Internal Funding Sources
The OU History Department works hard to support our graduate students as they seek funding from external sources. In recent years, our students have obtained support from, among others, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and American Indian College Fund, the Organization of American Historians, the Western History Association, the American Society for Environmental History, the Society for the Historians of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, the Agricultural History Society, the Huntington Library, the Newberry Library, the Briscoe Center, and various presidential libraries.
There also are substantial internal funding sources at the University of Oklahoma. In addition to Graduate Assistantships, the OU Provost’s Office, the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences, the OU Graduate College, and the OU Department of History offer a wide array of resources to support the educational goals and scholarship of its graduate students.
RECRUITMENT FELLOWSHIPS
The University of Oklahoma offers various recruitment fellowships to facilitate the recruitment of an excellent and diverse cohort of new graduate students. The Hudson Family Fellowships are only available to PhD students in the OU History Department. The History Department nominates prospective students for other recruitment fellowships, which are competitive across the campus. The OU History Department has a proven record with these fellowships.
HUDSON FAMILY FELLOWSHIPS: With the generosity of the Hudson Family, the OU History Department is home to up to six Hudson fellows at any time. This fellowship provides $8,000 a year beyond the regular Graduate Assistant stipend. Recipients hold the title Hudson Family Fellow. This fellowship is renewable up to 5 years, contingent upon satisfactory performance and degree progress. The fellowship accompanies a 0.5 FTE GA position.
DODGE FAMILY RECRUITMENT FELLOWSHIPS: The OU Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences makes approximately 20 fellowship awards to prospective doctoral students. Historically, these awards are in the amount of $5,000 per year beyond the regular Graduate Assistant stipend. Recipients will hold the title Dodge Family Graduate Fellow. This fellowship will be renewable for up to 5 years, contingent upon satisfactory performance and degree progress. The fellowship must accompany a 0.5 FTE GA position.
ALUMNI AND FOUNDATION RECRUITMENT FELLOWSHIPS: The OU Graduate College awards Alumni and Foundation Fellowships to prospective doctoral students. Historically, these awards are in the amount of $5,000 per year beyond the regular Graduate Assistant stipend. Recipients will hold the title Alumni Fellow. This fellowship will be renewable for up to 5 years, contingent upon satisfactory performance and degree progress. The fellowship must accompany a 0.5 FTE GA position. The University and the History Department encourage applications that support diversity goals by recruiting underrepresented students.
The McNAIR FELLOWSHIPS are multi-year awards based on the student’s degree program. Available, with differing levels of support, these awards are available to MA and PhD students.
The WETHINGTON GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP is used to recruit outstanding doctoral students in the areas of business, engineering, history, mathematics, and natural science. Preference is given to students who have previously resided in Alfalfa, Garfield, Grant, or Woods counties in Oklahoma; however, if students from those counties are not available, other Oklahoma and non-Oklahoma students may be considered (including international).
HOVING FELLOWSHIP: The Hoving Fellowship rotates through various disciplines and will next be available to the History Department in 2026. Awarded to an incoming doctoral student, this four-year fellowship provides $5,000 a year beyond the regular Graduate Assistant stipend. Recipients will hold the title Hoving Fellow. This fellowship will be renewable for up to 5 years, contingent upon satisfactory performance and degree progress. The fellowship must accompany a 0.5 FTE GA position.
EDITORIAL FELLOWSHIPS
The OU History Department offers its graduate students distinctive opportunities to work as editorial fellows with the University of Oklahoma Press and two internationally renowned scholarly journals, The Western Historical Quarterly and the Journal of Women’s History. For more information, please visit this page.
JACK HALEY FELLOWSHIPS
Endowed by Fred and Patricia Schonwald of Oklahoma City, the JACK HALEY FELLOWSHIPS provide MA and PhD students in OU’s Department of History the opportunity to conduct research and engage in archival or curatorial projects in OU’s Western History Collections for 8 weeks during the summer.
DISSERTATION RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS
The Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences awards up to 15 DISSERTATION RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS to Ph.D. students in their 3rd, 4th, or 5th year of studies. These awards up to $5,000 can be used to support travel and accommodation expenses to conduct research, and purchases of data sets, software and other materials to facilitate research outcomes.
DISSERTATION COMPLETION FELLOWSHIPS
The NANCY L. MERGLER AND BULLARD DISSERTATION COMPLETION FELLOWSHIPS are awards for Ph.D. candidates who are in the final phases of dissertation writing. Seven applicants (as determined by a committee of faculty from diverse fields of study across campus) will be awarded the Nancy L. Mergler Dissertation Completion Fellowship, which will pay for up to two semesters of a .50 GA appointment. The stipend amount awarded will equal the program’s usual GTA stipend. Tuition waivers and health insurance coverage will be provided. The student will be awarded the money in place of working as a GA, in order to have the opportunity to devote time to completing the dissertation. Additional awardees (determined by the same committee) will be awarded the Bullard Dissertation Completion Fellowship which will pay for one semester of a .50 GA appointment.
To facilitate doctoral dissertation completion, the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences awards up to 10 DISSERTATION COMPLETION FELLOWSHIPS to doctoral students in the final year of their studies—but no later than their 6th year in the program. Applicants must have a current TA appointment within the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences, should be in good standing in their programs and must have defended their dissertation proposals. In place of receiving a teaching stipend, the fellowship will provide student funding equivalent to a semester’s pay at their normal rate. This will allow them to focus on dissertation research and writing without loss of revenue for a semester during their last year of study.
