Financial aid for graduate students newly entering the Department is awarded on a competitive basis and is typically very limited. In a given year, the Department typically gives one Top Scholar Award to recruit an exceptionally promising incoming graduate student. With the exception of the Top Scholar Award, application for admission to the Department’s graduate program does not automatically constitute an application for financial aid. You must separately apply for financial aid. Please see below for resources for funding.
Quick Links:
| Departmental Funding | University of Washington Funding |
| External Funding | Summer and Research Travel Grants |
| Useful Links |
Graduate Funding Information Service (GFIS) "Finding Funding" Workshop for Asian L&L,
October 25, 2022
Departmental Funding
Teaching Assistant Appointments
- TA appointments are one of the primary methods by which AL&L graduate students are funded. All current and prospective students with suitable language ability are strongly encouraged to apply. It is a competitive application process, so please consider this early on in your application process. Students may apply for TA positions at the same time as graduate admissions.
Graduate School and AL&L Departmental Travel Funding
- The Graduate School provides limited support for graduate students to present papers at academic conferences, symposiums and workshops. In addition, there are some departmental funds available as well. These funds are applied for jointly, and requests for this support must be channeled through the department. Deadlines for petitioning the Graduate School for travel support vary according to the dates of the proposed travel. In order to request these funds, please visit the Graduate Student Travel Funds Guidelines website.
Asian L&L Graduate Student Travel Funding
- Our graduate students have a limited amount of travel funds from the annual book sale and other donations. Please contact this year’s GSA president or secretary for more information.
University of Washington Funding
Many of these fellowships require you to be nominated by the department; you cannot apply directly. Please keep an eye out for departmental emails regarding these opportunities or mention them to your academic advisor if you believe that you may be eligible.
Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships (FLAS)
- FLAS fellowships are one of the most popular options for funding among AL&L graduate students. FLAS Fellowships support graduate and professional students in acquiring modern foreign languages and area or international studies competencies. However, only US citizens or permanent residents are eligible. FLAS fellowships are awarded for either a full academic year (tuition and stipend) or a summer (tuition and stipend). Applications are handled by the Jackson School of International Studies (JSIS). Please see the link above for eligibility, deadlines, and application instructions.
Society of Scholars Fellowship, Walter Chapin Simpson Center for the Humanities
- These Graduate Fellowships support dissertating doctoral students in writing up and sharing their individual research in the multidisciplinary, bi-weekly forum of the Society of Scholars. Students receive two quarters of support (stipend, benefits, tuition waiver.) Residency required.
GSEE Graduate Diversity Fellowships
- Awards based on merit, financial need, and diversity. Available to doctoral students only. Students must be nominated by department.
- The Graduate School Presidential Dissertation award is intended to assist Ph.D. candidates in the final stages of writing and completing their dissertations. The Dissertation Fellowship is a one-quarter award established with support of the University President. Students must be nominated by department.
Alvord Endowed Fellowship in the Humanities
- The College’s most prestigious graduate student award in the Humanities. The Alvord Fellow receives a stipend of $16,000 and a benefits package, provided by private donors; and a tuition waiver, provided by the Graduate School. The winner of the Alvord Endowed Fellowship in the Humanities will also automatically be awarded an additional $8500 from the Frank L. and Catherine D. Doleshy Endowed Fund, for a total award amount of $24,500. Call for nominations goes out in early to mid-January. Nominations due March 15. Students must be nominated by department.
The "Group" of Humanities Scholarships
- A group of scholarships (Fritz, Hunter, Macfarlane, Lederman) for graduate and undergraduate students in the humanities, $2500-$5000 each, distributed evenly across three quarters. All scholarships require students are enrolled full-time and pursuing a degree/major in the humanities. There is little distinction among the funds, so nominations are made to the group, but designated as part of the award process. The Lederman scholarships are limited to undergraduate students only; the Hunter scholarships are limited to graduate students; the Fritz, and Macfarlane scholarships may be awarded to both graduates and undergraduates. Call for nominations goes out in early to mid-January. Nominations due March 15. Students must be nominated by department.
