Graduate Program Departmental Finanical Aid - History at the University of Missouri

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Graduate Program

Departmental Financial Aid
approved May 2002

General Guidelines

Departmental financial aid includes all graderships, teaching assistantships, teaching fellowships, research assistantships, dissertation fellowships, and dissertation research grants that are funded and administered by history. A .50 FTE (full-time equivalent) teaching assistantship pays in the neighborhood of $11,101 and a .25 FTE gradership pays in the neighborhood of $5,550.
In calculating total years of financial aid, one year of aid is the equivalent of two semesters of .50 FTE teaching assistantships. Graduate School Fellowships are treated the same way. Teaching Fellowships are counted at .50 FTE per semester. Dissertation Fellowships and Research Grants are excluded from calculations of total years of aid.
Teaching assistantships will usually be offered only to graduate students who have passed the PhD qualifying exam. The department may offer teaching assistantships to exceptionally promising students with MAs from other institutions. Students at earlier stages in their program may be awarded .25 FTE graderships, or, on rare occasions, research assistantships.
When the department offers a student a teaching assistantship in the first series of appointments for the following academic year, the appointment shall usually be renewable, contingent on satisfactory progress as defined in section II below, until financial aid reaches five years. If a student on the alternate list ultimately receives an appointment, when s/he applies for reappointment, s/he must compete with new students for a TAship.
Assuming a student continues to make satisfactory progress and performs satisfactorily in the classroom, he/she can expect five years of financial aid from the department. This does not include any departmental support of up to four semesters of .25 FTE aid given to students before receiving the MA degree. After the fifth year of aid, students may compete for up to two additional semesters of departmental financial aid. Since funds for such support are limited, this aid will be provided only on a competitive basis, contingent on evidence to be provided by the student of satisfactory progress towards completing the PhD dissertation, and it is not to be considered assured.
Entering candidates for the MA who have been awarded a multi-year Graduate School Fellowship (e.g., Ridgel, Marshall, Huggins) may compete for a fifth, sixth, and seventh year of support in any category of aid. Entering candidates with an MA who have been awarded multi-year Graduate School Fellowships may compete for a fifth and sixth year of support in any category of aid. Preference for dissertation fellowships will be given to students who have not previously had fellowship support.

Satisfactory Progress for Renewal of Financial Aid

No student in the program who applies for or who is seeking renewal of financial aid will be eligible for aid without completion of a Progress Report on the Graduate Student Online Assessment System (GSOAS) with confirmation by his/her adviser that s/he is making satisfactory progress.
No student currently receiving aid will be eligible for renewal of a gradership or teaching assistantship unless s/he receives a rating of “satisfactory” on the “Instructor Report on Graduate Student Teaching” form.
Any student failing to meet one or both of the criteria outlined in A and B shall be dropped from the roster of those eligible for financial aid. A student who subsequently meets the requirement(s) may petition the Graduate Studies Committee to be reinstated. S/he need not wait to petition until the next regularly scheduled annual assessment.
Students applying for a Teaching Fellowship or Dissertation Fellowship must have passed comps and must have provided evidence of satisfactory progress towards completing the dissertation.
Students may request permission from the Director of Graduate Studies for a one or two year hiatus in their departmental financial aid because they are receiving financial support from another source, because they are away doing research, or because of a family emergency or health problem. Approved gaps in employment will not prejudice their applications for reappointment.

Reappointment Priorities for Teaching Assistantships

Former recipients of multi-year fellowships from the Graduate School and full-year regular appointees with satisfactory progress and satisfactory teaching reports have the highest priority.
One-semester appointments and those selected from the alternate list with satisfactory progress and satisfactory teaching will be considered together with new applicants.

Teaching Fellowships

Teaching Fellowships are intended to give ABDs the opportunity to plan and teach independent classes.

N.B.: The funding for such positions generally comes from departmental and A&S cost savings. The department does not receive the same amount each year. Some years, it has not been sufficient to award any teaching Fellowships. Moreover, these funds often are released at different times of the fiscal year. As a result, competitions can be at unpredictable and unusual times.
The appointment procedure for Teaching Fellows follows the general outlines for financial aid. Post-comps graduate students apply to be Teaching Fellows before the February 1 application deadline. These applications are considered by the Graduate Studies Committee, which will rank, on the basis of merit and seniority, potential Teaching Fellows for the following academic year and submit this list, along with its other financial aid recommendations, to the department for approval. The chair will then appoint Teaching Fellows from the list in order of ranking, as positions become available.
Sometimes funds become available for Teaching Fellowships after February 1. When this occurs, the chair will circulate a memo describing the openings and establishing the deadline for applications. When time permits, the Graduate Studies Committee will assess the applications and make recommendations to the faculty. Between semesters, the chair will appoint an ad hoc committee to make recommendations to him/her. The director of graduate studies will usually chair this committee.

The History Department has a few endowments designated to fund graduate student scholarships, fellowships, and research grants. Donors have established purposes for which each may be used. Some must be granted only to students who have passed the PhD comprehensive examination, while others can be awarded only to students in certain fields of history. The annual income from the endowments varies according to University investment returns. Fellowships and grants may not be awarded every year to permit sufficient funds to accumulate. Fellowships and grants will not be awarded if the faculty determine there are no meritorious proposals. Proposals should be as explicit and persuasive as possible; budgets should be detailed and avoid excessive requests.
Within the flexibility permitted under the various restrictions, the department has established the following priorities:

Contingent on the availability of funds, the department will award at least one dissertation fellowship each year. Students must have passed their comprehensive examinations to be eligible. Students must also apply for funding from an outside granting agency. They must submit a copy of their proposal(s) to the Graduate Studies Committee, along with other appropriate material. Priority will be given based on the strength of the submitted proposal and, particularly, upon the clear indication that the student is writing the dissertation.

The department tries to help post-comps doctoral students defray some of the research-related expenses necessary to complete their dissertations. The extent of such support depends on the availability of funds for that year. Applicants must have passed their comprehensive examinations. They must also compete for funding from an outside granting agency. They must submit a copy of their proposal(s) to the Graduate Studies Committee along with other appropriate material.

The department cannot help defray expenses related to research for MA theses.

The department is unable to provide any funds for graduate student travel to conferences.

At a meeting on 4/29/08, the faculty voted to approve a policy allowing graduate students who receive financial aid from the department to take one undergraduate course per year as part of their nine-hour-per-semester enrollment requirement.

Please be aware: such courses cannot be counted on a student's Program of Study; these would be used in most instances to take necessary languages.

Keep in mind: fee remission eligibility from the Graduate School is limited to five years (10 semesters).

In order for such a course to be approved for the fee remission, a student's adviser must write a memo to the Graduate School, informing that office that the course is allowable as a prerequisite.

As a reminder:

Masters students must have 30 hours of graduate credit for the degree; 20 of these must be history hours. The MA degree must be completed in two years for the student to be considered as making satisfactory progress, and to receive financial aid.

PhD students must complete 72 hours beyond the BA, which can, and usually does, include the 30 hours taken for the MA. The department's usual expectation is that PhD student take the comprehensive exams by the end of the third year of course work to be considered as making satisfactory progress, and to receive financial aid.

Contacts

Professor John Wigger
Director of Graduate Studies
office: 312 Read Hall
phone: 573-882-6019
email: wiggerj@missouri.edu

Nancy Taube
Graduate Studies Administrator
office: 101 Read Hall
phone: 573-882-9461
email: tauben@missouri.edu

History Graduate Student Association
Sixth Graduate Conference in History

Downloads

Graduate School forms and downloads
History Department Assistantship application