Funding Opportunities
This section describes funding opportunities for current
students. Prospective students should click
here for information about
the funding package for incoming students.
Although students are offered a funding package on admission, all
graduate students in the department are required to apply, at various
times during their graduate career, for other sources of support for
which they are eligible. Graduate students should work closely with
their faculty advisor(s) in identifying appropriate funding sources,
and preparing strong funding applications.
Graduate Student Instructor Positions
Application Procedures
All students should return completed application form(s) to Sylvia
Suttor; non-Linguistics students should also attach a) a resume; b) a UM
academic transcript (unofficial); c) course evaluations from any courses
taught; and d) a letter of recommendation from the faculty director of
the program of enrollment.
Submission process: application materials can be submitted in person, via e-mail (attachments are accepted), or faxed to Sylvia Suttor (ssuttor@umich.edu), 440 Lorch Hall, fax (734) 936-3406.
Posting Periods for Each Term
- Fall Dates: mid-February
- Winter Dats: mid-October
- Spring/Summer Dates: mid-February
Duties and selection criteria
For GSI positions during the Fall and Winter terms, duties include, but are not limited to:
- Leading 3 discussion sections
- Grading assignments & exams
- Office hours
- Weekly meetings with instructor(s)
Selection criteria include relevant academic preparation for
teaching the course material, extent of prior instructional
experience, and satisfactory fulfillment of prior teaching
responsibilities. Preferential consideration will be give to
applicants for whom a GSI position has been promised as part of their
financial aid package. Final decisions are made by the Graduate
Chair, in consultation with the Graduate Committee and the Department
Chair.
Unsuccessful applications will be retained for consideration in the
event that there are last- minute openings. Upon request, an
unsuccessful applicant will receive, within fourteen (14) calendar
days, a written explanation of the reasons for denial of employment,
or an in-person interview if preferred.
Research Funding Awarded Through the Department of Linguistics
Students' applications for the following awards require endorsement of
the application by the "A" advisor; students should consult with their
advisor(s) before submitting their applications. All award decisions,
with the exception of the GSRA appointments, are made by the Graduate
Committee.
Linguistics block grant
Department graduate students are eligible to apply for block grant
funds to support various research expenses, including travel and
registration expenses for conferences and workshops, participant fees
for experiments and interviews, expenses for research off campus, and
so on. To apply, students should complete the application form
(pdf,
word)
providing an
appropriately detailed budget and justification for the request, and
an indication of other funding applications related to the request.
The completed form is submitted to the Student Services Assistant.
For travel to conferences where students are presenting a
paper/poster, eligible students should first apply for a
Rackham
Travel Grant. Students
who receive a Rackham Travel Grant may also apply for Linguistics
Block Grant funds for additional support.
Students are urged to apply for block grant funds as early in the
academic year as possible.
Humanities Candidacy Research Fellowship
The Candidacy Fellowship includes stipend, tuition, and GradCare for
one academic (Fall or Winter) semester, plus stipend and GradCare (no
tuition) for the flanking Spring-Summer (i.e., a total of 8 months
stipend support). Candidacy Fellowships are restricted to students
who advanced to candidacy by the end of their third year and are not
past the sixth year of their doctoral program.
Three Candidacy Fellowships are available each year. Requests for
applications are sent (via email) to all graduate students by the
Graduate Chair. Before applying, students should consult with their
advisors to determine if an award is appropriate at this stage of the
dissertation research. Applications include a statement of the
dissertation topic, along with a statement of the progress that has
been made to date on the dissertation or the prospectus.
One-Term Dissertation Fellowship
The One-Term Dissertation Fellowship includes stipend for one
semester, tuition, and GradCare. Rackham requires that recipients
have established a dissertation committee and submitted the Nomination
of Dissertation Committee form to the Records and Dissertation Office
prior to the beginning of the term of the fellowship.
One award is made each year, typically to a student who is in the
final defense term. Requests for applications are sent (via email) to
all doctoral candidates by the Graduate Chair. Applications include a
statement of the dissertation topic, discussion of the current state
of the dissertation work and how much remains to be done, and
explanation of how the fellowship would help the student move more
quickly towards degree completion.
Summer Research Grant
The Department of Linguistics awards a small number of Summer Research
Grants of up to $3000. The grants are intended to provide students,
usually in the pre-dissertation stages of their doctoral program, with
financial support that will enable them to focus on a research project
during the summer months. Requests for applications are sent (via
email) to all graduate students by the Graduate Chair. Linguistics
graduate students who are working on an appropriate research project
are eligible to apply; applications include a brief description of the
project and the work that the student hopes to complete during the
summer months.
Research Assistant Positions
Some department faculty hire students as Graduate Student Research
Assistants, typically to assist in grant-related research. Students
should consult with their advisors, or with the faculty member with
whom they would like to work, about this possibility.
Rackham and Other University Funding Sources
Numerous funding opportunities are available across the University,
and it is the responsibility of students and their advisors to be
cognizant of sources of support. Listed below are the sources most
commonly sought by Department of Linguistics students, but other
possibilities should also be actively pursued. A good source of
information is the
Rackham Fellowships Office.
The Predoctoral Fellowship is a highly competitive award that provides
stipend, tuition, and GradCare for the 12-month term of the award.
The fellowship is intended for outstanding doctoral candidates who
will complete the dissertation in the year in which they hold the
fellowship and who will complete the Ph.D. within 6 years of beginning
their programs.
Applicants must be nominated by their department. The Linguistics
Graduate Committee solicits applications, which include a detailed
statement of the proposed dissertation project, in the Fall term of
each year (via an email message sent out by the Graduate Chair). The
Graduate Committee selects the student(s) to be nominated on the basis
of several factors, including competitiveness of the academic record
and the extent to which the research statement is intellectually
engaging and succeeds in addressing a broad audience of scholars who
may lack knowledge of that particular area of inquiry.
Awarded to exceptional women from Eastern countries (see the Barbour
Scholarship web page for eligibility details), this scholarship is an
8-month award that includes stipend, tuition, and GradCare.
Applicants must be nominated by their department. The Linguistics
Graduate Committee solicits applications, which include a detailed
statement of purpose, from eligible students in the Fall term of each
year; the nominee is selected by the Graduate Committee.
This highly competitive fellowship is for outstanding women graduate
students with a strong potential to make exceptional contributions to
society. Applicants must be nominated by their department. The
Linguistics Graduate Committee typically invites applications in the
Fall term from appropriate doctoral candidates, although eligible
interested students should contact the Graduate Chair or the Head
Advisor.
External Funding Sources
Many external funding sources are available and, beginning in
students' first year in the program, students and their advisors
should consider external sources of funding for students' graduate
education and research. The two external sources most commonly sought
by our students are
NSF Graduate Research Fellowships
and Fulbright Fellowships;
the latter is administered at UM through the
International Institute.
The Rackham Fellowships
Office also has information
on a wide range of external funding sources.
|
