Financial Assistance

The department strives to support every student in good standing as fully as possible. Financial resources are, however, limited, and all awards are made on a competitive basis. Aid is ordinarily restricted to students in the PhD program. Entering students may apply for graduate scholarships and graduate assistantships, each of which covers part or all of the tuition. After the first year, students may be eligible for a teaching fellowship, which provides a stipend (the exact level changes from year to year) and a tuition scholarship. Entering students with outstanding records become candidates for Graduate Dean’s Fellowships; these provide a full tuition scholarship and a substantial stipend. Fellows who continue in good standing are candidates for teaching fellowships. Ordinarily financial aid is limited to three years, except for Graduate Dean’s Fellowships, which may offer up to four years of aid. Entering students are urged to familiarize themselves with the various loan programs that provide subsidized loans for graduate education and with work-study opportunities. The department works individually with each student to structure the best possible aid package.

For more general information on aid, please see the financial aid section of the Graduate School website.

There is also a travel fellowship available for doctoral students already enrolled in the graduate program: For students who have passed their qualifying oral examination, the Engelbourg Fellowship provides travel funds to support research for a student’s dissertation. The Graduate School also offers Graduate Research Abroad Fellowships to fund students’ travel. In addition, the department has funds to purchase a short-term pass to Harvard University’s Widener Library for qualified doctoral students.

The General Society of Colonial Wars funds a fellowship, named the General Society of Colonial Wars John Adams Grant for Studies in American Colonial History, for doctoral students working in the period of American history between the founding of Jamestown and the Battle of Lexington. Information on applying for this award is available.