In the Fall of 2012, our department was awarded a major multiyear grant (known as Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need) by the U.S. Department of Education. This now enables us to recruit outstanding students with highly 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 who complete both the M.A. and 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 particularly competitive candidates.

All of our graduate students receive thorough professional training and mentoring in research and classroom teaching. 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, our students may also apply to teach specialized courses in the Honors College or the Global Village.

• 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.

Students from our department also apply for and receive many awards given by the College of Arts and Sciences and the University Graduate School. These include the Dissertation Year Fellowship, the Wells Fellowship, and the John Edwards Fellowship. Our students frequently win Foreign Language Area Study (FLAS) fellowships from the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.