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Home / Graduate / Resources / Funding Resources for the Graduate Student in History

Funding Resources for the Graduate Student in History

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

http://research.wustl.edu

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.

External Resources

American Council of Learned Societies

http://www.acls.org

(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

http://www.aha.org

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

http://www.newcombefoundation.org

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

http://www.cos.com

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.

Dissertation Proposal Development Fellowship (DPDF) Program

http://www.ssrc.org/programs/dpdf/

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.

Fulbright

http://www.fulbright.org

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

http://www2.ed.gov/programs/iegpsddrap/index.html

Specifically funds students studying modern foreign languages or area studies for six to 12 months.

Grants and Contracts in Graduate Studies

http://www.nyu.edu/financial.aid/scholarships.html

Sponsored by NYU, this website lists grant opportunities in a variety of fields.

Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation

http://www.hfg.org/df/guidelines.htm

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

http://www.h-net.org/announce

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)

http://www.theihs.org/ContentDetails.aspx?id=491

Offers annual fellowship awards for graduate students, as well as summer grants for graduate students to attend HIS seminars.

International Dissertation Research Fellowship

http://www.ncsu.edu/grad/financial-support/idrf.html

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

http://iris.org

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

http://smu.edu/nationalfellowships/javits.asp

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

http://starrcenter.washcoll.edu/fellows/Hodson-Brown_Fellowship.php

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

http://www.advance-africa.com/Josephine-de-Karman-Fellowship-Trust.html

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

http://www.loc.gov/hr/employment/index.php

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

http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/internships/wfrf.asp

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

http://www.newberry.org/research/felshp/fellowshome.html

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

http://www.ssrc.org/fellowships

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

American Institute of Maghrib Studies (AIMS)

http://aimsnorthafrica.org/fellowships/lstuscitz_grants.cfm?menu=2

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.

Fulbright

http://www.fulbright.org

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

Fulbright-Hays

http://www2.ed.gov/programs/iegpsddrap/index.html

Specifically funds students studying modern foreign languages or area studies for six to 12 months.

NSEP David Boren Graduate Fellowship

http://www.borenawards.org

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

http://www.ssrc.org/fellowships

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.

American History

American Antiquarian Society

http://americanantiquarian.org

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

http://www.amphilsoc.org/grants

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

http://www.history.army.mil/html/about/fellowship.html

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

http://www.gilderlehrman.org/historians/fellowship1.html

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

http://www.monticello.org/research/fellowships/index.html

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

http://www.librarycompany.org

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.

Marshall Foundation Baruch Fellowships for U.S. Military/Diplomatic History

http://www.marshallfoundation.org/baruch_marshall_felowships.html

Funds scholars studying military or diplomatic history, including ABD students who have completed a PhD.

McNeil Center for Early American Studies

http://www.arhu.umd.edu/graduate/fellowships/database/20100301-McNeilCenterFellowship

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.

Miller Center Fellowships in Contemporary History, Public Policy, and American Polotics

http://americanpoliticaldevelopment.org

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 at the Miller Center is encouraged during the fellowship term, but is not required.

Organization of American Historians (OAH) Huggins-Quarles Award

http://www.oah.org/activities/awards/hugginsquarles/index.html

Makes awards to graduate students of color who are completing the dissertation stage of their program.

British History

Fulbirght

http://www.fulbrightonline.org

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

http://www.history.ac.uk/awards

Research fellowships provided by the Royal Historcal Society are available to applicants from any country.

North American Conference on British Studies

http://www.nacbs.org

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.

China

Fulbright

http://www.fulbrightonline.org

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

Fulbright-Hays

http://www2.ed.gov/programs/iegpsddrap/index.html

Specifically funds students studying modern foreign languages or area studies for 6-12 months.

Global Scholarship Program for Research Excellence - CNOOC grant, from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)

http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/oal/linkage/fellowships/11021.html

The Programme 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 Programme Guidelines. In addition, it supports PhD students from those institutions to undertake short-term research attachments at CUHK.

