Transatlantic History Program

 UTA Fellowships and Teaching Assistantships

The history department offers a limited number of fellowships and teaching assistantships. Applicants can be considered for the Graduate Dean Doctoral Fellowship that provides $8,000 over four years plus in-state tuition. In addition, teaching assistantships are available for $4,500 per semester plus in-state tuition. The university also offers McNair graduate assistance packages for minority, low-income and first generation students. This includes fellowships, twenty-hour assistantships and in-state tuition. To qualify for a McNair Fellowship, the applicant must be a graduate of a McNair Scholars Program.

To be appointed as a graduate teaching or research assistant a student must be admitted to the doctoral program unconditionally. Students admitted as provisional students may not be considered for an assistantship until all provisional requirements have been resolved. New students, admitted with probationary conditions, may be considered for an assistantship after the requirements have been met.

Before being appointed to an assistantship, a student whose native language is not English must demonstrate English proficiency. The preferred method of demonstration is by submitting an acceptable score of 45 or higher on the Test of Spoken English (TSE) before arriving in the United States . Holding a degree(s) from a U.S. college or university does not exempt applicants who are non-native speakers of English from this requirement.

Continuation of the assistantship appointment beyond the first semester is subject to the following conditions: the student must be in good standing in the university; the student must be making satisfactory progress toward the doctoral degree; and the student must have performed assigned assistantship duties satisfactorily in the preceding semester(s) as determined by the department in which the assistantship is held.

Graduate teaching and research assistants employed at least 20 hours per week are entitled to Texas resident tuition rates. Eligibility for in-state resident tuition must be certified prior to registration by the dean of the Graduate School ; otherwise, full tuition will be assessed. Non-resident or international students holding less than full assistantships (full meaning 20 hours employment per week) are not eligible for Texas resident rates.

Graduate assistants holding full assistantships (20 hours of employment per week) may register for and must complete no more than 12 semester hours and no fewer than nine semester hours per semester. They may register for no more than 12 semester hours and no fewer than six semester hours for the three summer sessions. Funded students in their final semester who are not required to be enrolled in either a six-hour thesis or nine-hour dissertation may petition to have their course load reduced as described in Final Semester Enrollment regulations for Funded Students in the Graduate Catalog.

Those Graduate Students who want to be appointed as Teaching Assistants in a given semester are strongly encouraged to enroll in the mandated semester hours by August 1 for the following fall semester and by December 15 for the following spring semester.

Upon approval of the Dean of Graduate Studies, the minimum registration limit may be reduced to six semester hours for students who have 1) completed all coursework, 2) are registered for dissertation only, and 3) have submitted an approved final program of work. Students defending their dissertation must enroll in a nine-hour dissertation course in the semester in which they defend and may not petition for a course load reduction below that required by these courses.

Students meeting the requirements for a reduced course load must request a waiver of the enrollment requirement by submitting a Request for Waiver of Full Time Enrollment form to the Dean of Graduate Studies. This form is available online through the Virtual Graduate School Advisor or from the Graduate School office. A course load of more than 12 semester hours must be approved in advance by the Dean of Graduate Studies.

Graduate Teaching Assistants or Graduate Research Assistants who have a 25% (10 hours of employment per week) or less appointment must be enrolled for at least 6 hours during a long semester and 3 hours during the summer. This enrollment requirement covers both organized courses and dissertation and thesis hours. However, all graduate students, whether funded or unfunded, must follow UTA policy concerning required enrollment in the final semester.

During the fall and spring semesters, international students may work on campus only 20 hours per week unless authorized for additional employment through Curricular Practical Training (CPT). During vacation and the summer, international students may work more that 20 hours per week on-campus without additional authorization. At anytime during the year, employment with an off-campus employer must be authorized by either BCIS or by the International Office in the case of CPT. If the intended additional employment is to be authorized by CPT, both the Graduate School and the International Office must approve. The form Request for Approval of Additional Employment is available online through the Virtual Graduate School Advisor or in the Graduate School office. Students holding a UTA assistantship wishing to work off-campus in addition to the assistantship, must 1) meet and maintain the enrollment requirements for holding an assistantship 2) meet the immigration requirements for CPT 3) work only part-time (20 hours or less) off-campus 4) be employed in off-campus work that is clearly connected to his or her assistantship. If these requirements are not met, a student will be obliged to give up either the assistantship or the off-campus employment.

A student may petition for exceptions to published rules of the Graduate School by submitting a petition form to his or her Graduate Advisor. The Graduate Advisor and the departmental Committee on Graduate Studies evaluate the petition and send it to the Dean of Graduate Studies for his final judgment. Limited exceptions to some rules may be approved if the facts presented by the petitioner are in the views of the Advisor, Committee on Graduate Studies and Graduate Dean are fully justified. All petitions must be submitted on petition forms available in the Graduate School office and online through the Virtual Graduate School Advisor.

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The Graduate Dean’s Texas Resident Dissertation Fellowship Program

The Graduate Dean’s Texas Resident Dissertation Fellowship Program supports Texas residents in the final stage of completing their doctoral dissertations. Since fall 2004, these Fellowships for up to $13,000 are available to support resident students preparing their dissertations during two consecutive fall and spring semesters. The exact amount of these Fellowships is directly linked to a student’s level of financial need. This fellowship may only be offered to Texas residents who can demonstrate financial need as well as merit. Some non-resident students may be eligible for this award if they have been classified as a resident for tuition, state financial aid, and admission purposes.

Possessing a non-resident tuition waiver alone, however, does not make one eligible.

