual stipend, scholarship coverage, and health insurance.

The Steinhardt Fellows Program

The standard full-time PhD funding package includes an annual stipend, tuition coverage for required course work, and student health insurance through the fifth year. The 2024-2025 stipend is expected to be $33,867. Complete details are provided with each offer of admission. 

Research Assistantships

Some doctoral students may be appointed to a Research Assistantship. Research Assistants are funded by external grants and work with a principal investigator on a funded research project. Unlike Steinhardt Fellows, Research Assistants agree to work 20 hours per week on an ongoing research project, typically with a team of faculty and other students. For the duration of the assistantship, Research Assistants receive funding that includes tuition remission for required course work, student health insurance, and a semi-monthly stipend. The 2024-2025 Research Assistant salary is expected to be $33,764. Research Assistants may not perform additional work assignments such as teaching or grading during their appointment period (September - May). 

Awards and Grants

Doctoral research and travel grant.

This grant is for fully matriculated Steinhardt doctoral students and provides a maximum of $1,500 for travel and other expenses associated with field research, presenting papers at scholarly and professional conferences, as well as expenses for creative projects directly related to doctoral study or professional development. Requests are considered as funds are available. Preference is given to first time awardees. The deadlines are February 1 (spring), May 1 (summer) and October 1 (fall). Apply for the Fall 2024 grant .

Mitchell Leaska Dissertation Research Award

This award honors the legacy of Mitchell Leaska, a distinguished professor who taught English and Humanities at NYU Steinhardt for almost 40 years. The award is available to students nearing completion of their dissertation whose doctoral programs are in applied psychology (counseling, developmental, PSI), educational sociology, social studies education, mathematics education, or science education. A $5,000 stipend will be awarded to one recipient per semester, excluding summer. The deadlines are October 15 (fall) and March 1 (spring).  The 2024-2025 application will be available in Fall 2024.

Outstanding Doctoral Student Teaching Award

This award honors doctoral students for their contribution to the creation and delivery of exceptional learning environments. All Steinhardt doctoral students who have taught at least one credit-bearing course, either as a teaching assistant or instructor of record, and who are nearing completion of their degree requirements are eligible this award. Nominees must be in good academic standing, as determined by their department and school regulations. Recipients of the award receive $1,500. The deadline is March 1.  The 2024-2024 application will be available in Spring 2025.

Steinhardt Dissertation Finishing Award

This award supports doctoral students working toward the completion of their dissertations. $10,000 awards will be granted in Steinhardt’s areas of Culture, Education, and Human Development. Steinhardt PhD candidates whose degrees will be conferred in 2024 (January 2024, May 2024, or September 2024) are eligible. Final oral examinations must be completed during the Fall 2023, Spring 2024, or the Summer 2024 semester. Steinhardt's Senior Leadership Team will serve as the review committee and will evaluate applicants based on their evidence of outstanding scholarship and their ability to complete the degree requirements within the 2023-2024 academic year. The 2024-2025 application will be available in Fall 2024.

Outstanding Dissertation Award

Steinhardt's Outstanding Dissertation Award honors one student each year based on the recommendation of the Doctoral Affairs Committee. Steinhardt doctoral students who graduated or will graduate during the current academic year (September, January, or May) are eligible. Nominations must be submitted by the candidate’s dissertation committee chairperson with the endorsement of the entire final oral commission.  Download the Outstanding Dissertation Award Nomination Form (Faculty Use Only) .

Selected List of Funding Opportunities External to Steinhardt

• NYU's Summer Dissertation Writing Program
• Cross-NYU Urban Doctoral Fellowship Program
• National Endowment for the Humanities
• National Science Foundation
• National Institutes of Health
• Institute of Education Sciences
• Social Innovation Fund
• Microsoft Research
• Scholarships.com
• Student Scholarship Database
• Unigo Directory of Scholarships
• Institute of International Education
• International Education Financial Aid
• ExpandEd Schools - Find Funding
• Grant Forward
• Penn Hill Group Federal Grant Opportunities

Masi Asare Receives Honorable Mention for Outstanding Dissertation Awards

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Performance Studies alum Masi Asare (M.A. '07, Ph.D. '18) received an honorable mention in NYU's University-Wide Outstanding Dissertation Awards. Her dissertation "Voicing the Possible: Technique, Vocal Sound, and Black Women on the Musical Stage" examines embodied, racialized pedagogies of singing technique in order to excavate the ways that black women singers theorized the voice in US musical theatre performances from 1900 to 1970.

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The Professional Counselor Confers 2024 Dissertation Excellence Awards

• tpc-2024-dissertation-excellence-awards

Article Published: 8/21/2024

The awards committee of  The Professional Counselor ( TPC ) recently selected the winners of the annual Dissertation Excellence Awards. 

The Dissertation Excellence Awards recognize original research that significantly contributes to the counseling profession and are judged according to presentation and clarity of ideas, sound methodology and interpretation of findings, innovative quality, and overall utility to the future of the counseling profession. In this 11th year of the award program, TPC conferred two Dissertation Excellence Awards, one for qualitative research and one for quantitative research. 

