Graduate Funding & Awards

The department offers several awards for graduate students working in any field of history and in specific fields.

Please note that the deadline for submission of applications by graduate students is Feb. 15, 2024. This will allow us to announce the winners of all departmental awards by mid March to accommodate the earlier Semester deadlines for summer GTA appointments. We do not require submission of a detailed budget from those of you who are applying for funds to cover basic living expenses in Columbus for the summer while working on your dissertation. Simply note that you intend to use the award for that purpose. Finally, we require that you inform us of all funds that you may be awarded from other sources for the same project as the one described in your application for funds awarded by the department. The Department of History maintains the right to adjust the awarded funding based on need if other non-departmental grants should materialize.

As in previous years strong preference will be given to students who have passed the PhD candidacy exam. If you are applying for funds to support travel for research, you must include a detailed budget. Please do your utmost to provide a realistic budget (see model budget [pdf]). Do not underestimate your expenses. Just as importantly, do not "inflate" your budget! The Committee will look most favorably at reasonable budgets. Please remember to indicate the state of progress on the project and an anticipated completion date.

Even if you are applying for more than one award, it is sufficient to submit just one application form. Your application will not be considered complete until we receive the completed application and one letter of recommendation. Please instruct recommenders to email letters directly to Alyssa Reynolds at Reynolds.854@osu.edu.

The 2024 online application form will be posted in early 2024.
 

GRADUATE STUDENT AWARDS AND PRIZES

Department of History Graduate Students may apply for the following awards and prizes. Applications for the awards are due by Feb., 15, 2024.
 

AWARDS IN ANY FIELD

Mansel Blackford Student Travel Award
The award supports travel for research in any field of history. One or two awards of up to $4,000.
 
Ruth Higgins Award
The award supports dissertation or thesis research in any field of history. One or two awards of up to $2,000.

Retrieving The American Past (RTAP) Award
The award provides summer support to a graduate student in any field of history for work on dissertations or theses in Columbus or elsewhere. Several awards of up to $5,000.

History Faculty Scholarship
Established November 8, 2013, with gifts from faculty and friends of the Department of History, this scholarship supports graduate student research for students enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences who are studying history. One or two awards of up to $2,000.
 

FIELD SPECIFIC AWARDS

Robert Bremner Award
The award supports graduate student education in U.S. history. One or two awards of up to $1,000.

Andreas Dorpalen Award
The award supports a graduate student working on a dissertation in the area of nineteenth-or-twentieth century German history. One award of up to $1,000.

Foster Rhea Dulles Award
The award supports a graduate student working on a dissertation or thesis in U.S. history, particularly 20th century. One or two awards of up to $3,000.
 
Sydney Fisher Memorial Award (Faculty Nomination Required)
The award supports research and study of Ottoman and Turkish Studies. One or two awards of up to $4,000.

Genevieve Brown Gist Dissertation Research Award in Women’s History
The award supports a master's or doctoral student who is studying history. Preference is given to females based on scholastic ability and need. One or two awards of up to $4,000.
 
The Lieutenant Colonel Sean M. Judge Award
Established in memory of Sean M. Judge by his friends, for those who study military history, with a preference for graduate students in the Department of History. One or two awards of up to $2,000.
 
Helen and Harold Kapiloff Research Award
The award supports doctoral research for student in diplomatic/international history, with preference given to those working in libraries and archives outside the U.S. One award of up to $2,000.

Bradley R. Kastan Award
The award supports a graduate student in the field of business history. One or two awards of up to $500.
 
Kauffman Family Summer Research Award
The award provides summer research support for graduate students in American history. Several awards of up to $15,000.
 
Joseph H. Lynch Award
The award is given to students studying medieval history or the history of Christianity. One or two awards of up to $2,500.
 
Philip Poirier Awards
The award supports dissertation research abroad on any area of British history. One or two awards of up to $3,000.
 
Elaine S. And John C. Rule Award
The award supports travel and/or study abroad in Western Europe (France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Spain, and Portugal), with preference first for doctoral students in the field of early modern Europe (1450-1789) and then for doctoral students in modern Europe (1789-present). Several awards of up to $10,000.
 
Henry H. Simms Award
The award supports dissertation research and writing on some aspect of one of the following areas of study: the colonial and ante-bellum South, the slavery controversy, the Civil War, and the Reconstruction period. One or two awards of up to $3,000.
 
Allan and Helen Wildman Memorial Award
The award supports students working in the area of Russian or East European history. One award of up to $1,000.
 

Tien-Yi Li Prize (Faculty Nomination Required)
The award is given to an outstanding graduate student in the field of Chinese history and culture. One award of up to $850.