Graduate School Endowed Fellowships
Graduate School Endowed Fellowships for Advanced PhD students
Each year the Graduate School awards competitive fellowships to doctoral students across the University. The goal of these fellowships is to increase the amount of support that students have for their work toward the PhD, especially in fields where research assistantships are generally unavailable and teaching is the primary means of support.
The annual stipend for advanced PhD fellowships is $30,000 for one academic year. The fellowships also include tuition, health and dental insurance, university mandatory fees and eligibility for Graduate School travel grants for conferences and research.
Each PhD program may nominate up to three candidates for each type of fellowship.
If you are interested in being nominated for one or more of these fellowships by the Graduate Study Committee, please submit all application materials listed for the fellowship (below) no later than March 1st to: Brett Sheehan, Director of Graduate Studies
Note the requirements specific to each type of fellowship. If you are nominated by the Department of History for an award, you will be asked to submit additional materials required for consideration by the Graduate School.
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Endowed PhD Fellowships are for students who have passed their screening and/or qualifying exams, who are making good progress to the degree in terms of both quality of work and timing, and who can provide a compelling statement about their current or planned research.
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Research Enhancement Fellowships are designed to provide additional opportunities for outstanding PhD students in any field whose research requires work in particularly complex or distant settings, expertise in languages classified by the federal government as “less commonly taught,” or other unusual expenses for activities that are essential for the student’s research. Selection will be based on the quality and research potential of the graduate student and the likelihood that the additional resources will have a notable effect on the academic career of the student. The fellowship provides one year of fellowship at the Graduate School fellowship rate and up to $5,000 in research, travel, or training funds. Candidates must be doing high-quality work, making timely progress to their degree, have completed at least two years in their USC PhD program, and must be able to make a compelling statement about their current or planned research and why the planned extra work is essential to the research.
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Dissertation Completion Fellowships are awarded on a competitive basis, with emphasis on fields where research assistantships are not generally available. The Dissertation Completion Fellowship is intended to facilitate the final completion and submission of dissertations. Upon completion of this fellowship, recipients are no longer eligible for further funding as a graduate student at USC.
The Roberta Persinger Foulke Endowment Fellowship
Established by USC Alumna Roberta Persinger Foulke (BA/MA History 1936), The Roberta Persinger Foulke Endowment Fellowship will provide funding for travel and research by doctoral students who demonstrate the ability or desire to further the interests of women/gender in the field of history or historical studies.
Grants are available to doctoral students in History who satisfy fellowship requirements.
Foulke grants are awarded every Spring. Please watch your email in March for the annual Call for Proposals or check with the DGS, Brett Sheehan.
Research Awards for Doctoral Students in History
The Van Hunnick History Department at USC may be able to offer competitive awards for History doctoral students aimed at funding graduate research that accelerates completion of the degree and/or leads directly to publication of a journal article or monograph.
Information about these fellowship opportunities will be made available in the Spring Semester. Questions? Check with the DGS, Brett Sheehan.
Provost’s Mentored Teaching Fellows
The Provost’s Mentored Teaching Fellows program is open to USC PhD students, preferably those entering their third or fourth year of study. Students must be making timely progress to the degree, have an outstanding record in coursework, and have strong student evaluations and faculty recommendations for at least one and preferably two semesters of work as a teaching assistant or assistant lecturer at USC.
The student and the faculty mentor chosen by the student apply jointly to develop a 4-unit undergraduate course akin to one typically taught by a new junior faculty member. The course must be accessible to undergraduate students from a wide array of majors and have a projected enrollment of 15-30 students. The first semester of the fellowship is devoted to course preparations and participation in the Provost’s Mentored Teaching Fellows Seminar conducted jointly by the Graduate School and the Center for Excellence in Teaching. During the second semester, the fellow teaches the course that she or he has prepared and continues participation in the seminar. In addition to a stipend at the level other USC advanced fellowships ($30,000), the fellow receives a $1,000 research account to be used for research expenses and professional travel. The student’s faculty mentor will receive a $500 contribution to his or her research account. Programs may nominate up to three students for the Provost’s Mentored Teaching Fellowship.
To apply for nomination by the History Department, please submit the following materials no later than March 1st to: Brett Sheehan, Director of Graduate Studies.
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- The draft of a syllabus for the course the student proposes to teach, including a statement of course goals and learning outcomes, a list of readings and any other materials for study, and a sample possible paper topic, exam, or graded project. (The student and mentor will work up the full syllabus together during the fall semester preparatory period.)
- A curriculum vitae
- A statement of teaching philosophy and goals (up to 500 words).
- A statement describing his/her research, including a timeline for finishing the
- Dissertation, planned career trajectory, and any achievements (up to 500 words).
