Frequently Asked Questions For Current Students

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Does the Graduate Program provide funds for graduate students presenting at conferences?

Yes.  All graduate students are eligible for two conference travel awards over the course of their graduate career—one domestic and one international or two domestic trips. These grants fund up to 60% of your transportation expenses. The money cannot pay for conference fees, lodging, or meals, however.

To apply: Give Jane Williams a copy of the brochure showing that you are presenting a paper, a receipt for your transportation expenses, and a letter of support from your advisor.

Does the Graduate Program provide funds for dissertation research travel?

Yes, the program may award two dissertation research awards per student (one domestic and one international or two domestic: the amount of the awards varies).  Competitions are held every fall and spring for travel the following semesters.

Application form:   http://history.wisc.edu/generalinfo/forms/research_travel_form.pdf.

Deadline:  March 1 for Fall travel; November 1 for Spring travel

How and when do I apply for a Departmental Fellowship?

All History graduate students are eligible for this competition. 

Application form:  http://history.wisc.edu/generalinfo/forms/historyfellowshipsapplication.pdf

Deadline:   March 1

Where do I find information about History department teaching assistantships and project assistantships?

http://history.wisc.edu/graduate/funding/history_sources/ta.htm

Where do I find information about teaching assistantships and project assistantships outside the department?

http://history.wisc.edu/graduate/funding/uw_sources/assistantships.htm

Does the department supplement fellowships from outside sources?

Yes. The Department of History established the External Opportunities Fund (EOF) to encourage graduate students to seek outside fellowships, especially those funded by major foundations and scholarly associations.  The EOF makes it possible for graduate students to apply for such awards. 

To apply:  http://history.wisc.edu/graduate/external_opportunities_fund.pdf

Are there limits to the number of semesters of departmental financial support a graduate student can receive?

Yes, the total support that students may receive support is limited to 10 semesters. However, students entering the program with a master’s degree from another department or institution are limited to only 8 semesters of departmental support.

For purposes of defining the semester-limits, the following kinds of aid DO count as departmental support:  UW and Departmental fellowships; AOFs; teaching, project, and research assistantships in History; Mosse fellowships and Mosse Teaching fellowships; and any other awards funded by the University and for which the department nominates the student (provided such awards carry a stipend equal to 50% of the value of one-semester departmental support).

Examples of awards that DO NOT count include: readerships; Martha L. Edwards scholarship;  Colonial Dames; emergency aid; Kohler fellowships; research and conference travel grants; teaching project, and research assistantships held in other departments and programs; fellowships from outside sources, including those for which the UW exercises only a nominating function (e.g., Fulbright, DAAD, SSRC, IREX, and similar grants); and UW-funded grants that carry less than 50% of one semester fellowship.

For a more thorough explanation of the Eight-Semester Limit on Departmental Support as well as Time Limits on Eligibility, see the Graduate Handbook (pdf): 

How are teaching assistantships assigned in the department?

The Department’s TA selection process is quite complicated because it seeks to balance several potentially competing needs – to ensure that all graduate students have an opportunity to gain teaching experience, to ensure that lecture courses have TAs with appropriate training, and to distribute financial support broadly among our graduate students.

Applicants for TAships are divided by study programs and put onto one of three lists: European, non-Western, and U.S. Next the applicants are ranked within each of these lists according to criteria explained below. The final step is to choose applicants on the basis of their ranking within each list, but in such a way that matches the students’ preparation and preferences with the needs of specific courses.

Ranking Criteria---
Applicants on each list (European, non-Western, U.S.) are divided into six categories and then further ranked within some categories by specific criteria. From highest to lowest priority, the six categories and the criteria used to rank applicants within each category are:

1. Packages: encompasses students guaranteed support by the History Department as part of a multi-year fellowship package awarded to incoming students. Students with packages are all ranked equally.

2. Ranked:  To qualify for this category, students must have received the M.A. degree. Within the ranked category, applicants are first grouped according to the number of semesters they have held TAships in the History Department, with those having 0 semesters constituting the highest ranked group, those with 1 semester ranked second, and so forth.  From here, the category is divided further into dissertators and pre-dissertators, with the dissertators having the higher priority.  Among each group of dissertators who have held TAships for the same number of semesters, students are ranked first according to the date at which he or she was advanced to candidacy and then by GPA. Among each group of pre-dissertators who have taught for the same number of semesters, students are ranked first according to progress towards completing the Ph.D. degree as determined by the number of Harrison Points (see below); second, by the date of completion of the M.A.; and, third, by GPA.

3. Pre-M.A. Ranked: Students who have not received the M.A. degree have next priority. Within this category, applicants are ranked first by progress towards the degree as determined by the number of Harrison Points (see below), second by the number of semesters of course work completed in the History Department, and third by GPA.

