NDSU Scholarships & Fellowships
Scholarships, fellowships, and travel support are available through the Graduate School, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Department of English. Applications are accepted annually December 1st through March 1st.
Be sure to observe the criteria and deadline for each scholarship. It is the student's responsibility to submit the scholarship application and respond to all additional questions posed.
Submission Deadline: December 1 - March 1
Department of English Scholarships
Richard L. Johnson Scholarship This scholarship is awarded to a continuing graduate student with a GPA 3.75 or above and a Program of Study on file. Preference is given to a student studying literature.
Rooney Scholarship This scholarship goes to a deserving graduate student. Academic achievement and perseverance in the pursuit of a degree are equal considerations.
Pamela O'Connor Memorial Scholarship This scholarship awards excellence in writing.
Madeline S. Giddings Scholarship This scholarship awards $1,000 to an outstanding graduate student. The primary criterion for the scholarship is financial need and exemplary progress toward degree completion.The English department also presents a graduate teaching and a graduate research award each year. Nominations are solicited internally (in March) by the Director of Graduate Studies and evaluated by the Graduate Studies Committee. All award winners will be notified in April, and students will be recognized at the annual, departmental Spring Reception.
College of Arts & Sciences Scholarships
The College of Arts and Sciences awards a Graduate Teaching and Graduate Research Award each year. An English department GTA has won the teaching award each of the first 5 years these awards have been offered.
Graduate School Scholarships
The Graduate School offers Presidential Doctoral Graduate Fellowships to new graduate students in doctoral programs. The awards are in the amount of $16,000/year plus a waiver of tuition. The fellowship is awarded for a period of four years (subject to annual review). See the Graduate School website for details.
Graduate School Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship. The Graduate School at NDSU offers a number of fellowships to support graduate students working to finish their dissertations. The deadline is typically in February.See the NDSU Graduate School website for a complete list of available NDSU funding.
The NDSU Office of Admissions offers a limited number of Cultural Diversity Tuition Waivers for under-represented students (including graduate students) attending NDSU.
External Scholarships & Fellowships
The American Association of University Women (AAUW): AAUW has a long and distinguished history of advancing educational and professional opportunities for women in the United States and around the globe. One of the world's largest sources of funding for graduate women, AAUW offers 5 categories of fellowship and grants.
The NDSU Graduate school has a list of funding available from external sources.
Travel Support
Graduate students may request funding from the English department (up to $500/conference, up to two conferences per year*), from the Dean of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, and from the Dean of the Graduate School. Some conferences provide funding for graduate students; be sure to check with conference organizers.
Funding is not guaranteed. It is always subject to the relevance of your topic and the conference to your disquisition project, the quality and persuasiveness of your proposal letter, the endorsement and approval of your academic adviser, and the availability of funds. Students who are on academic warning or probation are not eligible for travel funding.
Graduate students are expected to present only well-developed papers and posters at conferences. The department recommends that students submit and develop work started during a course; the department discourages submitting proposals to conferences for which a paper has not already been drafted and reviewed. The department expects students to participate fully in conference proceedings, i.e. attend most, if not all sessions, as conferences are networking opportunities where graduate students will meet scholars from around the country as well as fellow graduate students who might become career-long colleagues.
To request funding from the Department of English, a letter of request needs to be submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies, who will then take this request to the Graduate Committee for consideration. The committee will either approve and forward to the Chair of English or turn down funding and notify the student. The Chair will issue the final approval and adjustment of funds as needed.
The letter should be signed by the student and his/her academic adviser, with signature lines for the Director of Graduate Studies and the Chair of English, and address the criteria below by demonstrating an understanding of department expectations for funded graduate student travel.
The Dean of AHSS has a travel funding request form that graduate students should fill out if they wish to pursue additional funding; the Graduate School does not have an official form, but a letter like the one submitted to the department should be sufficient. If you plan to ask the Dean of AHSS or the Graduate School for additional funding, attach the form/letter to your departmental letter of request.
Use the Travel Funding Request guidelines under Graduate Program Forms.