- A summary of at least one semester’s teaching evaluations.
- A recommendation (up to 250 words) submitted directly to GSC by your mentor.
External Funding
External funding resources are listed below by field of study. Please check back regularly for more updates!
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American Council of Learned Societies
(ACLS): ACLS offers a select number of fellowships to graduate students at the dissertation level; notably, they currently offer the Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellowship and funds for Southeastern Europe studies.
American Historical Association (AHA) Research Grants
This page lists the graduate-level funding opportunities available through the AHA. Recipients must be AHA members, and preference is given to those who are at least in the advanced stages of their PhD program.
Charlotte Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship
Available to individuals completing a dissertation related to religious or ethical values; specifically, this fellowship is available to students who have completed the research portion of their dissertation and have only the writing portion left to complete.
Dissertation Proposal Development Fellowship (DPDF) Program
The Dissertation Proposal Development Fellowship (DPDF) program supports mid-stage graduate students in formulating effective doctoral dissertation research proposals that contribute to the development of interdisciplinary fields of study in the humanities and social sciences. Intended to help emerging scholars make the transition from learners to producers of knowledge within innovative areas of inquiry, the fellowship creates a space for multidisciplinary faculty mentorship and opens unique opportunities for both interdisciplinary and international network building.
Awards for study and research overseas for doctoral students. The Office of International Studies provides guidance to WashU students in the Fulbright application process. For more information about the on-campus application process, please see http://penn.wustl.edu/~ias/grants.html#grants
Specifically funds students studying modern languages other than English or area studies for six to 12 months.
Grants and Contracts in Graduate Studies
Sponsored by NYU, this website lists grant opportunities in a variety of fields.
Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation
This foundation offers dissertation fellowships. In particular, “questions that interest the foundation concern violence, aggression, and dominance in relation to social change, the socialization of children, intergroup conflict, interstate warfare, crime, family relationships, and investigations of the control of aggression and violence.”
H-Net regularly updates its funding announcements; this page lists the most recently entered opportunity announcements. Check back regularly, or subscribe to the H-Net Announcements listserv, to identify new opportunities.
Institute for Humane Studies (HIS)
Offers annual fellowship awards for graduate students, as well as summer grants for graduate students to attend HIS seminars.
International Dissertation Research Fellowship
The International Dissertation Research Fellowship (IDRF) program supports distinguished graduate students in the humanities and social sciences conducting dissertation research outside the United States…The IDRF program is committed to scholarship that advances knowledge about non-U.S. cultures and societies grounded in empirical and site-specific research (involving fieldwork, research in archival or manuscript collections, or quantitative data collection). The program promotes research that is at once located in a specific discipline and geographical region and engaged with interdisciplinary and cross-regional perspectives.
Graduate students are eligible for short-term fellowships, which fund research at the library. The facility’s holdings feature materials related to the colonial history of the Americas, North and South, including all aspects of the European, African, and Native American involvement.
Josephine de Karman Fellowship
Awarded to students who are in the final year of their dissertation preparation; no specific field is required to be considered for this fellowship.
To explore the opportunities available through the Library of Congress, utilize their searchable database. The Library of Congress regularly offers fellowships, internships, and similar opportunities for graduate students.
Missouri State Archives – William E. Foley Research Fellowship
This fellowship provides up to $2,000 to help support the use of its public records in scholarly research. Any research project that utilizes the holdings of the Missouri State Archives and/or its St. Louis branch to further knowledge of state or national history is eligible for funding.
The Newberry Library offers diverse fellowships, including long-term, short-term, and special awards. The link above is for the listing of fellowships in the Humanities.
Social Science Research Council
Supports field research for PhD students to use their knowledge of distinctive cultures, societies, languages, economies, polities, and histories, in combination with their disciplinary training, to address issues that transcend their disciplines or area specializations. The program supports scholarship that treats place and setting in relation to broader phenomena as well as in particular historical and cultural contexts.
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American Institute of Maghrib Studies (AIMS)
The program offers grants to US scholars interested in conducting research on North Africa in any Maghrib country, specifically Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, or Mauritania. AIMS sponsors three Overseas Research Centers in the region in Oran, Tunis and Tangier and has other institutional affiliations that support AIMS scholars. AIMS only funds primary research conducted in the Maghrib.
Awards for study and research overseas for doctoral students. The Office of International Studies provides guidance to WashU students in the Fulbright application process. For more information about the on-campus application process, please see http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~overseas/grants.html#fullbright
Specifically funds students studying modern languages other than English or area studies for six to 12 months.
NSEP David Boren Graduate Fellowship
Provides research funds to graduate students pursuing studies in areas considered critical to U.S. interests (currently includes Africa, Asia, Central and East Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, Caribbean, and the Middle East). Recipients are expected to work for select government agencies after completing their education.