4. Ranked Reserve: This category comprises all students who have exhausted their eligibility to receive financial support under the Time Limits on Eligibility for Support guidelines, but who have not yet received eight semesters of departmental support. Within this category, students will be ranked first according to the date at which they were advanced to candidacy (with earlier dates ranked higher) and then by GPA.

5. Unranked Reserve: This comprises all students who have received eight semesters or more of departmental support, whether or not they have reached the time limits on eligibility of support. Within this category, applicants are unranked.

6 Additional Applicants:  All other applicants (e.g., non-History Department students, History Department students whose applications were submitted after the deadline, and incoming History Department students) are given lowest priority and are unranked within the category.

HARRISON SCALE
Named after a former History professor, the Harrison Scale mentioned above serves as a measure of students’ progress through the program. Students gain Harrison Points for the following accomplishments:

1 point for each of the first two language requirements satisfied;
2 points for earning the M.A. degree;
2 points for completing the minor field; and
3 points for passing the Prelim Exam

Please consult the Graduate Handbook (pdf) for a more detailed explanation of these matters:

Besides TAing, are there other opportunities for teaching in the department?  

The History department occasionally hires advanced graduate students to teach courses in their particular field of expertise. Lectureships are of two kinds: named replacement lectureships and teaching fellowships. The number of replacement lectureships available in any semester varies, as do qualifications and salary. Please note that compensation for replacement lectureships DOES NOT include tuition remission. The Department advertises such positions each semester on departmental bulletin boards and via email. Ad hoc search committees make the selection for each position.

In addition to replacement lectureships, the Department also offers three teaching fellowships:

• Merle Curti Graduate Lectureship:  Established by the History Department to honor Professor Merle Eugene Curti, a scholar of American history and a Pulitzer-Prize winning author, this is a one-semester lectureship that is awarded once every two years (finances permitting). The competition is open to all fields of study.

Candidates must be advanced graduate students in the History Department who either is within two semesters of completing the dissertation, or received their Ph.D. in the academic year previous to the one in which they will hold the lectureship and lack regular professional employment. The Curti Graduate Lecturer teaches a course that she or he devises.

Tuition remission is not provided by this lectureship; however, the recipient, no matter her or his residency status, pays in-state tuition and segregated fees during their fellowship.

• George L. Mosse Teaching Fellow in European History:  Established by the History Department to honor Professor George L. Mosse, an internationally renowned European cultural historian, these one-semester lectureships are awarded as funds become available.

The awards are granted to outstanding graduate students in the History Department who are advanced ABDs (within a semester or two of completing the dissertation). Each lecturer teaches a course in European history that she or he devises.

The Mosse Teaching Fellowship carries fringe benefits and covers tuition and segregated fees.

• George L. Mosse Advanced Dissertator Lectureship in Jewish History:  This opportunity consists of a one-semester project assistantship (under the guidance of an appropriate faculty member) to create a course in some aspect of Jewish history and a one-semester appointment as a lecturer to offer the course. This opportunity is offered as funds
  become available.

How do I obtain Wisconsin residency to reduce my tuition bill?

It is difficult for students to earn residency status in the State of Wisconsin. Graduate students cannot seek Wisconsin residency until one full calendar year after they have received dissertator status. Until that time, however, there are a few things you can do to increase your chances at approval: 1). Register to vote in WI and do so regularly; 2). Have a car insured in WI; and 3). Volunteer in the community. Additional things that help show one’s WI residency case:  1). Buy a house (if possible); 2). Have a domestic partner with a career here; and 3). Have a non-temporary job that doesn't require student status. It helps to stay in Wisconsin while dissertating to show continuous residency, but this will be very hard to prove for students planning to research abroad.

For more information:  http://registrar.wisc.edu/residence.htm

Does the Department sponsor writing prizes for graduate students?  

The Department offers three writing prizes to recognize outstanding graduate student achievement.  These prizes are awarded in the spring.

The Graduate Seminar Essay Prize for the best seminar essay. M.A. theses and dissertation chapters are excluded, although the essay may ultimately comprise part of a thesis or dissertation.

Professors who have taught seminars during the previous calendar year may each nominate one student.  Because the essays may focus on either research in primary sources or on historiographic analysis, two awards (one per category) may be given in the same year. The F&S Committee selects the winner. The prize comes with a $150 award.

The Baensch Award in History, established in honor of Judge and Mrs. Emil Baensch of Sheboygan,  recognizes “excellence in preparing theses or essays on some aspect of Wisconsin history.” History Department graduate students as well as graduate students in other departments are eligible for nomination, provided that non-History Department students are nominated by a History Department faculty member.  A cash prize is awarded.

Faculty members may make one nomination in each category.

The Schrag Prize in German Jewish History honors the memory of Paul J. Schrag, who was an eloquent witness to the experiences of German Jewry in the twentieth century. A prize of $200 is awarded for the best graduate research paper on German Jewish history. Students may submit their own papers or faculty can nominate papers.