Graduate

Funding

Graduate students who are not self-funded typically pay for their studies at USF through some combination of these four sources:

  • Graduate Assistantships – these are university-funded, part-time jobs that provide a stipend, tuition waiver, and subsidized health insurance. The History Department is able to offer a limited number of GAships to both PhD and MA applicants each year, and they are highly competitive. Unless otherwise indicated in their application, we will assume that all applicants would like to be considered for a GAship and will consider them to be candidates for this funding in our admissions decisions. First-year MA students who do not receive a GAship are eligible to apply for funding for their second year. The Graduate Assistant Union (GAU) Collective Bargaining Agreement sets the terms of the current GAship stipend and benefits as well as the rules governing working hours and conditions.
  • Fellowships – these are competitive grants paid to students that usually do not entail additional work obligations. These may come from internal USF sources (we are able to nominate exceptional applicants for competitive USF fellowships that provide full funding for the PhD, for example) or from external funding bodies like the US State Department (Fulbright-IIE) or the SSRC to fund dissertation research. More information on research and writing fellowships is available on the History Graduate Canvas site.
  • Student Loans – Information on loans is available through the USF Financial Aid office.
  • Outside Work – Many students work part-time jobs both inside and outside the university to help fund their studies and living expenses. Announcements about available part-time jobs at USF are often posted on the History Graduate Canvas announcements page. You can also find more information through the USF Student Employment site.

Departmental GAships for incoming PhD students provide funding for four years, as long as the student is making progress toward their degree. We will make every effort to find funding for students who may need extra time beyond that, although this is not guaranteed.

Students who receive tuition waivers through university-funded fellowships or GAships are still required to pay student fees.