Scholarships
Awards and Prizes for Undergraduates
The History Department offers a number of prizes and scholarships every year to accomplished undergraduates. For more information on the any of the awards below, contact the department's Director of Undergraduate Studies.
- The George B. Engberg Prize is awarded each year for the best undergraduate papers in the senior research seminars on any topic, Non-U.S. history. The award honors Professor George B. Engberg, who taught at the University of Cincinnati for more than 30 years until he retired in 1983.
- The Lenore F. McGrane Prize honors the wife of long-time professor and history department head, Reginald McGrane. In his will, Reginald McGrane established a scholarship fund whose income would be given each year to the most promising student of American history. This award is both a mark of distinction for its winner, and a sign of the affection and commitment of Lenore and Reginald McGrane to this department, a relationship which began with Reginald McGrane's enrollment as an undergraduate at UC in 1904.
- The Emma Louise Parry prize is the most venerable prize awarded by the history department. It was established by alumnae of the former Mount Auburn Institute and the H. Thane Miller School to honor the memory of an outstanding teacher of history. It is given to the student who has shown outstanding ability in his or her field of specialization in history.
- The George Newberger prize is awarded each academic year to the best papers produced in HIST 5000 seminars that deal with U.S. history.
- The Hilda L. Smith Prize is awarded to the best undergraduate paper in any field or period related to questions of women's history. Hilda Smith retired from the History Department in 2012 after a long and accomplished career of research and teaching.
- Qualified undergraduates in history may also apply for the Taft Undergraduate Enrichment Award as well as other forms of assistance through the Taft Research Center. History students have also received funding from sources such as UC International (study-abroad grants) and women's studies. For more information on funding opportunities in history at UC, visit the University Research Council and College of Arts and Sciences Financial Aid and Scholarships web page.
The department makes every effort to provide funding to qualified graduate students pursuing advanced degrees in history. In fact, the vast majority of our incoming masters and doctoral students receive some form of scholarship to assist with meeting the cost of UC tuition. In addition, the department provides funding to support graduate-student research, conference travel or language study. We also offer awards every year to our most deserving graduate students in a range of fields. For additional information on any of the scholarships, grants and awards listed below, please contact the department's Director of Graduate Studies.
Scholarships
Departmental Grants and Awards
External Awards
Health Insurance Funding
The funding sources listed above do not cover health insurance and all graduate students are required to have it. Students may provide their own insurance or purchase it from the university, rates listed on the Student Health Insurance website. The Graduate School offers a Graduate Student Health Insurance (GSHI) award to graduate assistants, which will provide an award to be applied towards the cost of health insurance for each semester for eligible GAs who apply. More information and the application are available here.
The Charles Phelps Taft Research Center
The Department of History is one of twelve departments in A&S that receives money from the Taft Research Center (TRC), a private endowment affiliated with UC that provides generous support to student and faculty research in the humanities, social sciences and mathematics. While Taft funding is generally awarded on a competitive basis, history students have traditionally been highly successful in Taft competitions and it is not unusual for our MA and PhD students to receive several TRC grants and fellowships over the course of their studies in the department. The TRC supports a number of grant programs, including Dissertation Fellowships, Graduate Enhancement Fellowships, Graduate Enrichment Awards and Travel Grants.
The University Research Council
The University Research Council (URC) provides research support for outstanding graduate students in a variety of disciplines, including history, and our students have frequently done quite well in URC competitions. The URC currently offers Summer Graduate Research Fellowships that provide up to $3,000 for two-months of summer research activity.
Additional University Awards and Fellowships
In addition to the URC, graduate students are eligible to receive a number of other forms of funding through UC. Incoming history graduate students can be nominated for University Distinguished Graduate Fellowships, which provide three years of support at the MA and/or PhD level. The deadlines and funding level for these various awards vary slightly from year to year, and interested students in the department should make sure to contact the Director of Graduate Studies in January to find out about funding opportunities and deadlines for the coming year.
