Assistantships
Assistantships not only provide financial assistance but also afford graduate students a structured experience in teaching and research. Graduate assistants receive a stipend and a 9- or 12-hour tuition waiver (Usually, in-state students receive a 12-hour waiver while out-of-state students receive a 9-hour waiver). The out-of-state portion of tuition is not waived beyond the first year. Thus, students who are not granted state resident status at the time of their admission must petition for a change of that status through the Registrar's Office at the end of their first year (usually in June).
By demonstrating progress toward the degree and satisfactory performance of duties, Ph.D. students are eligible, in most cases, for a continuation of teaching assignments and financial support for two academic years following successful completion of their comprehensive exams. All decisions about teaching assignments and financial support will be based on Departmental needs and resources.
Departmental Fellowships and Assistantships
SHENG YEN EDUCATION FOUNDATION GRADUATE FELLOWS IN CHINESE BUDDHISM
This fellowship offers MA-level grad students working on Chinese Buddhism approximately $15,000 per year plus full tuition waivers for a duration of two years. A maximum of two new fellows are designated annually. Applicants to the Buddhist Studies subfield should follow the same application procedure as stipulated in the Admission page. For more information, please click here.
LUCIUS MOODY BRISTOL GRADUATE FELLOWS IN RELIGION
Bristol Fellows receive approximately $24,000 per year plus full tuition waivers. A maximum of two new fellows are designated annually.
ACADEMIC JOURNAL ASSISTANTS
The Religion Department, in coordination with several academic societies and presses, annually funds eight or nine graduate students as staff for the journals edited by members of the department. Students are selected as book review assistants, lead assistants, and copyeditors for Journal of Religious Ethics, and are eligible as well to assist with Soundings: An Interdisciplinary Journal. Funding for such positions ranges from approximately $10,000-$20,000 per year, plus full tuition waivers.
Departmental Awards and Honors
THE PORTERFIELD PRIZE
The Porterfield Prize, funded by friends and colleagues to honor Professor Emerita Amanda Porterfield, recognizes excellence in research by a graduate student in the area of American Religious History. To be considered for the prize, students may submit one publication and a current CV to Michael McVicar. A committee of faculty will select the winner.
Florida State University Fellowships
In addition to our departmental awards, Religion graduate students are eligible for, and annually win, Florida State University fellowships.
THE FELLOWS SOCIETY ADELAIDE WILSON FELLOWSHIP
These university fellowships provide full tuition waiver and approximately $30,000 a year. In 2008, the Graduate School established The Fellows Society, a community of scholars. Its mission is to promote interdisciplinary engagement and leadership development for graduate students holding nationally competitive fellowships (e.g. the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship) and university-wide fellowships administered through the Graduate School. Fellows Society programming is designed to expand members' intellectual horizons and facilitate broadened networks across disciplines and professions.
LEGACY FELLOWSHIPS
Legacy Fellowships are a multi year awards for newly admitted doctoral that offer five consecutive academic years of guaranteed funding for new students. The fellowship offers a $10,000 supplement per academic year, and provides the annual health insurance subsidy.
MCKNIGHT DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP
The McKnight Doctoral Fellowship program for under-represented African American and Hispanic students awards approximately $12,000 and a full tuition waiver.
INTERNATIONAL DISSERTATION SEMESTER RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
The International Dissertation Semester Research Fellowship Awards approximately $7,000-$14,000 plus a full tuition waiver.
LESLIE N. WILSON-DELORES AUZENNE ASSISTANTSHIP
The Wilson-Auzenne Assistantship awards $5,000, which is added to the Religion department graduate assistant stipend for a maximum of approximately $15,000 plus a full tuition waiver.
EDWARD H. AND MARIE C. KINGSBURY AWARD
The Kingsbury Award is administered by the FSU Department of English, however, it is open to all currently enrolled full-time FSU graduate students. The amount of the award is approximately $6,000-$10,000 and a full tuition waiver.
Dissertation Research Grants
This annual award is paid by the Graduate School to assist doctoral students with expenses associated with research necessary to prepare dissertations. Awards range from $750 to $1,000 for top tier awardees.
External Fellowships and Awards
Religion department graduate students in recent years have won fellowships such as the Charlotte W. Newcombe Dissertation Fellowship, American Association of University Women Dissertation Fellowship, P.E.O. Scholar Award, American Philosophical Society, and others.
The Office of Graduate Fellowships & Awards (OGFA) assists currently enrolled FSU graduate students with articulating their interests and ambitions in support of identifying and applying for external fellowships, scholarships, and awards. OGFA maintains an updated list of fellowships and awards for Religion students with current deadlines.
MELLON/ACLS DISSERTATION COMPLETION FELLOWSHIPS
Support for graduate students in the humanities and related social sciences in the last year of PhD dissertation writing. Application requires the submission of one full (non-introduction) chapter.
SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH COUNCIL FELLOWSHIPS AND PRIZES
Deadlines vary. Funding for dissertation proposal development as well as international dissertation research for students in the humanities and humanistic social sciences.
CHARLOTTE W. NEWCOMBE DOCTORAL DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIPS
Dissertation stage support for doctoral students whose work offers significant potential for advancing academic scholarship related to ethics and/or religion.
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN FELLOWSHIPS
The AAUW has several programs to support women pursuing fulltime study to finish dissertations and undertake research. Awards are available to people of multiple nationalities.
ACLS DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIPS IN BUDDHIST STUDIES
These fellowships work to expand the understanding and interpretation of Buddhist thought in scholarship and society, strengthen international networks of Buddhist studies, and increase the visibility of innovative currents in those studies.
CRITICAL LANGUAGE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
Part of a U.S. government effort to expand the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign languages (Azerbaijani, Bangala/Bengali, Hindi, Indonesian, Korean, Punjabi, Swahili, Turkish, Urdu, Arabic, Persian, Chinese, Japanese, & Russian).
FORD FOUNDATION FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM—PRE-DOCTORAL AND DISSERTATION FELLOWSHIPS
Fellowships to increase the diversity of the nation's college and university faculty and the number of professors who will use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students.
CHATEAUBRIAND FELLOWSHIP IN HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
The Chateaubriand Fellowship is a grant offered by the Embassy of France in the United States. Every year, it allows doctoral students enrolled in American universities to conduct research in France for 4 to 9 months.
BOREN FELLOWSHIP
Funding for U.S. graduate students to study less commonly taught languages in world regions critical to U.S. interests, and underrepresented in study abroad, including Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East.
JOSEPHINE DE KARMAN FELLOWSHIP
Award for PhD candidates in the final stages of their dissertation writing. Special consideration given to humanities students.
FULBRIGHT GRANTS AND ASSISTANTSHIPS
The Fulbright Program is the largest U.S. international exchange program. It offers opportunities for students to undertake graduate study and advanced research worldwide or to teach English abroad.