Lyon G. Tyler Department of History Graduate Program

Grants & Fellowships

Pocahontas

Funding and Travel Grants for Graduate Students in History

There is a wide range of funding available to graduate students through the History Department and other offices on and off campus.

Doctoral Program
All doctoral students who apply for funding are awarded four or five-year stipend packages of $14,000 plus full tuition and fees, depending on whether they enter with an MA in hand. While on stipend, they normally serve as apprentices (see the apprenticeship program) in their MA year, then as teaching assistants for three semesters, and then take a semester off while they study for their comprehensive exams. In their fourth year on stipend, students normally teach their own class (usually the U.S. survey), and then they have a year to devote entirely to their dissertation research.
Doctoral students who need more time to finish their dissertations can then apply for one of seven research fellowships, History Writing and Resource Center Preceptorships, and TAships that are awarded competitively to students who have passed their comprehensive exams and are "all but dissertation." These fellowships are generously supported by the George Washington Fellowship of the General Society for Colonial Wars, the Glucksman Endowment, the Mr. and Mrs. Harrison Ruffin Tyler Endowment Fund, and the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. See below.

MA Program
Applicants to the full-time Master's Programs may also apply for funding, though there are not stipends for all students admitted. Stipends are $4,000 plus tuition remission to the in-state level. Awards are assigned on a merit basis. Students who receive a stipend are assigned as apprentices (see apprenticeship program) or, occasionally, as graduate or research assistants.
In past years, students have received generous support from the First Families of Virginia, Mr. and Mrs. Harrison Ruffin Tyler Endowment Fund, the Pilgrims, Jamestown, Irwin, Swem Library, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

Research and Conference Travel Funds
There are several sources of travel funds on campus.
The Graduate Student Association doles out conference travel funds once a year.
The Grants Office administers the competition for Minor Research Grants (up to $500).
Graduate students can apply to the Dean of Research and Graduate Studies for travel funds as well. 
Students can apply to the History Department twice a year for Tyler Travel grants for conference or research travel.
Graduate students who have passed their comprehensive exams may receive Provost Summer Grants of up to $1,500 which fund dissertation research.
For international travel, graduate students can apply to the Reves Center whether they are presenting a paper or merely want to attend a conference in their field. The Charles Center oversees students' applications for various national fellowships, some of which are open to graduate students, such as the Fulbright Fellowship, Luce, and Mellon fellowships programs.

External Sources of Funding

Internal sources of funding are just the tip of the iceberg. There are hundreds of external sources of funding as well. The Office of Grants and Research Administration has on-line information about many off-campus grants as well as guides to help you prepare your applications. Off campus, the various historical associations are excellent sources of information on grants and prizes of interest to graduate students. The American Historical Association, for example, has several awards aimed specifically at graduate students in particular fields. The AHA's guide to Grants, Fellowships and Prizes of Interest to Historians is an excellent source of information.  You can uy a hardcopy or find it online if you are a member of th AHA.  The Organizaton of American Historians has information about fellowships and prizes in a wide range of fields on its website. APSA, the American Political Science Association, maintains a long on-line list of graduate fellowships and prizes, many of which are relevant to historians. There are grants for people studying Thomas Jefferson, grants for dissertations on sexuality, grants for graduate students who want to travel to conferences or learn another language, you name it. Many libraries and historical societies have unpublished grants for historians who need to use their collections.  Ask them! These external sources of funding may keep you from waiting tables when you'd rather be working on your dissertation, and they will look good on your curriculum vitae.  Small grants will help you get big ones, so don't ignore them becasue they seem like to much trouble.

A Small Sample of Fellowship Links of Interest to Graduate Students:

Grants and Fellowships Administered by the History Department (to get application materials, click Forms).

Provost's Summer Grants for Graduate Research
Eligible:All graduate students who have passed comprehensivedoctoral examinations may apply, but those who are still onstipend will be given preference.

Amount: Students may apply for awards up to $1,500 each, butfinal awards may be prorated according to the availability offunds.

Deadline: April 1, 2008.

Students who wish to apply should submit in triplicate to the graduate director:

  1. the completed cover sheet
  2. a short letter of application with the title and brief description of your research project, your full name, middle initial, Banner I.D. Number, home address if different from your local address, summer addresses if different from either of the foregoing. The letter should also indicate whether you will be on the College payroll during the summer.
  3. a lengthier discussion of your larger project, its historiographical significance, your methodological approach, and what portion of the larger project you hope to complete this summer. This statement should not exceed 750 words.
  4. a cv, which should indicate dates of degrees, MA thesis title and advisor, your tentative dissertation title and advisor, your teaching and research fields, prizes, awards, publications, talks given, teaching experience, etc.
  5. a budget, including hard estimates of anticipated expenses for travel, housing, and research aids such as microfilm. Meals will not be covered.

Note:Successful applicants will be required to submit a briefreport of their summer research to the DGS by September15 for summer projects or by December 1 for fall projects.Any publications that stem from this research should acknowledgethe Provost's Summer Research Fund.

Tyler Travel Grants for Graduate Students' Conference & Research Travel
Eligible: All M.A. and Ph.D. students working toward a degree in history at William & Mary may apply.

