Scholarships and Funding

Paul and Catherine Nagy Fellowship

Paul and Catherine Nagy

Paul and Catherine Nagy

Paul and Catherine Nagy have made a generous gift to the American Studies program in order to support student travel, research, and conference attendance. The program accepts requests for funding from any AMST Ph.D. student in good standing. The requests will be considered on a rolling basis, and the availability of this fellowship will be announced at the beginning of each academic year.

To continue to celebrate and encourage interdisciplinary collaboration and as an expression of gratitude for the opportunities provided by IU Indianapolis, the couple created the Paul and Catherine Nagy Endowment for American Studies.

Funding

The program offers multiple ways to fund students toward completing a doctorate in American Studies.

Full-time with funding from research center or external partner

Funding for a stipend and health insurance for full-time Ph.D. work coupled with tuition remission from AMST/SLA.

Expectations for External Assistantships:

  • According to a written Memorandum of Understanding with research partner, students will work a 50% FTE (20 standard hours per week) with a research center on campus and/or an external partner off campus.
  • Students are expected to produce research that have measurable outcomes such as publications, grants, media outputs, etc.
  • A Memorandum of Understanding will outline expectations and evaluations of work and supervision for such arrangements

Full-time with block grant funding

Block grant funds provided by the Graduate School must be used to support research assistantships or other student academic appointees in research rather than teaching positions.

Expectations for Research Assistantships:

  • Research Assistants assist faculty in research projects. A 50% FTE (20 standard hours per week) appointment is considered full time (see Graduate Student Academic Appointees Guide).
  • It is expected that the research conducted by the Research Assistants will result in co-authored or individual publications, grants, presentations, or other suitable products.
  • A Memorandum of Understanding, clearly stating expectations and compensation for Research Assistants for a given semester should be signed by the Graduate Program Director and the Graduate Assistant. A copy should be filed with the Dean.

Full-Time SLA-supported funding

Expectations for SLA-Supported Teaching Assistantships:

  • Students who are not funded by block grant as research assistants, and who are not assigned to external internships or grant-funded positions, will be expected to begin teaching in the first semester of their first year in the program. On an exceptional basis and with approval of the Office of the Dean, if special training is needed, during the first semester, they will work for the department in other capacities, and will receive mentoring and teaching training.
  • Teaching Assistants are expected to:
    • teach two regular sections (this is considered equivalent to the regular teaching assistant load of two 3-credit courses per semester [= 20 hours per week] OR
    • teach one large section per semester (40–60 students) OR
    • assist faculty teaching large sections (2) of 80–100 students.
  • Teaching Assistant appointments may be granted for one semester or for one year. A 50% FTE (20 standard hours per week) appointment is considered full time (see Graduate Student Academic Appointees Guide).
  • Teaching Assistants are assigned a teaching mentor or course coordinator.
  • Teaching Assistants are required to complete appropriate professional development, as determined by the course coordinator or mentor in consultation with the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs. This may include professional development offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning or the campus course designed for International Teaching Assistants, ENG G520 – Communication Skills for Graduate Students and ITAs.
  • A Memorandum of Understanding, clearly stating expectations and compensation for Teaching Assistants for a given semester should be signed by the Graduate Program Director and the Graduate Assistant. A copy should be filed with the Dean.

Part-Time with external funding

Students who enter the program at a part-time status—6 credit hours or fewer each semester—and have funding from a research center and/or an external partner will use this funding to cover their tuition. In some cases, funding will exceed the cost of tuition and will be paid directly to students so that they can cover their tuition. In other cases, funding will ONLY cover tuition and AMST will pay for student tuition each semester without providing funds directly to the student. In any case, a letter of offer will stipulate how funded part-time graduate work will proceed each year.

More Info

Contact Dr. Raymond Haberksi, Director of American Studies.