Graduate School Scholarships & Fellowships

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Fellowships

Our fellowships (unless specifically stated below) cover one academic year (fall and spring). Each includes a full tuition scholarship (for up to 15 hours each fall and spring semester), single coverage health insurance, and a stipend (as below). Prospective and current University of Alabama students are nominated by their departments for our fellowships, so it is important that you are talking to the Graduate Program Director for your program. Prior to nomination, nominees who are prospective students must have been offered admission. If you have any questions or need more information regarding these fellowships, please contact Andrew Goodliffe at amg@ua.edu.

Deadlines

  1. December 13, 2018: Graduate Council and National Alumni Association fellowships for current University of Alabama students
  2. January 17, 2019: Graduate Council and National Alumni Association fellowships for new University of Alabama students.
  3. February 7, 2019: Graduate Council and National Alumni Association fellowships for new University of Alabama students.
  4. February 22, 2019: McNair Graduate Fellowship.
  5. March 4, 2019: Graduate Council and National Alumni Association fellowships for new University of Alabama students

Graduate Council Fellowships

The University of Alabama awards almost 100 Graduate Council Fellowships each year. There are a number of different categories of Graduate Council Fellowship as below:
  1. Current UA students: Stipend of $15,000 for the fall and spring semesters
  2. New UA students: Stipend of $20,000 for the fall and spring semesters.
  3. A limited number of David A. Francko Fellowships are available for our top applicants. This highly selective fellowship includes a stipend of $25,000/year for a maximum of 5 years. This fellowship is only awarded from the pool of nominees submitted for the January 17 deadline.
  4. For new UA students the prospective department may add up to $4000 to the stipend, which will be matched by the Graduate School (for a total stipend of up to $28,000). For doctoral students awarded this supplement, the prospective department will commit to a departmental assistantship in year 2, and continuation of the supplement in year 2.

McNair Graduate Fellowships

McNair Graduate Fellowships are specifically for entering graduate students who have either completed a McNair Undergraduate Scholars program or who are McNair eligible; i.e., low income (as defined by the US Department of Education) AND a first-generation college student or a member of a group traditionally underrepresented in graduate education (i.e. Hispanic, African American, Native American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander). Although any prospective or current graduate student may be nominated for this fellowship, preference is given to students who have completed a McNair program and have been accepted into a Doctoral program at The University of Alabama. Exceptional current University of Alabama students may also be considered for this fellowship. For students in doctoral programs the fellowship lasts two years and is followed by a minimum of two years of support through a departmental assistantship or equivalent. For students in masters programs the fellowship lasts one year and is followed by a minimum of one year of support through a departmental assistantship or equivalent.

NAA License Tag Graduate Fellowship

The University of Alabama awards approximately 30 National Alumni Association Fellowships each year. Nominees must be classified as residents for tuition purposes.

Conference and Research Funding

The Graduate School provides supplemental funding for graduate student research projects and travel to present research results at conferences. Departments may submit as many nominations as they deem appropriate, provided that each nomination be matched at least 1:1 with non-Graduate School funds. Requests should be submitted online to the Graduate School. Please follow these instructions for graduate students, faculty advisors, and department administrators. Travel Awards are reserved for graduate students who have been accepted to present personally their own research (or creative activity) at a national or international meeting of their discipline’s major academic/professional organization. For Research Awards, priority will be given to thesis, pre-dissertation, and dissertation research. Requests for awards should be initiated by the student’s faculty adviser and endorsed and submitted electronically by the department chair to the Graduate School. The request must include a budget, information about cost sharing, and, if travel is involved, a confirmation that the student will be personally presenting his or her own work.
Semester Deadline*
Fall Proposals Late August
Spring Proposals Late January
Summer Proposals Late April
*Although every attempt should be made by departments to include all research and travel proposals, we recognize that last-minute research opportunities present themselves and that student plans may not be complete by these deadlines. The Graduate School will gladly consider additional requests, pending the availability of funding. After the three major deadlines, requests will be reviewed at the end of each month. Please contact Dean Susan Carvalho in the Graduate School at scarvalho@ua.edu if you need further information. Please see the Graduate Catalog financial assistance page for additional opportunities.

Alumni Heritage Graduate Scholarship (AHGS)

Threefold Purpose

  1. To recruit children and grandchildren of graduates of The University of Alabama.
  2. To send a clear signal to our graduates that “we want your children.”
  3. To provide a tangible Alumni Association membership benefit for UA graduates.

Guidelines and requirements for this program

  • One time only (non-renewable) scholarship for first-year graduate students who are Alabama residents and who are children or grandchildren of a University of Alabama graduate. The scholarship is for the student’s first term of graduate enrollment.
  • Parent or grandparent must be a degree holder (undergraduate, graduate, or law degree) from The University of Alabama.
  • The qualifying parent or grandparent must be an active member of the National Alumni Association for three of the past five years. (Parent or grandparent cannot write check for all three years in one year.)
  • The award will be equal to $500 towards the cost of in-state tuition of graduate level course work. (Subject to a maximum of actual in-state tuition not covered by other awards, whichever is lower).
  • The student must be admitted to a graduate degree program at UA and may be enrolled part-time or full-time. Please note: students admitted to the Graduate School through special program such as the University Scholars Program or any Honor Program will be considered undergraduates for the purpose of this scholarship until the bachelor’s degree is awarded. View AHGS application workflow.
The deadlines for application are:
  • July 15 – for students entering Fall Semester
  • November 30 – for students entering Spring Semester
  • May 1 – for students entering Summer Semester
Submit AHGS Application: Online Scholarship Form If you have any questions or need more information regarding this scholarship, please contact Andrew Goodliffe at amg@ua.edu. For additional financial support, please visit Graduate Catalog’s Financial Assistance section.