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Department of History

Tuition Waivers and Assistantships

Graduate teaching assistantships and tuition waivers are the two types of financial aid that the Department of History itself has available. Other grants, scholarships, and assistantships are occasionally available through other academic and university departments. All candidates for the program and current students are strongly encouraged to contact the Graduate School for more detailed information about financial aid and grants.

Graduate Assistantships

The Department of History offers a number of graduate teaching assistantships each fall and spring semester. These offer a tuition waiver and a monthly stipend. Assistants are assigned to a faculty member, usually to work as a teaching assistant in an introductory level course. Students are encouraged to apply for assistantships when they submit their application to the graduate program.

Eligibility

Applications are typically reviewed by the department's graduate committee when reviewing admission applications.

For newly admitted students, assistantships are awarded competitively based on the strength of their admissions application, including their undergraduate GPA, letters of recommendation, and writing sample.

For continuing students, preference will be given to students who are in the first two semesters of the program and are in good standing, with a GPA of 3.0 or above. To be competitive for a third or fourth semester assistantship, students should:

  • Maintain a GPA of 3.5 or higher.
  • Receive positive evaluations from their faculty supervisors.
  • Be making good progress toward their degree.

Applicants who do not receive an award in the initial round of applications are placed in priority order on a wait list that the department draws from when these additional assistantships become available.

How to Apply

Apply online for a history assistantship or an assistantship in another department.

Tuition Waivers

During each academic year, the Department of History has funds used to cover a waiver of tuition costs for graduate students. Graduate assistants receive tuition waivers automatically because of their contracts with the University. All other graduate students are encouraged to apply for a graduate tuition waiver, which can cover a maximum of 9 credit hours per semester.

Students who receive tuition waivers will continue to remain eligible for more waivers in future semesters, but must reapply each semester.

Eligibility

Due to limited funds, tuition waivers, either partial or full, are awarded competitively based on the following criteria:

  • The student is not receiving a graduate assistantship or other form of fellowship or award that covers the cost of tuition.
  • The student has financial need not being met in any other manner.
  • The student has maintained a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 and remains in good academic standing in the program.
  • The student has showed strong academic promise in the program and sustained progress towards degree completion.
  • Tuition waivers can only cover up to 3 thesis hours (HIS 499).

How to Apply

To apply, please submit an application to Kali Gordon at kagordo@ilstu.edu.

The deadlines for applications are August 20 for fall, January 20 for spring, and May 20 for summer.