Social Science Research Council
Supports field research for PhD students to use their knowledge of distinctive cultures, societies, languages, economies, polities, and histories, in combination with their disciplinary training, to address issues that transcend their disciplines or area specializations. The program supports scholarship that treats place and setting in relation to broader phenomena as well as in particular historical and cultural contexts.
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Funds dissertation and postdoctoral reserach with both short- and long-term fellowships; recipients use awards to conduct research at the Society’s library in Worcester, Massachusetts.
American Philosophical Society
The Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research assists scholars conducting field studies. In particular, the organization encourages applications from disciplines with a large dependence on field studies, such as archaeology, anthropology, biology, ecology, geography, geology, linguistics, and paleontology, but grants will not be restricted to those fields.
Center for Military History Dissertation Fellowships
The Center for Military History (CMH) Dissertation Fellowships supports research on the history of warfare. Three fellowships are offered annually. One, funded by the National Museum of the U.S. Army, is designed to support dissertations that explore the material culture of the Army; the two others support research in the more general area of military history in all its many aspects. In your application, please specify if you wish to compete for the two general fellowships or for the Museum fellowship. These fellowships carry a $10,000 stipend and access to the Center’s facilities and technical expertise.
Gilder Lehrman Institute for American History
For graduate students, dissertation fellowships are available to complete reserach at the Institute’s facility in New York. Gilder Lehrman’s holdings focus particularly on materials dealing with American history from 1760 to 1876.
International Center for Jefferson Studies
Offers multiple short- and long-term research awards in conjunction with centers such as the Gilder Lehrman Institute and the McNeil Center.
Library Company of Philadelphia
The Library Company, in conjunction with the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, provides one-month fellowships for students who wish to utilize their facilities. Holdings at these facilities specialize in Early American history.
McNeil Center for Early American Studies
Funds dissertation-level students who research any aspect of North American or Caribbean history prior to 1850; special consideration is given to students who plan to utilize their facilities in Philadelphia.
Jefferson Scholars Foundation at UVA
One-year, dissertation-level awards for students pursuing research and writing in any of the fields named above. Recipients are expected to complete their dissertation at the end of the fellowship period. Residence on-site is encouraged during the fellowship term, but is not required.
Organization of American Historians (OAH) Huggins-Quarles Award
Makes awards to graduate students of color who are completing the dissertation stage of their program.
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Awards for study and research overseas for doctoral students. The Office of International Studies provides guidance to WashU students in the Fulbright application process. For more information about the on-campus application process, please see: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~overseas
Institute for Historical Research
Research fellowships provided by the Royal Historical Society are available to applicants from any country.
North American Conference on British Studies
Offers two dissertation fellowships; the first is for students desiring to pursue research in the U.K. related to their field, while the second funds students using the Huntington Library in California.
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Awards for study and research overseas for doctoral students. The Office of International Studies provides guidance to WashU students in the Fulbright application process. For more information about the on-campus application process, please see:http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~overseas
Specifically funds students studying modern languages other than English or area studies for 6-12 months.
The Program supports junior faculty and PhD students of CUHK to undertake short-term research visits at a selected group of leading research institutions listed in the Program Guidelines. In addition, it supports PhD students from those institutions to undertake short-term research attachments at CUHK.
NSEP David Boren Graduate Fellowship
Provides research funds to graduate students pursuing studies in areas considered critical to U.S. interests (currently includes Africa, Asia, Central and East Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Middle East). Recipients are expected to work for select government agencies after completing their education.
Social Science Research Council
Supports field research for PhD students to use their knowledge of distinctive cultures, societies, languages, economies, polities, and histories, in combination with their disciplinary training, to address issues that transcend their disciplines or area specializations. The program supports scholarship that treats place and setting in relation to broader phenomena as well as in particular historical and cultural contexts.
The Spencer Foundation awards a dissertation fellowship for students pursuing some aspect of education-related research. Potential applicants are encouraged to visit the organization’s website to learn more about their specific areas of interest.
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American Council of Learned Societies
ACLS offers a select number of fellowships to graduate students at the dissertation level; notably, they currently offer the Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellowship and funds for Southeastern European studies.
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
This organization offers multiple awards for different purposes such as language study, summer research, and predoctoral research in Germany. Select “Applications” from the left-hand menu on the home page to go to an overview of awards for graduate and PhD-level students.
Awards for study and research overseas for doctoral students. The Office of International Studies provides guidance to WashU students in the Fulbright application process. For more information about the on-campus application process, please see:Awards for study and research overseas for doctoral students. The Office of International Studies provides guidance to WashU students in the Fulbright application process. For more information about the on-campus application process, please see:http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~overseas
Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbuettel
Provides funding for students using the library’s holdings. International students are eligible to apply.
