Graduate Funding

Graduate student funding is provided in the form of grants, financial aid, fellowships, traineeships, teaching assistantships, and graduate student researcher appointments. The majority of all graduate student funding is provided by the UCLA Graduate Division.

Departmental Funding

We offer a combination of fellowship/scholarship support and teaching in the department, as well as opportunities for summer support (such as teaching and graduate student research mentorships). In addition, our students are very competitive for university-wide awards (such as the Dissertation Year Fellowship and various travel-research awards). We also offer conference support. Please note that the majority of all graduate student funding is provided by the UCLA Graduate Division.

Student Travel Grants for Conferences, Professional Development and Off-Campus Research (DTG): Each eligible new and continuing UCLA doctoral student will be provided up to $1,000 total reimbursement that can be used, in whole or in part, at any time through the student’s seventh year in the doctoral program, as long as the student and the activities meet the eligibility requirements.

To request conference support, please fill out the Conference Support Request Form and submit it, along with your letter of invitation and the conference program to the Chair of ELTS,  Todd Presner, for approval. Please follow all travel reimbursement guidelines (attached to the Conference Support Request Form). All receipts and accompanying documentation must be submitted to Chair’s Executive Assistant, Diana Alaberkyan, within 5 days of completing travel. Contact dalaberkyan@humnet.ucla.edu for any questions.

If you are a continuing graduate student and have already exhausted your Graduate Division Funding for travel reimbursement OR you are in your 8th year (and beyond), please contact the Department’s Student Affairs Officer, Deanna Finlay at deanna@humnet.ucla.edu, to be considered for conference support from the Department. If eligible, you will be asked to complete a request form and submit it to the department Chair at least two weeks prior to your travel date.

Graduate Division Funding

All graduate students should familiarize themselves with the descriptions of funding and fellowships as outlined in detail by the graduate student continuing support manual presented by the graduate division. Find it here. Fellowships, scholarships and grants opportunities can be found here.

Graduate Employment
  • Teaching Assistantship

Teaching Assistantships (T.A.) allow students to gain experience in teaching undergraduates under faculty supervision. TAship requirements vary for each Ph.D. program. To view, please click here here.

  • Research Assistantships

Research Assistantships (R.A.) provide experience working on faculty supervised research projects. They are employment positions geared towards the completion of faculty projects. Research Assistantships are offered through the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies and the Center for 17th and 18th Century Studies.

Note: additional assistantships may be available through other centers not listed here.

  • Teaching positions

These are occasionally available for the UCLA Summer Sessions or for the Continuing Education Program of the UCLA Extension division. Interested students should contact the department Chair.

Grants and Financial Aid

UCLA has a variety of grants and financial aid programs for new and continuing students, such as the Work Study Research Internship Program. Details can be obtained from the Financial Aid Office (A-129 Murphy, 206-0414), the Graduate Student Support Office (1228 Murphy, 825-1025), or the Special Fellowships Office (1252 Murphy, 825-3521) which keeps information on available funding from sources such as alumni organizations, women’s organizations, scholarly organizations, state and federal agencies, and private foundations.

GRAPES, an online database of scholarships, grants, and other forms of support maintained by the UCLA Graduate Division, is another excellent source of information.

International Students

UCLA has a limited number of fellowships and assistantships for which non-U.S. graduate students are eligible. These are awarded to students who have demonstrated high academic achievement in their studies on this campus. International students at UCLA are not eligible for support based solely on need (loans and work-study jobs). Therefore, international students are strongly advised to secure funds from their own sources.

General information on fellowships and other awards can be obtained from the Institute of International Education, or from the cultural affairs officer of the United States Information Agency Office nearest your residence. Depending on your home location, you should also explore opportunities through such agencies as the African-American Institute or the Latin American Scholarship Program of American Universities (LASPAU)

Non-Departmental Funding Sources

The Department actively assists students in seeking out non-departmental sources of financial aid, by keeping on file up-to-date information concerning outside sources of support and fellowship opportunities from organizations including:

In general, students should be aware that a number of funding sources within and outside the Department exist and that additional information is readily available on campus.

Scholarships, Mentorships, Fellowships
  • Scholarships
For information on campus-wide Graduate scholarships, visit the Grad Division website.

  • Research Mentorships (deadline in mid-February)

Research Mentorships allow graduate students to work on their own research projects with the assistance of a professor/mentor. Applicants should apply through the Graduate Division’s continuing student support and complete the Graduate Research Mentorship Program Application.

To encourage and support the academic careers of students in all academic areas, the University of California Office of the President and the UCLA Graduate Division provide funds for graduate research fellowship. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. This program assists doctoral students in acquiring and developing sophisticated research skills under faculty mentorship.

It is intended for doctoral students who:

  1. Are nominated by the department
  2. Will have completed at least one but no more than four years of UCLA graduate study by the beginning of the fellowship year and
  3. Are not advanced to candidacy.

Students selected will receive a competitive stipend plus fees. In addition, if invited to present the results of their collaborative activities at a conference held during the academic year, awardees may be reimbursed up to a $500 toward their travel expenses. Awardees will be asked to submit a year-end evaluation of their participation in the program.

  • Dissertation-Year Fellowship (deadline: mid-March)

The Mission of the DYF is to provide students with the time necessary to complete their dissertation within the year of the fellowship award. Students must file dissertations within 12 months of beginning the DYF. This program is intended for students who will be in their final year of graduate school and who are planning to start teaching and research appointments soon after the end of their dissertation year fellowship year.

Eligibility: Graduate Students must be officially advanced to doctoral candidacy at the time they are nominated by their departments to receive the DYF, which means that:

  1. Students must have completed all written and oral Ph.D. exams and have completed discussion of the prospectus.
  2. Students must be advanced to candidacy
  3. Students must be nominated by their department for the DYF

Students are ineligible if they have received any other dissertation fellowship (such as, but not limited to the Distinguished TA Dissertation Year Fellowship) from the grad division.

Please note that after receiving the Dissertation Year Fellowship, there can be no further financial awards or stipends given to the graduate student in any form. The DYF is the final award.

Requirements for Recipients: Recipients must file their dissertations within 12 months of beginning their fellowships. Recipients must be registered and enrolled in 12 units during the entire academic year.

To Apply: Complete the Dissertation year Fellowship Application. It is mandatory that the Graduate Fellowships Letter of Recommendation forms be filled out in full and returned with the application. The application, with letters of recommendation, should be submitted directly to the department by mid- March.

Year-Long Funding
  • Year-Long or Summer Funding: To apply, find all the appropriate forms here.

Additional Resources

Additional Funding Resources