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Funding

Our department offers strong financial support to doctoral students on a competitive basis. Our PhD students hold teaching assistantships that allow them to work closely with faculty members for the benefit of familiarizing themselves with cutting-edge approaches to in-class and online teaching. The twelve-months-per-year financial support plan includes tuition waivers and contributes to our students' consistent progress toward degree completion. A selection of our master's students receive nine-month assistantships that also cover tuition.

Additional fellowships and grants are available through the Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs, the University Graduate School, and other institutions at FIU.

History graduate students in the Latin American concentration have been successful in competing for fellowships offered through the Latin American & Caribbean Center from various sources, including the Mellon Foundation, the Foreign Language and Areas Studies program of the Department of Education, and the Organization of American States, among others.

Further sources of financial support include a limited number of graduate fellowships and financial aid. Waivers of out-of state tuition charges may also be available. Inquiries regarding these sources of support should be addressed to the Graduate Program Director.

Assistantships

Students wishing to be considered for an appointment as a teaching assistant (TA) should complete the application form as a part of their application for admission. Please see the University Graduate School's website for more information about the formal elements of a graduate assistantship.

First-time teaching assistants must complete the department's Supervised Teaching course in the first semester as a TA. This multifaceted course is designed to introduce new assistants to the teaching resources available at FIU, and teaching and learning methodologies that have proven successful in the historical profession.

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Eligibility

Graduate assistantships are awarded competitively. Normally, the assignment takes the form of a teaching assistantship. To be considered for graduate assistantships, students must fulfill all the following criteria:

  • Be fully admitted (Special Student status does not meet this criterion)
  • Be degree-seeking
  • Have full-time status (requires 9 graduate credits in Fall and Spring and, in the case of doctoral students, 6 graduate credits in Summer)
  • Be in good academic standing (minimum GPA of 3.0 each semester)

Coverage

Graduate Assistantships normally include two elements: partial tuition coverage and a stipend. Fees are not covered. Master's students are usually awarded graduate assistantships for two semesters (typically Fall and Spring). Doctoral students are awarded calendar-year-round graduate assistantships for twelve months.

Tuition waivers are provided from state funds unless the graduate student has external grant funding that covers the tuition. Tuition waivers do not include student fees.

Stipends are the bi-weekly salaries that graduate assistants receive for their assigned work. Assignments for graduate assistants are carried out by the Graduate Program Director. In most cases, the assignment consists of a teaching assistantship. TAs assist History faculty members in teaching and evaluating students who take lower-division courses. Graduate assistants may also be assigned as research assistants and Writing in History tutors.

Re-appointments depend on meeting annual evaluation criteria. The annual evaluation is conducted by the Graduate Program Director based on input provided by the supervising faculty regarding students' academic merit as well as their performance as assistants.

Teaching assistants are expected to become familiar with the university's policies regarding course administration, grading policies, student academic misconduct, grievances, etc.

The university's comprehensive graduate policies and procedures manual is available from University Graduate School.

Teaching assistants and TA supervisors

Departmental TA Evaluation Form: Graduate Teaching Assistants will be evaluated using this form, which will become part of their departmental record and career dossier.

Fellowship opportunities

The Department of History has various fellowship and small grant opportunities available by means of a competitive application process.

  • Digital-Online Graduate Fellowship

    The Department of History is pleased to announce the 2020-2021 competition for the Digital-Online Graduate Fellowship. ​This fellowship is awarded to support the writing of a graduate paper presented in the digital format or the revision and copy editing of outstanding digital paper drafts by students in the department. Preference will be given to proposals for papers using sources in the Wolfsonian-FIU collection. Students meeting the eligibility criteria are invited to apply for the ​Digital-Online Graduate Fellowship.

    The selected fellow will receive funding that can be used to conduct fieldwork. The award of up to $300 can be used to cover research-related expenses, including non-electronic supplies, books, travel, data acquisition, and data transcription. A one (1) page proposal describing the research project and how the funds will be used, along with a Curriculum Vitae and budget, should be submitted electronically in a single file saved with the last name of the applicant and sent to ​nseel001@fiu.edu  by April 16, 2021. The award will be announced by April 23 and the student shall have six (6) months, counted from the time of notification, to make use of the funds. After six (6) months the funds will expire. The recipient will be expected to produce a one (1) page report describing research activities and how the funds were used.

  • Darden Pyron American Cultural History Fellowship

    The Department of History is pleased to announce the 2020-2021 competition for the ​Darden Pyron American Cultural History Fellowship. ​This fellowship is awarded to support undergraduate or graduate research in history. Preference for those working on American/Southern Cultural history, Queer history, and/or Biography. History majors or minors, MA or PhD students in history, are invited to apply.

