Financial assistance is available to graduate students in various forms. You must apply for graduate assistantships and tuition waivers by the deadline for fall admission (February 15). There are a limited number of these scholarships, so competition is rigorous. Other departmental scholarships of varying amounts of money are also available. You must apply for these in the spring semester. The results of all scholarship decisions should be announced during March and April of each year. Please contact the Financial Aid Office (523-1778) for information about student loans.
External Fellowship Opportunities
James Madison Fellowships
- Description: The James Madison is a federally-endowed fellowship program designed to strengthen instruction about the U.S. Constitution at the secondary school level. Graduating seniors without teaching experience who intend to pursue a career in teaching American history or political science can receive funding for two years of master's level graduate study of the framing and history of the Constitution. Fellows must agree to teach full-time in a secondary school for no less than one year for each full year of fellowship support.
- Eligibility: You must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. national. You are required to be a teacher, or plan to become a teacher, of American history, American government, or social studies at the secondary school level (grades 7-12). You must possess a bachelor's degree or plan to receive a bachelor's degree no later than August 31 of the year in which you are applying. Wait at least three years from the time that any previous graduate degree was awarded before applying for a James Madison Fellowship.
- Duration: 2 years
- Amount: Maximum amount of each award is $24,000.
- Link: www.collegescholarships.com/scholarships_31.html
Richard M. Weaver Fellowships
- Description: The Weaver Fellowship Program assists future teachers who are motivated by the need to integrate the idea of liberal education with their teaching efforts, and, in so doing, to restore to university studies their distinction and worth. The theme of the required essay is "Education and a Free Society."
- Eligibility: The Weaver Fellowship Program is maintained exclusively for those who will teach. Applicants must engage in graduate studies for the purpose of teaching at the college level. Those attending pre-professional (medical, law) schools are ineligible. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and college seniors or graduate students who are familiar with ISI's purposes and programs and who receive The Intercollegiate Review.
- Duration: 1 year
- Amount: $5,000 stipend and payment of tuition at school of choice
- Link: www.isi.org/programs/fellowships/richard_weaver.html
Salvatori Fellowships
- Description: The ISI Salvatori Fellowship provides $10,000 to each awardee for graduate work related to the American Founding. Two of these graduate fellowships are awarded annually. The theme of the required essay is "The American Founding and a Free Society.
- Eligibility: Salvatori Fellows must do graduate work in a field related to the American Founding. Applicants must engage in graduate studies for the purpose of teaching at the college level. Those attending pre-professional (medical, law) schools are ineligible. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and college seniors or graduate students who are familiar with ISI's purposes and programs and who receive The Intercollegiate Review.
- Duration: 1 year
- Amount: $10,000
- Link: www.isi.org/programs/fellowships/salvatori.html
Western Civilization Fellowships
- Description: The ISI Western Civilization Fellowship awards each recipient $20,000 for graduate work related to Western Civilization studies. Three of these graduate fellowships are awarded annually. The theme of the required essay is "Liberty and the Western Idea."
- Eligibility: Students must pursue education related to Western Civilization studies. Applicants must engage in graduate studies for the purpose of teaching at the college level. Those attending pre-professional (medical, law) schools are ineligible. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and college seniors or graduate students who are familiar with ISI's purposes and programs and who receive The Intercollegiate Review.
- Duration: 1 year
- Amount: $20,000
- Link: www.isi.org/programs/fellowships/western_civilization.html
Jacob K. Javits Fellowships
- Description: This program provides fellowships to students of superior academic ability—selected on the basis of demonstrated achievement, financial need, and exceptional promise—to undertake study at the doctoral and Master of Fine Arts level in selected fields of arts, humanities, and social sciences.
- Eligibility: The Department of Education awards fellowships in selected fields of study of the arts, humanities and social sciences. Panels of experts appointed by the Javits Fellowship Board (Board) select fellows according to criteria established by the Board. Students must demonstrate financial need by filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid
- Duration: Up to the lesser of 48 months or the completion of a degree.
- Amount: Varies. In fiscal year 2006, the institutional payment was $12,224 and the maximum stipend was $30,000.
- Link: www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/announcements/2004-2/062904b.html
Ford Foundation Pre-Doctoral Fellowships
- Description: Awards will be made for study in research-based Ph.D. or Sc.D. programs that include the following major disciplines and related interdisciplinary fields: American studies, anthropology, archaeology, art and theater history, astronomy, chemistry, communications, computer science, earth sciences, economics, engineering, ethnomusicology, geography, history, international relations, language, life sciences, linguistics, literature, mathematics, performance study, philosophy, physics, political science, psychology, religion, sociology, urban planning, and women’s studies. Also eligible are interdisciplinary ethnic studies programs, such as African American studies and Native American studies, and other interdisciplinary programs, such as area studies, peace studies, and social justice.
