Department of History
American University
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Financial Aid
The Department provides a limited number of Graduate Fellowships to prospective doctoral students. These awards include tuition remission, a stipend and the opportunity to earn additional money by serving as a teaching assistant in the Department.  They are renewable for a total of three to four years. These awards are highly competitive and required candidates present a strong record.  On occasion, an exceptionally well qualified student is admitted directly to PhD status and thus becomes eligible for fellowship support.

Public History MA students are eligible for the Department's Public History Fellowship, awarded each year to the outstanding applicant to the Public History Program.  This fellowship includes tuition remission, a stipend and the opportunity to earn additional money by serving as a teaching assistant.  It is renewable for a total of two years.

There are a limited number of college awards for which the department nominates
outstanding applicants to the MA program:

• Special Opportunity Assistantships and Fellowships. Designated for members of groups under-represented in higher education, they consist of both tuition remission only and tuition remission plus a stipend.
• Hall of Nations Awards. Designated for international students, they provide remitted tuition. Foreign nationals who are permanent residents of the United States are not eligible for these awards.
• Massey Awards. Designated for Canadian citizens, they provide remitted tuition.
• United Methodist Awards. Designated for members in good standing of the Methodist church, they provide remitted tuition and require documentation of membership by a pastor.

Almost all MA students will have to finance their study from a variety of sources: personal resources, loans secured personally or through the University’s Office of Financial Aid, external scholarships, and employment. We urge all eligible students to apply for federal work study.  Students should consider the option of taking a full-time job at American University whose employment benefits include six hours of remitted tuition per semester and during the summer, after the four-month probationary period has been satisfactorily completed (seem Employment at AU, below).  Financial constraints may require some students to do part-time academic work throughout their program or at some point in the program.

Students should also explore sources of funding outside the university. Additional financial aid resources are available by following the links listed below.

Financial Aid Resources for Graduate Students in History:

AU's College of Arts and Science Financial Aid Page (first stop).

Federal Work Study at AU

Employment at AU

Council of Graduate Schools - Resources For Students - Fellowships and Financial Aid

Good Financial Aid Web Sites

U.S. Government Sponsored Scholarships for Graduate and Undergraduate Students

FinancialAid.com (a useful for profit financial aid site).

The American Historical Association publishes Grants, Fellowships, and Prizes of Interest to Historians (available only on-line and only to members of the AHA).

Members of Phi Alpha Theta may apply for a limited number of small awards provided by the history honor society. Some students have found funding through religious and civic organizations with which they are affiliated.