Financial Assistance
Financial support comes in the form of research and conference grants, fellowships of varying stipend levels and assistantships in instruction.
Scholarly Travel
PLEASE NOTE: University-sponsored travel continues to be contingent upon the Permitted Travel Policy.
Students may continue to request funds to cover expenses for virtual conferences.
The Fulton McMahon Research Fund, established by Alfred Foulet, Graduate School Class of 1927, in honor of Fulton McMahon, Class of 1884, provides funding for scholarly travel to graduate students in good standing.
Requests for funds totaling up to $900 per year for G1 and G2 students and up to $1,650 per year for G3, G4, G5 and DCE students will be available for travel, lodging, and registration expenses incurred while participating in a conference or in connection with fall or spring term research travel. These funds are available per academic year (July 1 - June 30) and will not roll over from one year to the next.
For summer conferences (June, July and August), you may use available funds from the current academic year for conferences taking place the following summer as long as you apply by June 15 of the current academic year.
Limited funds are also available for summer research projects.
Important Information about University Sponsored Travel
It's important for graduate students to register their travel plans in Enroll My Trip (EMT) before the trip begins. Please refer to Resources for All Travelers for additional information to help you plan your trip.
Other
Students who have been approved to take a course for Princeton credit at one of the Inter-University Consortium institutions may apply for reimbursement of up to 50% of the cost of train transportation.
Enrolled graduate students who are in the final stages of completing the dissertation are eligible for non-academic professional development and copy-editing support.
Support is also available on a competitive basis for a limited number of graduate student-organized events.
How to Apply for Funds
Conference Travel
Application period: 06/16/24 - 06/15/25
Funds may be used: 07/01/24 - 07/31/25
Amount (conferences and fall/spring research combined): $900/year G1 and G2; $1,650/year G3, G4, G5, and DCE
Application must be completed in SAFE and travel must be registered in Enroll My Trip prior to travel taking place.
NOTE: Conference funds may be used for events that have moved to a virtual format (to cover registration fees, for instance). Requests must be approved by the DGS/Advisor on the Travel Grant Request Form just like any other conference. Please note on the form that the conference is being held virtually.
- Complete a Travel Grant Request;(must be pre-approved/signed by your adviser, if applicable, and the DGS); save the form as a pdf
- Open an application in SAFE for SPO’s McMahon Conference Travel opportunity
- Enter an itemized list of your anticipated expenses
- Upload your completed Travel Grant Request form
- Upload a pdf copy of the email/letter of acceptance from the conference organizers
- Awards will be paid in advance based on your estimated expenses
- Approved requests will be paid via direct deposit to your bank account
- Conference travel grants are taxable. Please refer to Scholarships & Fellowships for more information.
NOTE FOR STUDENTS IN ABSENTIA: Students who are in absentia and therefore living more than 50 miles from campus may apply for up to $1,000 to travel to Princeton to defend their dissertation. Follow the instructions for Conference Travel.
Research Travel (Fall/Spring)
Application period: 08/01/24 - 05/15/25
Funds may be used: 08/01/24 - 05/31/25
Amount (conferences and fall/spring research combined): $900/year G1 and G2; $1,650/year G3, G4, G5, and DCE
Application must be completed in SAFE and travel must be registered in Enroll My Trip prior to travel taking place.
- Complete a Travel Grant Request;(must be pre-approved/signed by your adviser, if applicable, and the DGS); save the form as a pdf
- Open an application in SAFE for SPO’s McMahon Research/Course Travel opportunity
- Enter an itemized list of your anticipated expenses
- Upload your completed Travel Grant Request form
- Upload a pdf copy of your project proposal (click here for guidelines)
- Awards will be paid in advance based on your estimated expenses
- Approved requests will be paid via direct deposit to your bank account
- Research travel grants are taxable. Please refer to Scholarships & Fellowships for more information
Summer Research/Language Funding
Application period: 02/01/25 - 04/01/25
Funds may be used: 06/01/25 - 08/31/25
Amount: May be up to $1,300 (G1 and G2) and up to $1,500 (G3, G4, G5, and DCE), depending on available funds. Funds are competitive, and all awards are contingent upon the strength of the proposal.
