General Information

Administration: Financial aid through the Art History Department comes in the form of fellowships, assistantships, and travel funds administered by the Admissions & Fellowships Committee, which reviews applications and petitions regarding all aspects of the financial aid program. The Committee also nominates students in ranked lists for university-wide fellowship competitions. In addition, the major professor or the department may also nominate students for fellowships from outside sources. Because of the scarcity of departmental funding, students are encouraged to search broadly across campus and beyond, and to apply for assistantships and fellowships outside the department if eligible. Students should direct all questions regarding financial aid to either the Department Administrator or the faculty member who is serving as the chair of the Admissions & Fellowships Committee. See below for detailed descriptions of specific fellowships, assistantships, special departmental awards, and other financial aid.

Fellowships | Assistantships | Special Departmental Awards | Other Financial Aid

Eligibility and criteria for Financial Aid: The Department's main goal is to recruit and retain the most promising students. Eligibility for any kind of financial aid depends upon faculty assessment of the student's potential as well as his or her performance in making satisfactory progress in the graduate program. The department does not normally guarantee support for more than four (4) semesters for students in the M.A. program and six (6) semesters for students in the Ph.D. program. Actual support may be less or greater depending on individual circumstances, and guarantees made to incoming students may differ from these norms. The department balances many considerations in addition to individual student merit, including the number of existing guarantees to specific students, specific programmatic needs (i.e., which courses are allowed to have teaching assistants, and what project assistantships are available because professors have gotten grants), and equity in distributing appointments among the fields of concentration represented by the pool of applicants, In addition to faculty members on the Admissions and Fellowships Committee, the professors who will be teaching the courses with teaching assistants and those who have gotten a project assistantship through a grant are also consulted during the review process.

Departmental deadlines: The departmental deadline to ensure consideration for all forms of financial aid from the University and the Department is February 1st. This includes applications for fellowships, teaching assistant and project assistant positions, Student Financial Aids, and assistance with expenses of travel for research or conference presentation. Deadlines for fellowships from outside sources occur variously throughout the academic year, beginning in the autumn; check with the Department Administrator for dates in each case.

Applications for Incoming Students: As an entering graduate student, you may apply for most University of Wisconsin-Madison fellowships or assistantships by completing the Personal Data sheet on the application for admission, by the admission deadline of December 30.

Applications for Continuing Students and Re-Entry Students: February 1 is the deadline for continuing students to apply for departmental fellowships or assistantships for the following year, and for assistance with expenses of research/conference presentation travel. A specific program or other department may have earlier deadlines. If you are being considered for the a University Fellowship dissertator award, you will need to supply the department with two or three current letters of recommendation from your professors. Vilas and travel nominees will need one letter of recommendation. One letter should be from your major professor. Check with the Department Administrator if you have questions about procedures or forms.

• Financial Aid Form

Student Responsibilities: The Department Administrator makes every effort to keep student files up to date, but students bear ultimate responsibility for ensuring the accuracy and completeness of their files. You are strongly advised to provide the office with an updated copy of your curriculum vitae every year. In addition, students are responsible for knowing the regulations governing financial aid, raising any questions concerning their eligibility for it, and submitting applications on time.

Fellowship Information

The Departmental Administrator receives notices of both University and outside competitions and publicizes them as soon as possible over email and on the Fellowships bulletin boards in the Art History Department. Applications for the university-wide competitions are available in the department office by early October. Students must submit all forms and supporting materials to the Department Administrator. A short list of fellowships appears below, but students should also consult campus websites.

• Information on internal fellowships administered by the Graduate School
• Information on external administered fellowships
• Information on fellowships in area studies and for study and research abroad
• Links to each area studies program

Department Fellowships

Charles C. Killin Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowship: This fellowship supports a graduate student studying East Asian art.

Chipstone-James Watrous Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowship: This fellowship supports a graduate student studying American Material Culture.

Nominated University Fellowships

(Students DO NOT apply directly; departments nominate):

The Graduate School provides a number of fellowship awards. Students submit applications to the Department Administrator, who passes them on to the Committee. The Committee evaluates the applications and then sends a ranked list of candidates to the appropriate fellowships committees in either the College of Letters and Science or the Graduate School. The Graduate School makes the final decisions on University awards.

University Fellowships: a one-year award waiving tuition (with the Dept. supporting an additional 1-2 years depending on satisfactory progress), providing a stipend and permitting enrollment in a University health insurance plan. At present there are two separate competitions, one for incoming students and the other for Ph.D. candidates who have passed their prelim exams and qualify as dissertators.

Advanced Opportunity Fellowships (A.O.F.): a one-year to three-year award waiving tuition and providing a stipend for an incoming student based on financial need. Targeted ethnic minority groups include African Americans, American Indians, Alaskan Natives, Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, or Southeast Asians from Vietnam, Laos, or Cambodia. Economically disadvantaged individuals not belonging to one of these minority groups may apply also. Applicants must be citizens or Permanent Residents of the United States.

