Funding

The Department of Linguistics offers two basic types of financial aid to its graduate students: Achievement Scholarships and Graduate Assistantships.

Achievement Scholarships consist of full or partial tuition waivers.  No work commitment is associated with these awards.

Graduate Assistantships includes both a full tuition waiver and a 9-month stipend of at least $20,472 (step 10) for PhD students, depending on hiring step. MA students, if awarded a graduate assistantship, typically receive slightly less. Graduate assistantships include the option of enrolling in the employee medical insurance plan. More information about GA compensation can be found at the Graduate Division.

Please refer to our Financial Aid Policy for more details.

  •  Ph.D. Program
    The Department of Linguistics provides all Ph.D. students with full support (a Graduate Assistantship that includes a stipend and a full tuition waiver) for eight semesters.  Students may apply for up to two additional semesters of Graduate Assistantship support on a competitive basis, subject to the availability of funds.Eligible doctoral students in the Department of Linguistics may apply for the Bilinski Fellowship in Linguistics.
  • MA Program
    A variety of financial aid, including Graduate Assistantship and tuition waivers, is available on a competitive basis to MA students.

Bilinski Fellowship

The Bilinski Fellowship supports top doctoral students through both dissertation fellowships and pre-dissertation research awards.

Drechsel-Hubbard Endowed Fellowship

The Drechsel-Hubbard Endowed Fellowship for Indigenous Language-Culture Research supports students working on their native or heritage Indigenous languages, especially those of the Pacific and North America. The award  provides $10,000 annually and can supplement a Graduate Assistantship.

Thompson Fund for Research and Publication

The Laurence C. and Terry M. Thompson Fund for Research and Publication in Linguistics and Oral Literature supports field research and publication, with a special focus on languages of the US Pacific Northwest and Mainland Southeast Asian. More information will be forthcoming in early 2024.

External Funding

Students are encouraged to apply for external funding during their first few years in residence, and many of our students are highly successful at procuring external grants from agencies such as the NSF and other private foundations. The following is a list of potential sources:

You may also want to check our Resources for Current Students for further listings (Open Access Department Resources, and Resources Outside the Department).