All PhD applicants for full-time study are automatically considered for departmental financial support. These awards are based on academic merit, not financial need. We offer long-term fellowship support for five years, and the holder of a fellowship can be assured of keeping that fellowship, provided that he or she is making normal progress toward the degree.
As of 1994, all state-supported graduate assistants are unionized through the Graduate Student Employees Union, which negotiates such issues as health-care insurance, salary increases, and grievance and arbitration procedures.
In addition to departmental Teaching Assistantships, outstanding applicants to the PhD program in English at UB may be considered for special university-based fellowships. Nominations for these fellowships will be made by the department and forwarded to a committee of the College of Arts and Sciences for review. Fellowship recipients will be notified by mid-March.
To find out more about these fellowships, see http://grad.buffalo.edu/FinancialSupport/Financial_Aid.html.
The following information about fellowships may also be helpful:
The Presidential Fellowship Program, inaugurated in Fall 1984, is designed to support students of proven excellence in UB’s various graduate departments.
Presidential Fellowships, awarded by the College of Arts and Sciences in conjunction with the Graduate School, provide a full tuition award, plus a ten-month stipend of approximately $19,500. They are renewable for four years. You will be offered fifth-year funding (the base stipend level of approximately $14,000) provided you have submitted at least one chapter of your dissertation during your fourth year.
Dean’s Fellowships are similar to Presidential Fellowships: they provide a full tuition award, plus a ten-month stipend of approximately $17,500. They are renewable for four years. You will be offered fifth-year funding (the base stipend level of approximately $14,000) provided you have submitted at least one chapter of your dissertation during your fourth year.
Standard teaching assistantships, Presidential Fellowships and Dean’s Fellowships all require teaching only one course each semester, usually the ENG 101 or 201 composition courses. After successful completion of the Oral Exams, students may apply to teach literature courses.
The Graduate Minority Fellowships were established in 1987 by the New York State Legislature and are intended to support graduate study for those individuals who have overcome significant obstacles and disadvantages. Each year there are approximately 20 awards university-wide, available only to full-time students entering a graduate degree program at the University at Buffalo for the first time. The Schomburg Fellowships are awarded on a university-wide basis; therefore all fellowships are highly competitive. The Department’s Admissions Committee will nominate prospective candidates for review by the College of Arts and Sciences Fellowship Committee and the Office of Public Service and Urban Affairs.
The Schomburg Fellowships are four-year awards with an annual stipend of approximately $7,000 plus a full award of graduate tuition. These fellowships are awarded in addition to teaching assistantships, which carry a stipend of $14,000. The English Department makes available a fifth year of support to all Schomburg Fellows in good standing in our Ph.D. program who are making normal progress. For more information on this fellowship, see: http://grad.buffalo.edu/apply/funding/scholarships.html