Funding Opportunities

Fellowship and teaching opportunities

In Fall 2012 the Department of Spanish and Portuguese was awarded a major multi-year grant by the U.S. Department of Education (Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need – GAANN) which now enables us to recruit outstanding students with extremely competitive fellowship packages. GAANN fellows receive a generous stipend in addition to health insurance and tuition waivers. They are also released from teaching responsibilities for the duration of the fellowship, allowing them to concentrate on coursework and research.

The Department also offers fellowships and graduate stipends featuring excellent opportunities for research and teaching language and culture courses in our department. All M.A. students receive guaranteed funding for two years, while Ph.D. students receive a guaranteed five years of funding (a total of 7 years of funding for those pursuing M.A.-Ph.D.). Funding is contingent on satisfactory academic progress and teaching. The graduate stipend for 2017-18 is $15,750 and includes a full tuition remission as well as student health insurance. Additional fellowships are also offered to highly competitive candidates.

Justin Knight
Justin Knight was awarded the College Dissertation Year Fellowship for 2018-19.

Teaching opportunities

Many advanced graduate students also teach summer courses in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese or overseas through the Indiana University Honors Program. With the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies, students may apply to teach specialized courses in the Honors College or the Global Village. All graduate students receive thorough professional training and mentoring in research and classroom teaching.

Departmental awards

The Department makes several annual awards to continuing students:

  • The Doctoral Student Award for Academic Achievement provides a release from teaching for one semester.
  • The Timothy J. Rogers Summer Dissertation Fellowship provides a stipend for summer research.
  • The Merle E. Simmons Travel Fellowship for Research on Latin America Literature is awarded to a continuing graduate student in our department who is pursuing the Ph.D. in Latin American literature and who will use the funds for a research trip to Mexico, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, Spain or Portugal.
  • The J. M. Hill prize for an Outstanding Graduate Student Paper recognizes the winner with a cash award.
  • Departmental Travel Grants provide funding for Ph.D students presenting work at conferences.
  • The Deyermond travel fellowship is awarded annually to support graduate student conference travel (by nomination only).

Graduate School and College awards

In addition to these departmental awards, students from the Department of Spanish and Portuguese apply and receive many awards announced by the College of Arts and Sciences and the University Graduate School, such as the Dissertation Year Fellowship, the Wells Fellowship, and the John Edwards Fellowship.

Foreign Language Area Study (FLAS) fellowships from the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies are frequently won by students in the department. Students seeking potential sources of funding are encouraged to begin their search through the IU GradGrants Center.

Funding resources

Additional resources can be found on University Graduate School's website that of the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Office of the Vice President for International Affairs (OVPIA)

For more information, please contact the Graduate Office.