Fellowships & Funding

PhD students who matriculate in Summer 2020 and after will be guaranteed to have funding support from the University of Chicago, external sources, or a combination of the two for the duration of their program to include the following:

• Full tuition coverage
• Annual stipend
• Fully paid individual annual health insurance premiums (U-SHIP, the University Student Health Insurance Plan)

The goal of the University’s commitment to ensuring that students are supported is to allow students to prioritize their studies and prepare for rewarding careers. We expect students to remain in good academic standing and to be making progress toward completing degree requirements.

Students in the Division of the Humanities who entered their PhD program in Summer 2016 or later, and who are still enrolled in 2022-2023 will be fully incorporated into this new funding model, and will receive at least the guaranteed stipend level (subject to applicable taxes), full tuition coverage, and fully paid health insurance premiums for the duration of their program. Students are expected to remain in good academic standing.

Students who matriculated before Summer 2016 will receive at least the funding they were offered at the time of admission and may be eligible for additional funding, such as dissertation completion fellowships. Over the past several years, the Division of the Humanities has increased investments in funding to support students in degree completion.

Additional fellowships and awards are available to support language study, conference travel, and research travel.

Students entering the TAPS option in the University’s Masters Program in the Humanities (MAPH) may apply for several fellowships in addition to applying for work-study opportunities. See the Financial Aid page at the MAPH website for more details.

Students may also want to refer to the Division’s Graduate Student Grant/Fellowship Blog or access the UChicagoGRAD Fellowship Database.

Project grants and additional funding opportunities can be found at UChicago Arts Grants & Funding.

For this academic year, we are inviting proposals for supplemental funding toward artistic or scholarly activities clearly related to your graduate studies and/or professional aspirations. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. If you would like funding for a current or summer project, please aim to apply by April 20, 2021. 

For this funding cycle we are allowing students to apply to defray any relevant expense (artistic project expenses, conference fees, teaching expenses including paying visitors to join your classes, extracurricular training, other research expenses, etc.). Priority will be given to projects or activities not eligible for other funding streams from your partner department or other entities. Students who have received TAPS supplemental or artistic funding in the past are encouraged to apply, though the committee may take past award history and resources available from the partner department into account in their deliberations. 

To apply for funding, please submit:

PROJECT SUMMARY (approximately 500 words)

• Content and form of project
• Connections to graduate studies and/or professional aspirations
• Collaborators and advisors (if applicable)
• Practical considerations (timeline, space, resources, etc.)

PROJECT BUDGET (include categories below as applicable)

• Material expenses
• Travel
• Personnel fees
• Other funding confirmed or pending (list sources and amounts requested/confirmed)
• Requested amount from PhD-SPF up to $2000.
• An account of discretionary research funds provided for you by your partner department, if any.
• An account of TAPS artistic project or supplemental funding received to date. 

Please submit proposals to Vicki Walden at vwalden@uchicago.edu. Review will begin April 20, 2021, or earlier if you have a pressing deadline. Send questions to John Muse (DGS) and/or Tina Post (Director of Creative Research).

Fellowships from public or private agencies can supplement a student’s overall financial support, and applicants are encouraged to explore all funding opportunities available to them. The Division of the Humanities has additional information on the types of financial support available to doctoral students.

Students pursuing fieldwork or source studies abroad are encouraged to apply for Fulbright Fellowships through Graduate Student Affairs; many countries also offer their own research fellowships to international students (such as the DAAD Fellowships for Germany). Students are encouraged to explore all fellowship opportunities through the Fellowship Kiosk maintained by the Office of Graduate Student Affairs.