We pride ourselves on making a master’s degree financially viable, and our students find our funding options to be one of the strongest assets of the program. Although we cannot guarantee funding for everyone, we successfully fund a large proportion of our incoming graduate students through fellowships and graduate teaching assistant ships, both of which include tuition, health insurance, and a stipend.
For more information on funding for graduate school:
https://graduate.ua.edu/prospective-students/graduate-school-scholarships-fellowships/
Funding opportunities in the Department of American Studies include:
Graduate Council Fellowships
The Graduate School annually awards nonrenewable Graduate Council Fellowships, which include full tuition scholarships and stipends of approximately $20,000 per academic year. Preference is given to students just beginning their graduate programs. No service to The University of Alabama is required, but recipients must carry a 12-hour load of graduate courses each semester.
National Alumni Association (NAA) Graduate Fellowship Program
This fellowship, supported by the National Alumni Association’s Collegiate License Tag Endowed Graduate Education Fund, includes a $20,000 stipend plus full in-state tuition scholarships for one academic year. No service to The University of Alabama is required. The nominations are based on students’ academic and professional records and their potential to make outstanding contributions to the state of Alabama during their careers. Academic departments nominate Alabama residents for these fellowships in early April each year.
Teaching Assistantships
Graduate Teaching Assistantships include full tuition scholarships, individual health insurance, and a stipend of approximately $18,000 per academic year. Assistantships are renewable for the second year of the program with satisfactory performance. We try to assign GTAs to classes in their own areas of interest.
What kinds of work do graduate teaching assistants do?
- Planning exams, running review sessions, and overseeing student interaction in team-taught introductory courses
- Working closely with faculty teaching 200-level courses
- Providing instructional support including grading written work and exams and meeting with students about assignments
Scholarships and Research Funding
Graduate students may apply for:
- The Louise B. Tate Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund: this scholarship can be used to purchase books and other supplies, or help with research expenses. Applications will be available in mid-November and are due in early December for the following Spring semester.
- The John P. Ahlstrom Endowed Travel Research Fund: this endowment can fund travel to archives or other locations, or pay for material needed for research projects.
Inquiries may be directed to the Department Chair, Dr. Edward Tang, at etang@ua.edu or to the Director of Graduate Studies, Dr. Mairin Odle, at lmodle@ua.edu.