NSEP David Boren Graduate Fellowship

http://www.iie.org/programs/nsep/graduate/default.htm

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 Reserach Council

http://www.ssrc.org/programs/idrf

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.

EducationSpencer Foundation

http://www.spencer.org/content.cfm/fellowship-awards

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.

Germany and Europe

American Council of Learned Societies

http://www.acls.org/grants/default.aspx?id=354

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)

http://www.daad.org

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.

Fulbright

http://www.fulbright.org

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: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

Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbuettel

http://www.hab.de/forschung/stipendien/doktora-e.htm

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

http://www.lbi.org/fellowships.html

Awards several fellowships for German-Jewish studies, particularly for students wishing to utilize the Leo Baeck Institute's facility in New York.

History of Medicine and Science

Bakken Fellowships and Grants

http://www.thebakken.org/researchfellowships.html

Lists awards available for fields related to the history of medicine and science. Some awards are for specific disciplines.

Chemical Heritage Foundation Fellowship

http://www.chemheritage.org/research/research.html

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

https://www.countway.harvard.edu/menuNavigation/historicalResources/fellowshipProgram.html

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

http://www.collphyphil.org/erics/Resfels.htm

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)

http://grants1.nih.gov/grants

Variety of funds related to science research; includes a searchable database of active and inactive funding opportunities.

National Science Foundation (NSF)

http://www.nsf.gov/funding/education.jsp?org=NSF&fund_type=2

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

http://ways.org/en/content/wellcome_trust_doctoral_studentship_in_the_ethics_of_collaborative_global

Designed for students pursuing studies related to the hisotry 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.Latin America

NSEP David Boren Graduate Fellowship

http://www.iie.org/programs/nsep/graduate/default.htm

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.

Jewish History

Leo Baeck Institute for the Study of the History and Culture of German-Speaking Jewry

http://www.lbi.org/fellowships.html

Awards several fellowships for German-Jewish studies, particularly for students wishing to utilize the Leo Baeck Institute's facility in New York.

National Foundation for Jewish Culture

http://www.jewishculture.org/?pid=scholarship

Offers funds for ABD students who have proficiency in a Jewish language related to their dissertation studies.

Middle East

American Center of Oriental Research

http://www.bu.edu/acor/fellowsh.htm

The American Center of Oriental Reseach offers a variety of fellowships for students in history and pther foelds; many awards are designed for students at the dissertation stage of their academic progress.

American Research Institute in Turkey

http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/ARIT/FellowshipPrograms.html

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)

http://www.arce.org/fellowships/fellowships.html

Assists scholars who study any period of Egyptian history and/or the near east.

Fulbright

http://www.fulbright.org

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

Fulbright-Hays

http://www2.ed.gov/programs/iegpsddrap/index.html

Specifically funds students studying modern foreign languages or area studies for six to 12 months.

NSEP David Boren Graduate Fellowship

http://www.borenawards.org

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 Reserach Council

http://www.ssrc.org/programs/idrf

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.

Peace and Security

Center for Military History Dissertation Fellowships

http://www.history.army.mil/html/about/fellowship.html

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

http://www.borenawards.org

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.

Olin Institute for Strategic Studies

http://wcfia.harvard.edu/olin

Dissertation and postdoctoral fellowships for research related to war, military strategy and history, defense policy and institutions, and security strategies.

U.S. Institute of Peace

http://www.usip.org/fellow/scholars/html

Dissertation fellowships for students pursuing research related to international conflict and peace.

Women's History

American Association of University Women (AAUW) Fellowships and Grants

http://www.aauw.org/fga/fellowships_grants/american.cfm

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 Reserch Grants (Duke University)

http://library.duke.edu/specialcollections/bingham/grants

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

http://woodrow.org/womens-studies/index.php

Designed for students pursuing a dissertation related to some aspect of women's studies; applicants must have completed pre-dissertation program requirements.

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