- Department of History
- Graduate
- Funding and Awards
Funding and Awards
At NIU, we provide financial support with graduate assistantships. We fund approximately fifteen M.A. and Ph.D. students each year with support from the Graduate School at NIU. Entering M.A. students normally receive two years of funding, while entering Ph.D. students usually get at least four. If a student enters as an M.A. student and continues on to the Ph.D., they can usually count on six total years of departmental funding. The deadline for students to apply for departmental funding is January 15 each year. In addition to assistantships, we also provide funding for summer research travel and for at least one academic conference per year. These awards are open to all graduate students, but they are competitive and limited by available funds. Students may also be able to support their work by winning university-wide fellowships or grants or by seeking outside funding sources.
Departmental Funding Opportunities
- Graduate Assistantships
- Graduate research funding
- Earl W. Hayter and Alfred F. Young (Hayter-Young) Research Grant ($250 per year for M.A. and Ph.D. students, applications accepted on a rolling basis)
- Alfred F. Young Dissertation Research Grant ($1,000 per year for Ph.D. students only, applications accepted biannually on Oct. 15 and March 15)
- Conference travel (up to $750 via matching funds from CLAS and the Graduate School)
University Funding Opportunities
- Rhoten A. Smith (underrepresented graduate students)
- Carter G. Woodson Scholars Program (underrepresented doctoral students)
- Dissertation Completion Award
- Other funding opportunities from the Graduate School
External Funding Opportunities
- Phi Alpha Theta, the history honor society, offers funding to graduate students who are members. Graduate students should have completed a minimum of 12 credit hours towards their master's degree in history, have a GPA of better than 3.5, and shall have completed approximately 30 percent of the residence requirements for the master's degree. They do not have to reapply if they became a member as an undergraduate. Opportunities via Phi Alpha Theta include a Doctoral Scholarship and the George P. Hammond Paper Prize.
- Diversifying Higher Education Faculty in Illinois
- Office of Sponsored Projects - Find Funding
Department Awards
- Hugh Jameson Graduate Student Essay Prize
- This prize recognizes the best research essay submitted by a graduate student in a history research seminar during the previous two semesters. Faculty who would like to nominate a student should submit his or her essay to the Department of History office. Students can also nominate themselves by submitting the Graduate Prize Cover Letter, and the essay to history@niu.edu. ($250 award)
- James R. Shirley Graduate Article Prize
- This prize is given for the best graduate student essay submitted for publication in a scholarly journal during the previous calendar year. Faculty who would like to nominate a student should submit his or her essay to the Department of History office. Students can also nominate themselves by submitting the Graduate Prize Cover Letter, and the essay to history@niu.edu. ($250 award)
Contact Us
Department of History
Zulauf 715
815-753-0131
history@niu.edu
Our office is open Monday through Thursday, from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., except for a daily lunch break from noon-1 p.m.