Marie Christine Kohler: The Kohler Fellowship brings 12 dissertators from a variety of fields to live together at the Knapp Memorial Graduate Center, 130 E. Gilman Street. The fellowship provides a free room (double occupancy), but not meals. Facilities are available for both female and male residents.

Other University Fellowships

(Students apply directly; departments DO NOT nominate):

Vilas and Special Vilas: a one-year award waiving out-of-state tuition and providing a stipend of each semester. Open to all graduate students who either have a B.A. or M.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison or expect to receive one of these degrees before the beginning of the semester in which they will receive the award. The Graduate School holds a separate competition for five "Special" Vilas Fellowships, which do not require such degrees. All awards are based on scholarship and need.

• FLAS application information

Dolores Zohrab Liebmann: Fellowship covers tuition, room and board, living expenses and income taxes. Competition is open to US citizens pursuing graduate studies in the United States in any recognized field.

Excellence in Teaching: Awards recognize superior teaching by graduate assistants on this campus.

German Academic Exchange (DAAD): Graduate School has a special partnership with the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD) which provides for students to spend a year at a German University.

Travel Awards for Research Abroad: Open to Ph.D. candidates who must travel outside the US, Canada, Puerto Rico or Mexico for dissertation research. Prior to departure, students must have successfully completed all requirements for the degree except residency and the research and writing of the dissertation.

Assistantships

All assistantships (except Research Assistantships) are governed by the Agreement between the State of Wisconsin and the Teaching Assistants Association. For full details, students should consult the printed Agreement. Students are free and indeed encouraged to apply for Assistantships outside the Art History Department.

Teaching Assistants lead discussion sections and grade written work in lecture courses. They may teach 3-4 fifty-minute sections depending on course enrollment and available funding. The number of teaching assistantships available in any semester depends upon the funding allocated by the College of Letters and Science. In addition to a stipend, the positions provide various fringe benefits such as health insurance and tuition remission, meaning that tuition is paid on your behalf. To spread financial aid to as many students as possible, the department does not normally grant students who receive teaching assistantships any other departmental funds (except for prizes, readerships, research/conference travel assistance, or Emergency Aid) during the semester in which they hold their teaching assistantship. The Committee also tries to arrange its nominations for University awards so that students will not hold teaching assistantships and University awards concurrently. The department evaluates all TAs through the instructing professor's class visits and the results of teaching evaluations.

Project Assistants help an individual professor with a research project or work in the Visual Resources Collection (slide room). Duties and requirements vary according to the particular position. Most appointments are in the 33-75% range. Besides a stipend, fringe benefits such as health insurance and tuition remission are also included. The department and individual professors must post notices announcing the position and detailing the requirements; students apply directly to the individual faculty members or unit heads, who have complete discretion to hire whom they wish.

Research Assistants differ from project assistants only in that both the professor and the assistant work in the same area of research (e.g. on a mutual project). There are no Research Assistantships in the Art History Department.

Readers (grading assistants) grade papers, exams, and other course work; they do not instruct students. They are paid on an hourly basis and do not receive fringe benefits. Readers do not ordinarily attend class, although in exceptional circumstances the supervising professor may request additional funds to allow the reader to audit. All graduate students are eligible, and the number of positions depends upon the number of professors who apply to the College of Letters and Science for funds; classes must have 40 students enrolled before the professor may apply. The departmental secretary posts the available positions; individual students should contact the individual professors, who may hire whom they wish.

Special Departmental Awards

Douglas Schewe Best Graduate Paper Award: The award is given annually to the graduate seminar paper of the year, as selected by the Art History Department. The winner, who is announced early the following year, receives a stipend and presents the winning paper at a convocation preceding the Graduate Reception in September.

Shirley and Willard Fritz Mueller Art History Graduate Student Travel Award: The department is able to award full/partial support for graduate student activities including, but not limited to, travel for research and/or scholarly paper presentations.

Margaret Davison Shorger Fellowship: This fellowship supports a graduate student for the travel and study of art by Italian artists. Candidates must be pursuing research in connection with an M.A. or Ph.D. thesis that requires work in Italy. The level of support will be determined by the committee on the basis of a detailed budget submitted by the student with the proposal outlining the program of research and travel. One letter of recommendation from the major advisor is also required.

Other Sources of Financial Aid

Student Employment: Opportunities do exist for graduate students to find part-time employment with departments within the University, and with professors on an ad hoc basis. The best way to find such employment is through the federally sponsored Work-Study Program, which helps subsidize student employment. The Office of Student Financial Aids, 432 North Murray Street, has information about both this program and related job openings on campus; the deadline for Work-Study applications is January 1.

Loans: The Art History Department does not make any loans. Students may apply for NDSL loans through the Office of Student Financial Aids, deadline January 1.

Emergency Aid: Short-term loans for emergency situations are available through the Office of Student Financial Services. Limited funds for emergency situations are also available through the Dean of Students Office, 75 Bascom Hall. The maximum available through each is $300.