Leo Baeck Institute for the Study of the History and Culture of German-Speaking Jewry
Awards several fellowships for German-Jewish studies, particularly for students wishing to utilize the Leo Baeck Institute’s facility in New York.
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Lists awards available for fields related to the history of medicine and science. Some awards are for specific disciplines.
Chemical Heritage Foundation Fellowship
Various awards related to the history of chemistry and chemical industries, as well as one fellowship for students studying the history of science, medicine, or technology.
Francis A. Countway Library Fellowship in the History of Medicine
Funds students pursuing research on the history of medicine at th Francis A. Countway Library. These are short-term grants that assist with covering the cost of travel, lodging, and other incidental funds.
Francis C. Wood Institute for the History of Medicine Resident Research Felowship
Short-term funds for students who wish to utilize the Wood Institute and/or the Historical Library at the College of Physicians in Philadelphia.
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Variety of funds related to science research; includes a searchable database of active and inactive funding opportunities.
National Science Foundation (NSF)
NSF funds are for students entering graduate school or applying during their first year of graduate studies. Although the majority of funds are granted to students in the sciences, students emphasizing history of science may also be eligible for awards.
Wellcome Trust Doctoral Studentship
Designed for students pursuing studies related to the history of medicine and seeking to attend a program in the U.K., the Republic of Ireland, or the Netherlands. Students must have completed a master’s program in order to be eligible.
NSEP David Boren Graduate Fellowship
Provides research funds to graduate students pursuing studies in areas considered critical to U.S. interests (currently includes Africa, Asia, Central and East Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Middle East). Recipients are expected to work for select government agencies after completing their education.
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Leo Baeck Institute for the Study of the History and Culture of German-Speaking Jewry
Awards several fellowships for German-Jewish studies, particularly for students wishing to utilize the Leo Baeck Institute’s facility in New York.
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American Center of Oriental Research
The American Center of Oriental Research offers a variety of fellowships for students in history and other fields; many awards are designed for students at the dissertation stage of their academic progress.
American Research Institute in Turkey
Funds research and language study for students wishing to study in Turkey. Research fellowships are available for dissertation-level and postdoctoral students; language awards are available to graduate students at all stages and provides funds for an 8-week program.
American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE)
Assists scholars who study any period of Egyptian history and/or the near east.
Awards for study and research overseas for docotral students. The Office of International Studies provides guidance to WashU students in the Fulbright application process. For more information about the on-campus application process, please see: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~overseas
Specifically funds students studying modern languages other than English, or area studies for six to twelve months.
NSEP David Boren Graduate Fellowship
Provides research funds to graduate students pursuing studies in areas considered critical to U.S. interests (currently includes Africa, Asia, Central and East Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, Caribbean, and the Middle East). Recipients are expected to work for select government agencies after completing their education.
Social Science Research Council
Supports field research for PhD students to use their knowledge of distinctive cultures, societies, languages, economies, polities, and histories, in combination with their disciplinary training, to address issues that transcend their disciplines or area specializations. The program supports scholarship that treats place and setting in relation to broader phenomena as well as in particular historical and cultural contexts.
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Center for Military History Dissertation Fellowships
The Center for Military History (CMH) Dissertation Fellowships supports research on the history of warfare. Three fellowships are offered annually. One, funded by the National Museum of the U.S. Army, is designed to support dissertations that explore the material culture of the Army; the two others support research in the more general area of military history in all its many aspects. In your application, please specify if you wish to compete for the two general fellowships or for the Museum fellowship. These fellowships carry a $10,000 stipend and access to the Center’s facilities and technical expertise.
NSEP David Boren Graduate Fellowship
Provides research funds to graduate students pursuing studies in areas considered critical to U.S. interests (currently includes Africa, Asia, Central and East Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, Caribbean, and the Middle East). Recipients are expected to work for select government agencies after completing their education.
Dissertation fellowships for students pursuing research related to international conflict and peace.
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American Association of University Women (AAUW) Fellowships and Grants
AAUW offers a variety of fellowships and grants for women; for graduate students, fellowships are available for women completing the dissertation portion of their studies.
Mary Lily Research Grants (Duke University)
The Mary Lily Research Grants provide funding for individuals who wish to utilize the holdings at Duke University’s Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture.
Woodrow Wilson Foundation Dissertation Fellowships in Women’s Studies
Designed for students pursuing a dissertation related to some aspect of women’s studies; applicants must have completed pre-dissertation program requirements.
Additional Resources
Doctoral students may also find additional resources and involvement through these affiliated institutes, centers, and programs.
