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TEACHING/RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS

Doctoral students are usually awarded teaching/research fellowships, renewable for five years based on satisfactory progress, which include tuition remission, competitive annual stipends, two summer stipends, and a University Student Health Insurance Plan. Graduate students can also receive funding as research assistants for faculty projects, preceptors for the undergraduate language program, and as workshop organizers, as the need arises. Please note that fellowship stipulations for students who entered the PhD program prior to 2007 may be different than those outlined below.

Graduate fellowship recipients are not required to teach during their first year, allowing ample time to focus on and complete course work. Fellowship recipients then gain teaching experience by serving as language assistants, then as lecturers in the College's language program and course assistants for RL&L literature courses. Students on fellowship should strictly adhere to the department’s teaching package and serve as lecturers, language assistants, or course assistants only in the scheduled years.

The academic records and teaching evaluations of all students are reviewed by the RL&L faculty prior to submitting recommendations to the Humanities Dean of Students for aid to continue.

Language Assistants

RL&L graduate students on fellowship will be language assistants during winter and spring quarters of the second year of their fellowship. During this period, they will have a one-on-one teaching mentorship through which they will acquire the administrative and pedagogical skills essential to becoming effective language teachers in our program.   

Lecturers/Course Assistants

RL&L students serve as lecturers for three quarters during the third year of their fellowship. During the fifth year of their fellowship, students are lecturers for two quarters and course assistants for one quarter. Students apply for lecturer and course assistant positions during winter quarter of the preceding academic year. Hiring is done by the College upon the recommendation of the department. Teaching performance is reviewed regularly and subsequent course assignments are contingent upon the successful completion of previous teaching responsibilities. Foreign Language Acquisition and Teaching (RLLT 38800) is a prerequisite for a lecturer position.

Students who have finished the five years of their fellowship may apply for additional teaching opportunities as a lecturer, language assistant, or course assistant if they have completed their required coursework, passed RLLT 38800, and demonstrated teaching competence and an ability to work cooperatively with other lecturers and their coordinator. Students past the fifth year of their fellowship who hold these positions will receive a salary established by the College and continue to receive tuition remission.

Other Opportunities

Students may be offered other opportunities, such as contribution to the technological databases of ARTFL (American and French Research on the Treasury of the French Language), editorial assistantship for the Montaigne Studies journal, the opportunity to develop literature-based lector sessions for advanced-level language courses, or they may be selected to accompany students who enroll in undergraduate study abroad programs in France, Italy, and Spain. These assignments will be approved by faculty consensus.

Summer Stipends

Students who are eligible to receive summer stipends must submit a short description of how they intend to use the stipend to their graduate adviser. After obtaining the adviser’s approval, students should submit this description to the Department Coordinator for approval at the next scheduled RL&L faculty meeting. The following autumn quarter, students must submit a brief report on the work accomplished during the summer to their adviser.

Summer stipend checks are distributed through the Humanities Dean of Students office in Walker 111 and are usually available the first day of summer quarter.

CONFERENCE GRANTS/FELLOWSHIPS

Students who will be presenting a paper at an academic conference can receive up to $400 in reimbursement for eligible travel expenses (airfare or gasoline) through a Division of the Humanities Conference Grant; other expenses (e.g., rental cars, parking, food, lodging, conference fees) are not covered. Students must verify eligibility and get the appropriate paperwork from the Humanities Dean of Students Secretary in Walker 111 before traveling. Students may receive the grant a maximum of two times in their graduate careers, and only once in any given academic year. See http://humanities.uchicago.edu/current/#grants for details.

The Doolittle-Harrison Fellowship awards up to $400 to doctoral students who are presenting their work at a professional academic conference, or for dissertation research that involves short-term travel outside of the contiguous United States. More information is available at http://grad-affairs.uchicago.edu/programs/doolittle.shtml.

If there are sufficient funds in the budget, the department may reimburse students up to $300 up to three times in their graduate careers for expenses incurred while presenting a paper at an academic conference. Students in ABD status may also be reimbursed for short-term travel to facilitate dissertation research. Students must get approval from the department before traveling and should submit the following information to their graduate adviser: proposed budget, what other funding has been applied for, and either the conference details (name, date, location) and a letter of participation and/or acceptance, or a short statement that describes the proposed research trip and its relevance to their dissertation. The graduate adviser will then submit the student’s request at the next scheduled RL&L faculty meeting for approval.

OTHER FUNDING SOURCES

The Humanities Dean of Students office provides several services to help students find appropriate internal or external funding, including a Grants/Fellowships Blog.  The Office of Graduate Affairs also compiles funding information that may be helpful.