Funding for Graduate Students

Approximately 70% of the graduate students in the Department of History are fully funded, and another 20% receive partial funding through a combination of public and private resources.

Entering Graduate Students
The Department funds about half of the entering M.A. and Ph.D. students each year; this funding comes in the form of fellowships, research assistantships, and teaching assistantships. Some fellowships are available to students in all fields; others are restricted to students in particular fields: for example, ancient history, labor history, and Pacific Northwest history. All applicants for admission are considered for the department aid for which they are eligible.

Current Graduate Students
Each Spring, current graduate students apply for departmental funding for the following year. Students in good standing make a single application for all sources of funding for which they are eligible, including teaching assistantships, fellowships, writing link positions, lead teaching assistant, and pre-doctoral instructor positions. The Graduate Studies Committee evaluates these applications and awards funding based on the following criteria:

1. academic merit
2. progress toward the degree in a timely manner
3. performance of duties in any previous departmental position—as a teaching assistant, research assistant, reader, or tutor, etc.

All graduate students are eligible for a maximum of six years of funding through sources controlled by the Department of History, or, if they have funding from outside sources, for a maximum of eight years funding in total. Students may apply for yearly awards until they have reached these limits. Students who have reached their maximum years of funding may be awarded teaching assistantships or research assistantships on a quarterly basis; they may also hold positions as instructors, readers, or writing tutors. Regardless of the funding limits, all students are eligible for small conference and travel awards.