    The award of up to $350 can be used to cover research-related expenses, including non-electronic supplies, books, travel, data acquisition, and data transcription. Funds can cover research for a class project, offset the costs of an internship, or be used to fund a research endeavor. Applicants should submit a one (1) page proposal describing the project and how funds will be used. They should also submit a CV or resume. All documents should be submitted electronically, in a single-file, to ​nseel001@fiu.edu by April 16, 2021. The award will be announced by April 23.

  • Cook Scholarship for Research on the Colonial Iberian Atlantic World

    The Department of History is pleased to announce the 2020-2021 competition for a fellowship award to conduct research and/or writing for a dissertation on the Iberian Atlantic World prior to national independence. Preference will be given to those proposals requiring research in foreign archives and libraries and to graduate students completing their doctoral studies at FIU. Students meeting the eligibility criteria are invited to apply for the ​Cook Scholarship for Research on the Colonial Iberian Atlantic World, 2020-2021. ​The selected fellow will receive funding that can be used to conduct a trip for preliminary research. The award of up to $500 can be used to cover research related expenses, including non-electronic supplies, books, travel, data acquisition, and data transcription.

    A one (1) page proposal describing the research project and how the funds will be used, along with a Curriculum Vitae and budget, should be submitted electronically in a single file saved with the last name of the applicant and sent to ​nseel001@fiu.edu​by April 16, 2021. The award will be announced by April 23 and the student shall have six (6) months, counted from the time of notification, to make use of the funds. After six (6) months the funds will expire. The recipient will be expected to produce a one (1) page report describing research activities and how the funds were used.

  • Henry J. Voegtle Fellowship on the History of Florida or Southern U.S.

    The Department of History is pleased to announce the 2020-2021 competition for the ​Henry J. Voegtle Fellowship on the History of Florida or Southern U.S.​ Preference will be given to those proposals requiring research in the History of Florida or Southern U.S. History majors or minors, MA or PhD students in history, are invited to apply. The award of up to $1,000 can be used to cover research related expenses, including non-electronic supplies, books, travel, data acquisition, and data transcription. The funds can cover research for a class project, offset the costs of an internship, or be used to fund a larger research endeavor.

    Applicants should submit a one (1) page proposal describing the research project and how funds will be used. Applicants should also submit a CV and budget in a single file saved with the last name of the applicant and sent to ​nseel001@fiu.edu by April 16, 2021. The award will be announced by April 23 and the student shall have six (6) months, counted from the time of notification, to make use of the funds. After six (6) months the funds will expire. The recipient will be expected to submit a one (1) page report on describing research activities and how the funds were used.

  • Aurora Morcillo Memorial Fellowship

    The purpose of the Aurora Morcillo Memorial Fellowship is to promote graduate-level study of women and gender in Spanish history. The Fellowship supports research travel to Spain for graduate students studying women and gender issues, with preference given to students wishing to study at the Instituto de la Mujer at the University of Granada. The Fellowship will help prepare new generations of scholars studying Women and Gender in Spain. Funds may be used to create an endowment.

    Dear Friends, Family, Colleagues and those who knew Aurora Morcillo,

    Aurora’s academic work highlighted the importance of memory. As an historian she was responsible for keeping the memory of so many heroic women alive. My son Carlos and I would like to honor her by keeping her memory alive and by making sure the research she did on Spanish women’s history continues to live on. Aurora came from a proud but humble Spanish family. She had to break through the barriers imposed by a fascist regime, a class-bound society, and generations of sexist beliefs to become the groundbreaking scholar she was. She had to leave her country, speak another language, and adopt a different culture to realize her dreams. To honor her sacrifices and successes, Carlos and I would like to support the next generation of Aurora Morcillo scholars by funding study in Spain for promising graduate students interested in Spanish women’s history. Aurora may not be with us any more, but she can continue to inspire another generation of scholars to follow in her wake. Many of you have called me and asked what you could do to help Carlos and me. By giving to the fund you can help us to secure her legacy, and continue the important work that still needs to be done. Nothing would please Aurora more than to see a group of Aurora Morcillo Fellows, meeting together to discuss their year in Spain, talking about how it helped to launch their careers.

    Thank you,

    Chuck and Carlos

    ---

    Learn more about Dr. Aurora Morcillo

    Details will be provided here as to the mechanisms for applying to this Fellowship including eligibility criteria as soon as may be practicable.

    We welcome contributions to help sustain the Aurora Morcillo Memorial Fellowship. Those interested in commemorating Aurora’s life and work should visit the Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs Donation page and follow the procedures outlined there. We are sure that this Fellowship will prove a fitting tribute to Aurora and prove an enduring memorial to her legacy.

Internships

Internships for graduate students are a requisite component of the Public History MA and students should liaise with the Public History Coordinator (Dr. Julio Capo) for locating institutions and organizations that offer such placements. With our excellent record of cooperation with many local museums, societies and government bodies, the Department may be able to assist with the placement of interns to fulfill certain other graduate course requirements.