The Antoinette Wills Endowed Fund for Graduate Students
- A $750-$2000 scholarship for graduate students in the divisions of the Humanities and the Arts. Call for nominations goes out in early to mid-January. Nominations due March 15. Students must be nominated by department.
UW Japan Scholarships and Fellowships
- Scholarships for Japan studies are available to AL&L students (unless otherwise noted) including international students.
External Funding
General Humanities
Mellon Fellowships for Dissertation Research in Original Sources
- Support for dissertation research in humanities using sources in the original language. The program offers about fifteen competitively awarded fellowships a year in amounts up to $25,000. Each provides a stipend of $2,000 per month for periods ranging from 9-12 months. Each fellow receives an additional $1,000 upon participating in a symposium on research in original sources and submitting a report acceptable to CLIR on the research experience.
Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellowship
- Funding for final year of graduate school (PhC only). Prestigious and includes a large stipend. Administered through the Graduate School.
Dolores Zohrab Liebmann Fellowships
- Dolores Zohrab Liebmann supported students and charitable organizations in her lifetime and created a fund to continue support after her death. The Dolores Zohrab Liebmann Fund supports graduate students with “outstanding character and ability who hold promise for achievement and distinction in their chosen fields of study.” The University of Washington is one of the institutions selected to submit three nominees for this national fellowship. Administered through the Graduate School.
Fulbright U.S. Student Program
- The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is the largest U.S. exchange program offering opportunities for students and young professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and primary and secondary school teaching worldwide. The program currently awards approximately 1,900 grants annually in all fields of study, and operates in more than 155 countries worldwide. All students are encouraged to consider this great opportunity, whether as part of your academic program or outside of it. Eligibility requirements and application procedures differ by country. Must apply through the Graduate School.
Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships
- This Fellowship provides funding for dissertation research abroad for graduate students pursuing non-Western European area studies. Geographic areas include: Africa; East, Southeast, and South Asia, Pacific Islands; Near East; East Central Europe and Eurasia; and the Western Hemisphere (excluding the United States and its territories). Must apply through the Graduate School.
David L. Boren Graduate Fellowships
- David L. Boren Graduate Fellowships, an initiative of the National Security Education Program, provide unique funding opportunities for U.S. graduate students to study less commonly taught languages in world regions critical to U.S. interests, and regions that are underrepresented in study abroad programs, including Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America and the Middle East. The countries of Western Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are excluded. Boren fellows represent a vital pool of highly motivated individuals who wish to work in the federal national security arena. In exchange for funding, Boren fellows commit to working in the federal government for at least one year after graduation. The fellowships provide up to $24,000 for overseas study. In addition, Boren Fellowships can provide limited funding for domestic language study to supplement the overseas component. The maximum award for a combined overseas and domestic program is $30,000. Students must apply through the Graduate School.
- The Laura Bassi Scholarship was established by Editing Press in 2018 with the aim of providing editorial assistance to postgraduates and junior academics whose research focuses on neglected topics of study, broadly construed, within their disciplines. The scholarships are open to every discipline and are awarded three times per year: December, April, and August. The value of the scholarships are remitted through editorial assistance.
Area-Specific Fellowships and Scholarships
- The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program is a fully funded summer overseas language and cultural immersion program for American undergraduate and graduate students. With the goal of broadening the base of Americans studying and mastering critical languages and building relationships between the people of the United States and other countries, CLS provides opportunities to a diverse range of students from across the United States at every level of language learning. Languages include Japanese, Chinese, Persian, Bangla, Hindi, and Urdu. Administered through the Graduate School.
Blakemore Freeman Fellowships for Advanced Asian Language Study
- Grants for a year of full-time advanced language study at an institution in Asia. Eligible languages are Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Burmese, Indonesian, Khmer, Thai, and Vietnamese.
