Funding and Awards

The history department endeavors to provide 5-year funding packages to as many Ph.D. students as resources allow.  Typically these packages include one or two years of fellowship and three years of Teaching or Research Assistantships.  Ph.D. students are encouraged to apply for outside funding to support their dissertation research and writing. While most M.A. students are not guaranteed funding, many students often receive full funding each semester through work as a Teaching Assistant or Graduate Assistant. There are many opportunities to work as Graduate or Research Assistants outside of the Department of History to receive full funding as well (i.e. Advising, ARHU, etc.).

Please consult the content in this section to determine how to apply for both university and external financial support.

The following list of resources is for current students seeking sources of funding:

SPIN PLUS - https://spin.infoedglobal.com/Home/SOLRSearch

Teaching and Research assistantships require a weekly time commitment not to exceed an average of twenty (20) hours per week. 

Teaching assistants are required to attend regularly-scheduled lectures, to lead no more than four weekly discussion sections, to hold regular office hours, to meet regularly with the supervising faculty, and to correct and grade student papers. The maximum number of students per teaching assistantship will be eighty (80), unless otherwise noted.

The supervising faculty or advisor may define additional duties and expectations for graduate assistants, research assistants, or fellows in accord with policies and practices described in the Department’s Faculty Handbook and mentoring policy document.

The renewal of assistantships is tied to prior guarantees of funding, satisfactory performance in this assignment, progress-to-degree, departmental needs, and budgetary resources.

Statements of Mutual Expectations

1) Research Assistant Statement of Mutual Expectations

2) Teaching Assistant Statement of Mutual Expectations 

Mentoring Best Practices 

All doctoral students are expected to make good faith efforts to seek outside funding for pre-dissertation and dissertation field research, as appropriate. The National Scholarships Office and the American Historical Association maintain databases of external funding sources and opportunities.  Every year the Department notifies students of external fellowships that come to our attention.  Our students have been very successful at obtaining Fulbright and Mellon Fellowships.  In 2015, one of our Ph.D. students was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to conduct dissertation research in Latin America.

History graduate students may seek assistantships and hourly employment at other campus units, as well as other forms of external support. University Human Resources maintains a list of Employment Opportunities.

Appointments made outside of the Department may be subject to Payroll, Office of Research Administration and Advancement, and/or International Education Services oversight, when appropriate.

Additional information on the costs and financing options for graduate education is available through the Office of the Bursar and the Office of Student Financial Aid.