Funding Resources

Writing Proposals

As you begin the proposal writing proces, you may find the following links helpful, in addition to consulting with your advisor.

The Art of Writing Proposals:
http://www.ssrc.org/fellowships/art_of_writing_proposals

Washington University Resources

Washington University Research Office: Click on "Grants and Contracts" for a list of additional database resources for locating funding opportunities. Includes a list of subscription-based services to which Washington University subscribes.

R.W. Davis Travel Grants: The graduate program supports graduate research and conference participation through R.W. Davis Travel Grants. Awarded on a competitive basis and subject to the limits of department resources, this funding allows students to make short trips to archives and present papers at academic conferences. The award is named for Professor Emeritus Richard W. Davis in recognition of his decades of service to Washington University's doctoral program in history.

Students may apply for a Davis Travel Grant during the academic year by submitting a one-page proposal outlining the rationale for their research or conference plans to the graduate committee. During the summer, the graduate committee awards Davis Travel Grants as part of its regular package of summer support.

External Resources

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.

Community of Science: Community of Science is a searchable database that allows users to identify funding opportunities based on a variety of criteria. Despite the name, this database includes a plethora of opportunities for students in the field of history. Please note: Washington University maintains a subscription to the Community of Science; you will need to be at an on-campus computer to access this database.

Fulbright: 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

Fulbright-Hays: Specifically funds students studying modern foreign languages 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 Awards: 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.

IRIS: IRIS is a searchable funding database; because it requires a subscription, you must be utilizing a computer on the Washington University campus in order to utilize this site.

Jacob Javits: Javits Fellowships are granted to graduate students entering their first year of study; awards are based on several factors, including financial need.

John Carter Brown Library: 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.

Library of Congress: 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.

Newberry Library: The Newberry Library offers diverse fellowships, including long-term, short-term, and special awards. The link above is for the listing of "special awards," but includes links to descriptions of long- and short-term awards.

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.

Africa

Fulbright-Hays: Specifically funds students studying modern foreign languages 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.