UW Japan Studies links to Scholarships and Funding
Japan Foundation - Japanese Studies Fellowship Program
- This program provides support to outstanding scholars in the field by offering the opportunity to conduct research in Japan. Doctoral candidates in the humanities or social sciences can apply for support for 4-12 months for research in Japan. Applicants must have achieved ABD status by the time the fellowship begins.
Japan Foundation – Program for Specialists in Cultural and Academic Fields
- This program is designed to provide specialists (researchers, postgraduate students, librarians, museum curators, etc.) who need a good command of the Japanese language to conduct fieldwork and research through an intensive residential training course on the Japanese language. This course focuses on general Japanese language proficiency and aims to assist participants to improve speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills. There are also classes aimed to improve Japanese skills necessary to gather and output information for the participants’ specialized work/research. The course also includes social events with the Japanese graduate school students, etc. Participants are required to make a presentation of their accomplishments of their activity and study during their stay in Japan at the end of the course. Two or six-month fully funded language preparation program in Osaka, Japan.
Inter-University Center for Japanese Studies: – Nippon Foundation Fellows and Toshizo Watanabe Fellows
- The IUC, the most prestigious intensive Japanese language learning program for graduate students, offers a fellowship program for graduate students with Japan-focused career goals in academia, business, diplomacy/government service, journalism, translation, and law, generously sponsored by the Nippon Foundation. The Nippon Foundation Fellows Program at the IUC aims to provide the most promising students with the deep linguistic and cultural knowledge needed to become leaders in their fields, and to foster strong collegial bonds and intellectual exchange among them and with their IUC senpai.
MEXT Research Student Scholarships
- Covers a one-and-a-half year to two-year period of graduate research at Japanese universities. The study area must be in the same field as the applicant studied or is now studying, or a related one. Recipients may enter Master's or Ph.D. program after passing the entrance examination given by the university concerned. Includes a half-year of Japanese language training for those who need Japanese language training. Applicants need to be less than 35 years of age and must be university graduates.
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Fellowships (JSPF)
- Despite the title, this award is for ABD and recently graduated scholars in the humanities. The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Fellowship Program provides recent PhD recipients and ABDs (please see program eligibility requirements) with opportunities to conduct research in Japan under the leadership of a host researcher. Fellows are encouraged to advance their own research and at the same time closely collaborate with young Japanese researchers and contribute to Japanese research communities.
Doctoral Fellowships - Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange
- Doctoral candidates who are non-ROC citizens and who are enrolled in an accredited university in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, or South America may apply for financial support for writing dissertations in the field of Chinese Studies in the humanities and social sciences. Citizens of the ROC should apply for Dissertation Fellowships for ROC Students Abroad. Applicants should have completed all other requirements for their Ph.D. degree, and must be in the last stage of their doctoral program. The maximum amount of each award is US$20,000, which is given for a period extending to one year. Successful candidates are expected to complete their dissertations by the end of the grant period
ACLS/The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation – Dissertation Fellowships in Buddhist Studies
- The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Dissertation Fellowships in Buddhist Studies provide one-year stipends to PhD candidates for full time preparation of dissertations. The fellowship period may be used for fieldwork, archival research, analysis of findings, or for writing after research is complete.
Berkeley-AIPS Urdu Language Program in Pakistan
- Funded language program, jointly administered by the America Institute of Pakistan Studies (AIPS) and the Berkeley Urdu Language Program in Pakistan (BULPIP) at ISAS in the University of California, Berkeley, this Urdu language program offers daily classroom instruction, five days a week, for approximately fifteen weeks. The program will award annual fellowships to up to ten students. Available to both US and non-US students.
