Fellowships and Funding

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Department Financial Aid

A limited number of merit-based financial aid packages for history students are available on a competitive basis from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS). Students apply for aid at the same time they apply for admission to the department. Packages generally include a stipend, a supplement toward the cost of health insurance, and a tuition scholarship, in exchange for which students work 15 hours a week as a graduate assistant.   Those receiving financial aid packages may expect to receive one year of financial aid at the master's level and three years at the doctoral level: generally no more than four years for those applying without the master's degree. Continuing students may expect to continue their financial aid packages provided that they have applied each spring semester, have maintained the stipulated GPA for financial aid (3.5), and are making satisfactory progress toward their degree.

Students who wish to be considered for a teaching fellow position must take the HSGA pedagogy seminar.  Depending on departmental need, grad assistants are usually appointed as teaching fellows sometime after their first year as a PhD student.  Teaching fellows have complete responsibility for a core introductory course (HS 1000 level), including creating the syllabus, lectures, and grading. Most teach one to two sections per semester, depending on departmental needs and a student’s progress through the program.  Teaching fellows receive a stipend and full tuition remission.

As a graduate assistant, students can expect to provide both clerical assistance to the department or another entity within the University, and/or research assistance to an assigned professor. Students awarded financial aid generally serve as a graduate assistant in their first year as a MA student and first year as a PhD student.  Few students are appointed as a teaching fellow until their second or third year of PhD work.


Distinguished Fellowships:

In the later stages of graduate study, students can apply to the department to be considered for a number of distinguished fellowships awarded by the Graduate School.  The GSAS Research Fellowship, typically the first of these awards, relieves students from teaching and research assistant obligations in order to focus on researching their dissertations. Another distinguished fellowship, the Senior Teaching Fellowship, recognizes doctoral candidates who have demonstrated outstanding teaching abilities during their time as teaching fellows. This award is typically the second of the distinguished fellowships a graduate student may expect to receive. The final major distinguished fellowship, the Alumni Dissertation Fellowship, provides an opportunity for recipients to dedicate an entire year to completing their dissertation without teaching or assistantship duties.

All recipients of financial aid must be certified by GSAS as full-time students. All applicants for financial aid must complete a FAFSA application yearly. All New York State resident applicants for financial aid must apply for TAP. No recipient of financial aid may hold outside employment without the permission of the graduate dean.

For more information about financial aid, visit the website of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.


External Fellowships

Doctoral students are encouraged to seek external funding because fellowships won in national competitions help to bolster academic CVs and also provide supplemental funding for research and writing.  Those searching for external funding should contact Dr. Regina Plunkett-Dowling in the Fulbright & Graduate Fellowships Office.  Her office is located in 673 Faber Hall, where she is available for meetings two days a week.  Interested students may contact her for an appointment.  Her email address is plunkettdowl@fordham.edu

Additional information on external funding can be viewed at The Campion Institute website. The Campion Institute assists Fordham students with applications for prestigious fellowships and other forms of external funding.  For graduate students applying for external prestigious fellowships and seeking funding for activities that will strengthen their application, the Campion Institute offers a limited number of Matteo Ricci Summer Fellowships.

For external fellowships received by Fordham’s History graduate students, see Graduate Student News


Loans

For students requiring financial assistance to pay for graduate studies, loans are available through both public and private sources.  Public funding may come from both the federal government and the State of New York.  The federal government provides graduate students with up to $20,500 a year (with a total allowance of $138,000) in both subsidized and unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans.  The GSAS provides directions for graduate students wishing to apply for Stafford Loans. Students must complete FAFSA and a TAP as well as an On-Line Stafford Loan Request.

PLUS Loans are also available for graduate students.  Although PLUS Loans carry a higher interest rate than Stafford Loans, they do not count toward the $138,000 limit on Stafford Loans.  Before applying for PLUS Loans, you must have applied for the maximum annual allowance under the Stafford Loan program, even should you choose not to accept Stafford Loans.  In addition to these federal loan programs, private lenders offer alternative student loans. Although Fordham University has preferred lenders, you are free to find the lender that best fits your needs.

For additional information on graduate student loans, interested students should visit the GSAS financial aid website. Click here for financial services contact information at Fordham.


Guides to Applying for Fellowships

Members of the American Historical Association may access an online directory entitled Grants, Fellowships, & Prizes of Interest to Historians.  For non-members, the AHA also has an Awards and Fellowships section available online within its AHA Calendar.