The Graduate School (TGS) sponsors a number of internal fellowships and grants and for students at all stages of their graduate experience. Please visit the individual web page of each opportunity, listed below, for details on eligibility and application instructions. Refer to Expense Guidelines for details on expense approvals and reimbursement for internal funding recipients.
The Beiling Wu Prize in Writing, named for a former Northwestern graduate student in the humanities, will be given to a doctoral or MFA student in the first year of the PhD or MFA program who wrote the best critical, analytic essay on literature or literary culture in the first year of their program.
Award: The amount of the award is $1000, which will be added to the student's stipend.
Career Development Grant Program for Humanists and Social Scientists
Career Development Grants facilitate the next professional steps for TGS students after graduate school, whether they are on the conventional academic path or otherwise. The awards may be used to cover costs directly related to a job search.
Award: Up to $400 over the course of a student's graduate career (either in a single award or in multiple awards that total $400).
Deadline: Grants are awarded on a rolling basis throughout the academic year. Students are encouraged to apply at least two weeks in advance of when expenses will be incurred.
The Conference Travel Grant (CTG) provides funds to assist PhD and MFA students traveling to and attending conferences on behalf of the University.
Award: Maximum of $600 for students in science, engineering, and math; maximum of $800 for students in social sciences and humanities.
Deadline: Grants for the 2020/2021 academic year are awarded on a rolling basis between September 1, 2020 and August 31, 2021. Students must apply prior to the start date of the virtual conference or conference travel.
The Dependent Care Professional Development Grant provides funds to assist PhD and MFA students with dependents in order to participate, as fully as possible, in professional meetings, conferences, workshops, research-related travel, and professional development opportunities, such as networking events, invited speakers, and panel discussions.
Award: Up to $750 per academic year (either in a single award or in multiple awards that total $750).
Deadline: Grants are awarded on a rolling basis throughout the academic year. Students must apply prior to the event, but no more than 3 months in advance.
The Digital Humanities Research Grant (DHRG) is intended to enable PhD students in the humanities to access specialized humanities-based training in various digital modes, methods, and tools. The grant supports PhD students in the humanities whose work involves digital technologies.
Award: Up to $2,500
Deadline: Monday, October 5, 2020 (11:59 pm), Tuesday, January 19, 2021, (11:59 pm) and Monday, April 19, 2021 (11:59 pm)
In this pre-doctoral research summer institute, faculty from across clusters, certificates, and disciplines actively guide 6 humanities and social science PhD students, who are in their second and third years, in designing effective research questions, methodologies, contexts, and interventions. Participants gain practical, theoretical, and writing insights from experienced faculty and other students outside their disciplines.
Award: Up to $4,000 summer research funding, as well as interdisciplinary faculty-led workshops.
The Dr. John N. Nicholson Fellowship provides financial support for outstanding Northwestern graduate students enrolled in PhD programs in the sciences, engineering and management. Preference is given to applicants of Greek extraction or descent.
Award: Full tuition payment for one academic year and a 9-month stipend.
The Franke Graduate Fellowship is administered through TGS and the Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities. The fellowship provides the most promising students in fields across the humanities with two quarters devoted to dissertation writing, interdisciplinary mentoring, development of a course to teach in their home departments.
Award: Two quarters of full paid tuition; monthly stipend and fringe benefits; $2,000 in research funds
The Graduate Research Grant (GRG) is intended to help PhD and MFA students and postdoctoral fellows in historically underfunded disciplines meet expenses related to scholarly research and creative endeavors.
Award: Up to $3,000 over the course of a student's graduate career (either in a single award or in multiple awards that total $3,000).
The Presidential Fellowship is highly competitive and the most prestigious fellowship awarded to graduate students by Northwestern University. All Presidential Fellows participate in the Society of Fellows functions, including dinners at which Fellows present their work, an annual retreat, special events, and various other activities.
Award: The award includes monthly stipend and tuition for 24 months. Each year of the fellowship, fellows also receive a $1,000 research award and $1,000 in travel funds.
Deadline: Monday, February 8, 2021 (by 11:59 pm) for fellowships beginning in fall 2021
The Ryan Fellowship supports graduate students dedicated to the exploration of fundamental nanoscale science and to advancing this knowledge into practical applications of benefit to society. Ryan Fellows participate in a variety of activities including, lectures, symposia, team building events and opportunities to engage in collaborative discussion and research with domestic and international partners.
Award: A three-year award, with $10,000/year as an additional stipend (divided evenly across 12 months each year) and a $2,500/year research award.
The Summer Language Grant (SLG) assists PhD students with expenses related to language training necessary for their dissertation research. Grants are made to help defray expenses incurred pursuing language instruction not available at Northwestern or via the traveling scholar programs.
Award: Up to $2,000, paid as a stipend supplement.
The Graduate School considers formal requests from graduate students, postdoctoral trainees, faculty, staff, and other units to co-sponsor events, programs, and/or initiatives that clearly benefit postdoctoral trainees and graduate students in The Graduate School.
Award: Up to $1,000, not exceeding a total of 50% of the effort's overall budget.
Deadline: The Co-Sponsorship Grant is temporarily suspended.