Information: The amount of the awards vary based on the availability of funds and the number of people who apply. Appropriate expenses include transportation costs (rail, bus, or airfare, mileage if driving your own car, use of state vehicle, or rental car if a state car can't be used), lodging, meals, and conference registration.

To apply submit:

  1. your application to the Director of Graduate Studies in triplicate.

Deadline: September 13 for fall travel and the first day of the spring semester for spring or summer travel. You may apply retroactively for conference travel, so long as the travel took place after September of the academic year in which you are applying.

Glucksman Fellowship
Eligible: This fellowship goes to an ABD graduate student ingood standing who is off stipend and is an exceptional scholar and teacher. Priority is given to studentsmaking good progress toward completing their dissertations.

Information: This prize, which in 2007/8 paid $14,000 plusapplicable tuition, allows the recipient to teach one undergraduatecourse: normally a topical seminarin the dissertation field and spend one semester in the History Writing Resources Center. The seminar may be either a 200-levelcourse aimed at sophomores or a 400-level course aimed at juniorsand seniors. We offer the option of teaching and working in the Writing Center during the same semester, so that you can keep the other semesteropen for full-time dissertation writing (and-hopefully-on campus interviews).

To apply submit:

  1. a cover letter;
  2. an approximately 750 word summary of your dissertation, including a plan detailing whenand how you will finish it;
  3. a letter fromyour dissertation advisor, which addresses your qualificationsfor the award as well as the practicality of your dissertation-completionplan;
  4. a writing sample (preferably a chapter from your dissertation);
  5. a set of teaching evaluations from at least one course (do not glean them);
  6. a detailed course proposal and syllabus for the class you propose to teach (if the proposed course overlaps with a course offered by a faculty member, you should check with that professor to avoid duplication).
  7. a cv, which indicates dates of degrees, MA thesis title and advisor, your tentative dissertation title and advisor, your teaching and research fields, prizes, awards, publications, talks given, teaching experience, etc. <.li>

Deadline: January 25, 2008

The George Washington Fellowship of theGeneral Society for Colonial Wars
Eligible: This award goes to an ABD graduate student whois off-stipend and who is writing a dissertation in colonialhistory.

Information: The fellowship offers a $5,000 stipend. Pendingthe approval of the Dean of Graduate Studies, the recipientmay receive an additional $9,000 plus applicable tuition andserve as a consultant in the History Writing Resources Centerfor fifteen hours per week over the course of one semester.During the other semester, the student devotes all of his orher time to finishing the dissertation.

To apply submit:

  1. a cover letter;
  2. an approximately 750 word summary of your dissertation, including a plan detailing whenand how you will finish it;
  3. a letter fromyour dissertation advisor, which addresses your qualificationsfor the award as well as the practicality of your dissertation-completionplan;
  4. a writing sample (preferably a chapter from your dissertation);
  5. a cv, which indicates dates of degrees, MA thesis title and advisor, your tentative dissertation title and advisor, your teaching and research fields, prizes, awards, publications, talks given, teaching experience, etc.

Deadline: January 25, 2008

Writing Center Preceptorships
Eligible: All graduate students in good standing may apply,but priority goes to ABDs off-stipend who have demonstratedexcellence writers and as teaching assistants.

Information: We hope to offer at least two positions as consultant/preceptorsat the History Writing and Research Center. For $14,000 plusapplicable tuition (as of 2006/7), consultants work fifteen hours per weekat the Center for the entire academic year and devote the restof their time to finishing their dissertations.

To apply submit:

  1. a cover letter;
  2. an approximately 750 word summary of your dissertation, including a plan detailing when and how you will finish it;
  3. a letter from your dissertation advisor, which addresses your qualifications for the award as well as the practicality of your dissertation-completion plan;
  4. a writing sample (preferably a chapter from your dissertation);
  5. a set of teaching evaluations from at least one course (do not glean them);
  6. a cv, which indicates dates of degrees, MA thesis title and advisor, your tentative dissertation title and advisor, your teaching and research fields, prizes, awards, publications, talks given, teaching experience, etc.

Deadline: January 25, 2008

Note: If you are applying for more than one prize at the same time, you may use one application packet that addresses the various prizes. Your cover letter should rank your preferences.

Global History TA Fellowships

Application Deadline: January 25, 2008

Eligible: These fellowships go to ABD graduate students in good standing who are off stipend, have experience as teaching assistants, and have excellent teaching evaluations. Priority is given to students making good progress toward completing their dissertations.

Information: These two fellowships pay $14,000 plus applicable tuition. Each requires that the recipient serve as a grader and discussion leader for four sections (of 12 students) of HIST 192-Global History in their fellowship year (2007-2008). Fellows will TA either during the fall or spring semester of their fellowship. The other semester of the fellowship year is open for full-time dissertation writing (and hopefully job applications or campus interviews).

To apply submit:

  1. a cover letter;
  2. an approximately 750 word summary of your dissertation, including a plan detailing when and how you will finish it;
  3. a letter from your dissertation advisor, which addresses your qualifications for the fellowship as well as the practicality of your dissertation-completion plan;
  4. a writing sample (preferably a chapter from your dissertation;
  5. a complete set of teaching evaluations from at least one course;
  6. a cv, which indicates dates of degrees, MA thesis title and advisor, your tentative dissertation title and advisor, your teaching and research fields, prizes, awards, publications, talks given, teaching experience, etc.