Fellowship holders are expected to complete their degrees during or shortly after the award period. Recipients may not hold other forms of paid employment while holding a Dissertation Fellowship as this program is intended to allow students to focus exclusively on completing their dissertations. Students holding a Dissertation Fellowship may not hold another Graduate School Fellowship during or after the award period. All Dissertation Fellowships will begin in a fall semester with the possibility of renewal in the following spring semester. New appointments will not be made in spring or summer terms. Fellowship nominees and holders must be in good academic standing to receive and retain this award. Fellowship nominees must be Texas residents as determined by the Graduate School . The Office of Financial Aid will determine an applicant’s level of financial need. A Fellow may hold no other form of employment during the award period. The size of the Fellowship award will depend upon the level of determined need. Accepted Fellows must be enrolled in 9 hours of dissertation coursework during each semester of the award. They may not be enrolled in any organized courses.

Application Process:

Fellowship nominees must submit a complete nomination packet to the selection committee. The packet must include:

• Nomination for Graduate Dean’s Dissertation Fellowship form*

• Affirmation of Residency by the Graduate School form*

• Approved Final Program of Work*

• Request for Financial Need Determination Required for Nomination for Graduate Dean’s Fellowship Award form and Financial Aid Office written affirmation of need*

• Copy of dissertation proposal

• Memo from Supervising Professor indicating that the dissertation proposal has been formally reviewed and approved by the student’s properly constituted dissertation committee

• Time-line for completing dissertation, showing way points, and anticipated date of graduation with Supervising Professor’s approval in writing

*Forms are available at the Graduate School .

Nomination for Graduate Dean’s Dissertation Fellowship form: Only a student’s Supervising Professor and Graduate Advisor may (jointly) nominate Fellows. This form is used to convey a nomination to college or school selection committees. Nomination materials must not be forwarded to selection committees unless all requirements for the Fellowship are met.

Affirmation of Residency by the Graduate School form: The Graduate School must verify Texas residency by June 1. Nominees must request verification by submitting the Graduate School ’s “Affirmation of Residency by the Graduate School .”

Request for Financial Need Determination Required for Nomination for Graduate Dean’s Fellowship Award form: Texas residents seeking nomination for this Fellowship must demonstrate they qualify for financial aid. Students must complete two forms by June 1, in order to have their financial need properly assessed: 1) a Free Application for Federal Student Aid Application (FAFSA) available online at www.FAFSA.ed.gov and 2) the Request for Review of Special Circumstances Form (Independent) available on the Office of Financial Aid website (http://www2.uta.edu/fao/form.asp). Meeting the deadline is critical because it will ensure that the financial need determination will be completed in time to include results with other nomination materials reviewed by the college or school selection committee. The Office of Financial Aid may need additional documents to complete their determinations.

Prospective Fellowship nominees must also request the Office of Financial Aid to provide a written affirmation indicating that they qualify for need-based financial aid. The Request for Financial Need Determination Required for Nomination for Graduate Dean’s Fellowship Award form submitted to the Office of Financial Aid Office provides a place for this written assessment. Once completed by the Financial Aid Office, the entire form must be submitted with other application materials.

Final Program of Work: The form used to show the Final Program of Work is available on-line through the Virtual Graduate School Advisor at http://grad.uta.edu/currentStudents/VirtualGraduateSchoolAdvisor.asp. Prospective Fellowship nominees must have an approved Final Program of Work on file with the Graduate School and a copy must be submitted with other nomination materials to the selection committee.

Dissertation Proposal: Prospective Fellowship nominees must submit a copy of their dissertation proposal as it was approved by their supervising committee.

Memo from their Supervising Professor: A brief memo from the Supervising

Professor, listing the names of all committee members and attesting that the proposal has been approved by a properly-constituted dissertation committee is required.

Timeline: Prospective Fellowship nominees must submit a timeline for completing their dissertation, showing estimated dates by which sub-tasks will be completed and the planned date of graduation. This timeline must be reviewed and approved in writing by the Supervising Professor.

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Travel Funding

Graduate students who plan to attend conferences to present papers may apply for travel funding from the department and the college. Early each fall, interested doctoral students should fill out the relevant forms and submit them to James Cotten (request for travel authorization forms). These doctoral paper presentations awards will be awarded on a competitive basis when funds are available, and they will only be given for presentation of a student’s own original research at an organized conference of a learned society or professional organization. Normally, individual students may not be awarded more than one domestic and one foreign award per year. There will be a maximum award of $250 per domestic presentation and $500 for foreign. Graduate students may also apply for matching travel funds from the Dean’s office and the Graduate School .

Graduate students who are traveling to do research may apply for Graduate Research Award funds from the Dean’s office. The application deadlines occur twice per academic year (November for spring travel and April for travel in summer and fall) and awards are made at levels of $300 for domestic travel and $600 for international travel.

In addition, there are two David Rumsey travel stipends for graduate students studying cartographic history. Up to two stipends will be awarded annually to qualified students, and expenses will normally not exceed $2,000 each. The travel/research stipends are made possible by San Francisco map collector David Rumsey, whose personal library contains many historical maps.  Mr. Rumsey's map collection and library specializes in maps of the Americas from about 1750 to 1900, and contains many related documents that place the maps in historical and geographical context.  The collection is described on the website: http://www.davidrumsey.com. Stipends are limited to supporting student travel to Mr. Rumsey's personal map collection and related research costs.  The stipends will support student projects in two major areas - those that focus on cartographic history specifically, or those that employ cartographic history as part of broader historical interpretations. Mr. Rumsey will be available to assist students as they work in his library.  To further assist with costs and to ease access to the collection, awardees may stay in the guesthouse that adjoins Mr. Rumsey's library.