American Institute of Indian Studies Junior Research Fellowships
- Junior Research Fellowships are available to doctoral candidates at U.S. universities in all fields of study. These grants are specifically designed to enable doctoral candidates to pursue their dissertation research in India. Junior Research Fellows establish formal affiliation with Indian universities and Indian research supervisors. Awards are available for up to 11 months.
American Institute of Indian Studies – Summer and Year Language Programs
- AIIS offers intensive, immersion-based training in modern and classical South Asian languages at multiple sites in India. Languages include Bangla, Gujarati, Hindi, Mughal Persian, Pali/Krakrit, Sanskrit, Urdu, and many more. AIIS awards full fellowships, funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Group Projects Abroad program, to qualified academic-year and semester program students on a competitive basis; summer program applicants should seek funding from their home institutions or through the Critical Language Scholarship program (for Bengali, Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu), but may also be considered for financial assistance from AIIS.
Chinese Language Fellowship Program - The National Bureau of Asian Research
- Provides fellowships to American PhD students so that they can devote one year to intensive Chinese language training at an institution of the fellow’s choice, generally in China or Taiwan. The fellowship is intended to cover all expenses at a graduate student level, including tuition, housing living stipend, and other miscellaneous fees. Two types of fellowships offered, one for currently enrolled PhD students, and one for prospective PhDs, (current or recent MA students planning to pursue a PhD). Must be enrolled in MA program or possess an MA degree.
Conference and Research Funding
Graduate and Professional Student Senate Conference Travel Grant
- In an effort to help improve graduate and professional student life at the University of Washington, the GPSS Travel Grants Program contributes funds to qualifying individuals’ travel expenses for active conference participation in the US and abroad. Available up to $300 (domestic) or $500 (international).
International Research Fellowships
- Grants to support international research in the humanities and social sciences. These one-quarter grants provide support to UW graduate students doing international research or study. Successful applicants are awarded either a Chester Fritz Fellowship or a Boeing International Fellowship. The fellowships are available to fund research and/or study periods of one quarter (three full months) abroad during the academic year. These awards DO NOT support faculty-led UW study abroad programs. Awardees will receive a stipend of $2,700 per month, and paid health insurance (GAIP). During the quarter of their award, fellows are required to register for an independent learning program through UW Study Abroad. The program fee is covered by this fellowship. No extra money is included for airfare.
Bonderman Graduate Travel Fellowship
- Where would you go if you had eight months to travel solo? Which two continents and six countries would you visit? How would you get there? Where would you stay? What experiences would you seek out? How would you be transformed?
- Each year a handful of lucky University of Washington students get to make those decisions as they embark on the adventure of a lifetime. The Bonderman Travel Fellowship offers University of Washington graduate, professional, and select undergraduate students an opportunity to engage in independent exploration and travel abroad.
Digital Humanities Summer Fellowships, Simpson Center for the Humanities
- The Digital Humanities Summer Fellowships for Graduate Students support scholars whose projects use digital technologies in innovative and intensive ways and/or explore the historical, social, aesthetic, and cross-cultural implications of digital cultures.
Links for Further Research
Financial Information for International Students
Unfortunately, many sources of funding are limited to US citizens or permanent residents. This link can help provide some guidance for international students (both graduate and undergraduate levels.)
Graduate Funding Information Service
- GFIS works with current and admitted UW graduate students, helping them identify and locate funding opportunities for graduate school-related expenses including tuition, research, conference and research travel. Students can visit GFIS during drop-in advising hours, schedule individual appointments, or request information by email. Students can also visit the GFIS Funding Resources Blog to learn about campus funding resources, databases, search strategies, and events. The blog is updated regularly and is a great source of info for funding – not just fellowships, but GSA and TA/RA positions throughout the university as well.
Graduate School Fellowships List
- Duplicates much of the information above, but serves as a good aggregator of information and deadlines.
- List of funding options specific to students studying international and language-based topics. Contains lists of JSIS fellowships, as well as external fellowships.
- List of South Asia specific funding opportunities.