Awards may be used in combination with awards from PLAS or PIIRS, or they may support projects that did not meet the PLAS or PIIRS criteria. Students are expected to apply to PIIRS, PLAS and any other applicable resource.
Application must be completed in SAFE and travel must be registered in Enroll My Trip prior to travel taking place.
- Open an application in SAFE for SPO’s Summer Research/Language Funding opportunity (or use the "find more funding" action to add SPO's opportunity to an existing application)
- Enter an itemized list of your anticipated expenses
- Upload a pdf copy of your project proposal (click here for guidelines)
- Awards will be paid in advance based on your estimated expenses
- Approved requests will be paid via direct deposit to your bank account
- Research travel grants are taxable. Please refer to Scholarships & Fellowships for more information.
Course Travel Subsidy
Application period: 08/01/24 - 05/31/25
Amount: Up to 50% of the cost of the train
- Open an application in SAFE for SPO’s McMahon Research/Course Travel opportunity
- Upload a copy of your completed and signed Inter-University Doctoral Consortium Registration Form (funds are only available for courses taken for Princeton credit)
- Awards may be paid in advance based on your estimated expenses or you may submit a request after the travel is completed
- For course-related travel, reimbursement will be limited to 50% of the cost of the train
- Approved requests will be paid via direct deposit to your bank account
- Upload receipts in SAFE
Non-academic Professional Development
(for students pursuing careers outside of academia only)
Application period: 07/01/24 - 06/30/25
Amount: Up to $500 per year for professional development expenses. It will be open to G5-DCE and will support LinkedIn accounts and other services geared specifically to related careers outside of academia, namely in governmental organizations, NGOs, for profit-businesses, and educational institutions. It will not cover fees for courses or workshops already available to graduate students through GradFutures, the McGraw Center, or another program at Princeton University available to graduate students. Additionally, this fund will not cover creative project expenses (films, creative writing workshops, etc.) or language courses.
- Open an application in SAFE for SPO’s Career Development opportunity
- Provide a description of the prospective non-academic career they are pursuing. Explain how the funds will be used, detailing how the service they wish to contract will assist them in the development of a prospective career in a related non-academic field. A rationale explaining the choice of a particular service is also expected. In the case of a well-known service like LinkedIn, a rationale of this kind is not needed.
- Provide a letter from the student’s advisor explaining the benefit of contracting the specific service in the professional development of the student for a career outside of academia.
- Upload a copy of your original receipt. Make sure that on the original receipt, the name of the business or service provider is visible as well the contact information of the business or service provider.
- Approved requests will be paid via direct deposit to your bank account.
- These grants are taxable. Please refer to Scholarships & Fellowships for more information.
Copy-editing
Application period: 07/01/24 - 06/30/25
Amount: Up to $1,000 to be used on a one-time basis toward copy-editing for enrolled graduate students who are in the final stages of completing the dissertation. It will be open to G5s-DCE. Payment will be made directly to the copy editor. Please contact the Department Manager if interested in applying for these funds.
Adobe Acrobat Pro DC
Graduate students receive access to several Adobe Creative Cloud applications using their Princeton account. This access includes Adobe Acrobat Pro DC.
For additional information, reference KB0011812 - Adobe Creative Cloud Installation Instructions
Graduate Student Organized Events
Applications due: May 1 for fall term events and November 30 for spring term events
SPO graduate students may apply for funds to sponsor conferences and events on a competitive basis. To be considered, events must adhere to departmental guidelines and the graduate student sponsoring the event must submit an application before the deadline.
Students are encouraged to work collectively to organize events of broad interest. Students are also encouraged to seek additional funding from outside sources, including but not limited to other humanities departments and programs, the Humanities Council, and the GSG Events Board.
A Note about Fellowships and Stipends
The department also enjoys the exclusive disposition of funds allocated specifically to graduate fellowships and stipend increments. Among these may be counted the Behrman, Bergen, Boudinot, Green and Schultz fellowships, awarded to graduate students who demonstrate outstanding scholarly promise. The Edward C. Armstong Fund, established in perpetuity by Alfred Foulet, Class of 1927, through a generous testamentary bequest made at his death in 1987, in memory of his Princeton teacher and colleague, provides for fellowship stipends and increments, as well as grants for thesis research and summer study projects both abroad and at Princeton to students in good standing. Learn more at Financial Support | Graduate School.