The winner of TPC’s 2024 Dissertation Excellence Award in the Qualitative category is April Brown , for her dissertation entitled Lived Experiences of Black Women Counselor Educators Mitigating Experiences of Racial Trauma in the Workplace . 

April Brown, PhD, NCC, CPCS, LPC, is a Licensed Professional Counselor, wellness expert, business consultant, Kaiser Permanente awardee, and founder of The Wellness Room, LLC and The Wellness Room Coaching & Consulting, LLC. Dr. Brown combines 10 years of training and experience in counseling and education to deliver evidence-based practices and a solution-focused approach to help people and businesses prioritize mental health, elevate wellness, and embrace self-care. Dr. Brown was awarded the Thriving Schools Honor Roll Award from Kaiser Permanente in 2018 for her work in designing a wellness room for teachers and staff to improve employee wellness. 

A firm believer in mental health awareness and self-care, Dr. Brown is passionate about teaching people how to prioritize self-care to reduce stress, obtain mental health resources, find work–life balance, and improve their overall well-being. Dr. Brown is on a mission to help people and businesses achieve optimal wellness by providing individual therapy, wellness coaching, business consulting, and wellness event planning and hosting wellness retreats. Dr. Brown plans to continue her research journey, develop innovative ways for more people to access mental health resources, create corporate wellness programs for businesses, and engage in advocacy to promote policy change around safety in the workplace. 

Aside from her professional pursuits, Dr. Brown is passionate about faith, family, food, and fitness. She is a devoted wife, sister, aunt, friend, and avid plant mom. When she is not working, Dr. Brown enjoys traveling with her husband, spending time with family, reading books, and cooking vegan-friendly recipes. To learn more about Dr. Brown and her work, visit www.trythewellnessroom.com . Also, keep up with Dr. Brown on social media @thewellnessroomatl. 

The winner of TPC’s 2024 Dissertation Excellence Award in the Quantitative category is Patricia “Patti” Lindsey , for her dissertation entitled Training School Counselors to Close the Gap in College and Career Readiness: A Brief Intervention Study .

Patti Lindsey, PhD, NCC, LSC, LPC (MN), is a Licensed School Counselor and a Licensed Professional Counselor and holds the National Certified Counselor certification. Dr. Lindsey has served 7th–12th grade students in rural Southern Minnesota public schools for the past 16 years. Dr. Lindsey co-led the ASCA Affinity Group for rural school counselors over the past 2 years and was a member of the MN ACT Council for 9 years, helping plan and host an annual professional conference for educational stakeholders. Her passion for school counseling and college and career readiness led her to pursue her PhD in counselor education and supervision and research these topics for her dissertation. She earned her PhD from the University of the Cumberlands in December 2023 and is ready to use her knowledge, experience, and expertise to make a difference in our profession. 

Read more about the Dissertation Excellence Awards here .

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News in Brief: EHD Alumna, Researcher Wins Outstanding Dissertation Award

Now a researcher at Youth-Nex, Meredith Franco was awarded the 2024 APA Division 16 Outstanding Dissertation Award for her work as an EHD doctoral student.

Leslie Booren

August 30, 2024

Meredith P. Franco, currently a research scientist at Youth-Nex, was recently recognized for her outstanding dissertation while a Ph.D. student at the UVA School of Education and Human Development. A 2023 graduate of the clinical and school psychology program, Franco’s dissertation, “Culturally Responsive Practice in PK-12 Classrooms: Identification and Validation of Discrete Indicators,” was honored by the American Psychological Association (APA) Division 16 this month.

The honor is given to an individual who recently completed a dissertation that merits special recognition and has the potential to contribute to the science and practice of school psychology. An article stemming from Franco’s dissertation work was published in the high-impact journal, Review of Educational Research, and is now freely available .

“We are grateful that the APA and the review committee selected Meredith for this prestigious award,” said Professor Catherine Bradshaw, senior associate dean for research and co-chair of Franco’s dissertation committee. “Her dissertation work is exceptional in many ways. Meredith is skillful in conceptualizing and addressing key challenges in the field by employing rigorous quantitative methodologies with a critical lens.”

In her dissertation, Franco encourages school researchers and practitioners to recognize the positive impact of culturally responsive practice (CRP) on classroom climate and how to understand different measurement approaches for CRP-related interventions. She also encourages them to find ways to create new, innovative measures that can be used across developmental stages and contexts.

Now a Nationally Certified School Psychologist and researcher, Franco’s scholarship continues to explore how teachers’ use of culturally responsive educational practices can promote student equity and, ultimately, inform the design of just classrooms, schools, and systems.

“I am incredibly thankful to the Division 16 Award Committee for this recognition.” Franco said. “The encouragement I received from my EHD mentors—including professors Catherine Bradshaw, Jessika Bottiani, and Jason Downer—to take on ambitious projects and aim for publishing in high-impact journals has laid the groundwork for my path as an early career researcher.”

Franco and other Division 16 award winners were recognized at the annual APA Convention this summer on August 10 in Seattle, WA.  

News Information

Research center or department, featured faculty.

• Meredith Powers Franco
• Catherine P. Bradshaw

News Topics

• Teaching & Learning

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