- Eligibility: Students must be citizens or nationals of the United States regardless of race, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation (must have become a U.S. citizen by November 16, 2006). Eligibility is limited to individuals with evidence of superior academic achievement (such as grade point average, class rank, honors or other designations), individuals committed to a career in teaching and research at the college or university level, individuals enrolled in or planning to enroll in an eligible research-based program leading to a Ph.D. or Sc.D. degree at a U.S. educational institution, and individuals who have not earned a doctoral degree at any time, in any field.
- Duration: 1 year
- Amount: Annual stipend: $20,000, award to the institution in lieu of tuition and fees: $3,000, and expenses paid to attend at least one Conference of Ford Fellows.
- Link: www.nationalacademies.org/FORDfellowships/fordpredoc.html
Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowships
- Description: The Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowships seek to increase the diversity of the nation’s college and university faculties by increasing their ethnic and racial diversity, to maximize the educational benefits of diversity, and to increase the number of professors who can and will use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students. To facilitate this goal the Fellowship grants awards at the Predoctoral, Dissertation and, Postdoctoral levels to students whom demonstrate excellence, a commitment to diversity and, a desire to enter the professoriate.
- Eligibility: Students must be citizens or nationals of the United States regardless of race, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation (must have become a U.S. citizen by November 16, 2006). Eligibility is limited to individuals with evidence of superior academic achievement (such as grade point average, class rank, honors or other designations), individuals committed to a career in teaching and research at the college or university level, individuals enrolled in or planning to enroll in an eligible research-based program leading to a Ph.D. or Sc.D. degree at a U.S. educational institution, and individuals who have not earned a doctoral degree at any time, in any field.
- Duration: 1-3 years
- Amount: Approximately 60 Predoctoral Awards at
$20,000 per year for up to three years.
Approximately 35 Dissertation Awards at $21,000 for one year.
Approximately 20 Postdoctoral Awards at $40,000 for one year. - Link: www.nationalacademies.org/fordfellowships
Social Science Research Council Fellowships
A) Dissertation Proposal Development Fellowship (DPDF)
- Description: The DPDF program is designed to intervene at a critical moment in the career development of graduate students in the humanities and social sciences by aiding their transition from students to researchers.
- Eligibility: DPDF will be open to early-stage graduate students in all disciplines of the social sciences and humanities who are currently enrolled in PhD programs at accredited universities in the United States. Fellowships will include support for sustained research and/or training, as well as participation in two sets of workshops (scheduled for May 17-20 in Denver; and September 6-9, 2007 in St. Louis). These workshops include seminar discussions, collective and constructive critiques by faculty and fellow students, and presentations about securing research funding.
- Duration: Varies
- Amount: To Be Announced
B) Eurasia Fellowship
- Description: The Eurasia Program is pleased to announce a fellowship program for research on the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and the New States of Eurasia. Research related to the non-Russian states, regions, and peoples is particularly encouraged.
- Eligibility: All SSRC Eurasia proposals are reviewed by an interdisciplinary panel that rewards clarity of argument, purpose, theory, and method, written in a style accessible to readers outside the applicant’s discipline. All proposals are expected to meet high levels of academic merit and to address the current needs of the field of Eurasian Studies. Additionally, regardless of discipline or the historical time period under examination, each applicant is expected to clearly express the relevance of his/her training and research to the contemporary world. Fellowships are available to U.S. citizens and permanent residents only.
- Duration: 1 year
- Amount: Varies- up to $22,000
- Link: www.ssrc.org/fellowships
The Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship
- Description: The Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships are designed to encourage original and significant study of ethical or religious values in all fields of the humanities and social sciences, and particularly to help Ph.D. candidates in these fields complete their dissertation work in a timely manner. In addition to topics in religious studies or in ethics (philosophical or religious), dissertations appropriate to the Newcombe Fellowship competition might explore the ethical implications of foreign policy, the values influencing political decisions, the moral codes of other cultures, and religious or ethical issues reflected in history or literature.
- Eligibility: The Newcombe Fellowships are provided to Ph.D. candidates at institutions in the United States who will complete their dissertations during the fellowship year. Fellows may not have held a similar national award for the final dissertation year, nor may they have previously applied for the Newcombe Fellowshipv
- Duration: 1 year
- Amount: $19,000
- Link: www.woodrow.org/newcombe/index.php