Graduate Student Governance Association (GSGA) Travel and Research Grants
The GSGA offers small grants to graduate students to defray the cost of research, travel to conferences, and conference expenses. Students apply at the beginning of the quarter to the GSGA office. Each student is eligible for a one-time grant of up to $400 for research and an unlimited number of smaller grants, usually $100-200, for conferences. Since the GSGA serves all graduate students at the university, not all applicants receive grants each time they apply. Those who have not been awarded grants previously normally take priority.
Werner E. Von Rosenstiel Fund
Werner E. Von Rosenstiel, a devoted friend of the department who studied at UC as an undergraduate, has generously endowed a fund that provides grant money for conference and research travel as well as language study to students specializing in modern European history. Students in other fields who have a research interest in modern Europe are also eligible to apply. Awards range up to $2,000 per year. Money from the Von Rosenstiel Fund are also used to provide enhancements for select scholarships.
The Zane L. Miller Fellowship in American City History
Every year the Department of History grants a Miller Fellowship to support a doctoral student pursuing work in American urban history: the history of cities, their regions, neighborhoods and suburbs, past and present. Currently the fellowship provides $1,000 as a supplement for other fellowships, grants or scholarships.
The award is named for the University of Cincinnati's famed urban historian, Zane L. Miller, currently emeritus in the Department of History. Miller served on UC's faculty from 1966, the year he earned his PhD at the University of Chicago under the supervision of Richard C. Wade, until his "retirement" in 1999. While at UC, Miller authored numerous books and articles, mentored dozens of doctoral students, and for many years edited an urban book series at The Ohio State University Press. Miller is still an active scholar and mentor. He edits a new book series at Temple University Press, titled "Urban Life, Landscape and Policy." He lives in Pace, Florida.
Roger Daniels Summer Fellowship
Every spring the Department of History offers a Roger Daniels Fellowship to support doctoral research. Preference is given to doctoral students who have completed at least one year at the University of Cincinnati. This fellowship award is typically $1,500.
This award is named in honor of Roger Daniels, Charles Phelps Taft Professor Emeritus of History. He is the author of numerous books, most concerning immigration and the incarceration of Japanese-Americans. Daniels joined the Department of History as chair in 1976. He became emeritus in 2002. During his years at UC, Daniels was a strong supporter of the department's doctoral program, and he directed the dissertations of many students. Among his recent publications are Guarding the Golden Door: American Immigration Policy and Immigrants (2004); and expanded editions of Coming to America: A History of Immigration and Ethnicity in American Life (2002, original edition published in 1990); and Prisoners Without Trial: Japanese Americans in World War II (2004, original edition published in 1997).
The Barbara Ramusack Graduate Fellowship Fund
This fund honors Professor Barbara Ramusack, a leading scholar of South Asian history and a wonderful mentor to generations of graduate students in the department. This fellowship is awarded annually to a deserving graduate student working in the field of non-Western history.
The Hilda L. Smith Fund for the History of Women
Professor Hilda Smith is a distinguished professor of women’s intellectual history who was one of the founders of the women’s history field in the modern academy. This fund supports an annual prize given by the department to the best undergraduate student paper related to the history of women, all regions, periods, and approaches included.
Graduate Incentive Award / Graduate Assistant Scholarship
The Graduate Incentive Award (GIA) and the Graduate Assistant Scholarship (GAS) cover all or part of a student’s tuition and fees. The history department offers GAS or GIA to most of its incoming MA and PhD students. These awards are offered at two levels. The highest level is a 100% GAS or GIA, which covers the full cost of tuition for both in and out of state students. The second level is an 80% GIA, which pays 80% of tuition for both in and out of state students. GAS and GIA do not cover health insurance premiums, books or fees. These awards can be combined with additional funding, however. Students who receive a GAS are also eligible for a graduate assistantship.
Graduate Assistantships (GA)
The department awards graduate assistantships (GAs) to incoming students based on the comprehensive strength of their application. At least half of all incoming students receive a GA. Most students who receive GA are assigned to assist a professor in the instruction and grading of an undergraduate history course. Graduate assistants are also expected to hold office hours each week to meet with students on a one-on-one basis. Some doctoral students with a GA may also be eligible to teach their own class.