RESEARCH AND TRAVEL FUNDS
The Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences provides funds through the STUDENT TRAVEL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM for MA and PhD students to help pay for expenses related to academic conference travel or for conducting research. Graduate students may request up to $750 for academic travel.
The GRADUATE STUDENT SENATE (GSS) offers grants to assist MA and PhD students of the University of Oklahoma in scholarly endeavors, preparation for a competitive grant writing process and research. These grants are designed to encourage graduate students to participate in professional and graduate conferences, creative exhibitions, and career fairs. Only students who are members of a department in good standing with the Graduate Student Senate are eligible for this grant. Competition is campus wide.
Offered by the OU Graduate College, the ROBBERSON TRAVEL AND RESEARCH GRANTS address different needs. Travel grants provide financial assistance to MA and PhD students who are presenting their research results or creative products at a professional venue. Robberson Research Grants provide financial assistance for expenses incurred as graduate students conduct their research or produce their creative products. Funded activities may include dissertation or thesis research and national research presentations, exhibitions or performances. These grants are awarded on a competitive basis.
Offered by the OU Graduate College, the ROBBERSON AND WETHINGTON SCHOLARSHIPS provide financial assistance for academically outstanding MA and PhD students to attend competitive and prestigious training/courses at other universities or institutions. Funding for this opportunity is provided from the Richard, Mary, and Glenn Robberson fund and the Mr. and Mrs. W.O. Wethington Scholarship fund. These grants are awarded on a competitive basis.
The SCHUSTERMAN CENTER FOR JUDAIC AND ISRAEL STUDIES offers a broad variety of competitive awards and scholarships to MA students pursuing these fields on the OU campus and for travel to Israel. The Schusterman Center is housed within the OU History Department.
The EDDIE CAROL SMITH SCHOLARSHIP, offered through the Graduate College, is a one-year award up to $2000 that will go to a graduate student whose research/capstone project either opens a new area of scholarly endeavor or significantly expands an existing area of scholarly endeavor. Applicants must be near the end of their degree requirements, as it is expected that the academic year during which the student serves as the Eddie Carol Smith Scholar is also the academic year in which the student will complete the degree. The award includes a full tuition waiver for the fall and spring semesters of the award year. The scholarship is awarded on a competitive basis.
The PRESIDENTIAL INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL FELLOWSHIP is a scholarship created to support travel for study abroad for awards up to $2500. A student must have a program selected when applying for the PITF and awarded funds apply only to the program listed in the application.
The OU Department of Women’s and Gender Studies sponsors the ALICE MARY ROBERTSON AWARD, established to honor the memory of Alice Mary Robertson, Oklahoma's first female representative to the United States Congress. The purpose of this one-time award of $1,000 is to stimulate an interest among graduate students in the study and interpretation of the contributions made by women to the culture and society of Oklahoma.
The Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center’s Congressional and Political Collections established the AMBASSADOR JAMES R. JONES GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP to assist with archival digitalization efforts. Graduate students in history may apply for this award which includes a tuition waiver, stipend, and research travel fund.
The OU HISTORY DEPARTMENT is eager to support our graduate students in their research activities. After exploring other university sources, students may apply for department funding for travel for conferences or research using this form (pdf).
AWARDS OF DISTINCTION – OU HISTORY DEPARTMENT
The OU History Department is honored to be able to recognize our graduate student’s best work and their research potential with the following annual honors:
WILLIAM LIVEZEY SCHOLARSHIP is awarded to the outstanding first-year graduate student.
A.K. CHRISTIAN GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP IN HISTORY is awarded to the best paper written in a graduate seminar.
BEA MANTOOTH-ESTEP SCHOLARSHIP IN OKLAHOMA OR LATIN AMERICAN HISTORY is awarded for graduate research in these fields.
E.E. DALE/ A.M. GIBSON MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP IN WESTERN AMERICAN HISTORY recognizes progress on outstanding dissertations in Western American History.
ANNE HODGES and WAYNE MORGAN DISSERTATION RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS are competitive travel grants that enable doctoral students to travel to archival and library collections, both within the United States and outside. This competition is restricted to history department students. Multiple fellowships may be awarded in any year. Students self-nominate for this fellowship.
AWARDS OF DISTINCTION – UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
Students from the University of Oklahoma Department of History are eligible for awards of distinction in campus-wide competitions:
The GRADUATE DEAN'S DISTINGUISHED THESIS PRIZE is awarded by the Graduate College to recognize outstanding performance by thesis-based master’s students. The award involves a campus-wide competition.
The PROVOST'S DOCTORAL DISSERTATION PRIZE allows the University of Oklahoma to recognize and reward outstanding performances by our doctoral students. This award involves a campus-wide competition.
The PROVOST'S GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANT AWARD is open to MA and PhD students who have exceled in their GTA responsibilities. This campus-wide competition offers a $1000 award and a certificate of honor.
NEWBERRY LIBRARY CONSORTIUM IN AMERICAN INDIAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES
The University of Oklahoma is proud to be one of 20 institutional members in the Newberry Library’s Consortium in American Indian and Indigenous Studies (NCAIS). The Newberry is a world-class, independent research library specializing in the humanities. The NCAIS offers distinctive advantages to the graduate students of its member institutions. NCAIS Summer Institute brings students to the Newberry for a funded four-week intensive graduate course on an important theme in Indigenous Studies. A spring workshop provides funded students with an introduction to a specialized archive in the United States or Canada. Students also may participate in a Graduate Student Conference at the Newberry with limited funding. The NCAIS also offers graduate student fellowships for 1-2 months of research at the Newberry or at NCAIS institutions.
