Ph.D. Aid and Awards

Standard Financial Support

Graduate Students admitted to the program typically receive a package of five years of guaranteed funding. In addition to the annual support, topping-off awards are available through the Graduate School and the Provost’s Office. During their first year, graduate students in the German Studies Ph.D. program focus on their coursework. Teaching assistantships begin during their second year. 

Additional Support Options

The German Studies Ph.D. program provides students with year-long stipends for study and/or research abroad. Our Ph.D. students are also highly successful in applying for dissertation enhancement grants and scholarships. In recent years, these have included stipends from the DAAD, the Fulbright Program, the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities, and the special Vanderbilt/Freie Universität Berlin Exchange Program. Students who join the  Joint Ph.D. Program in Comparative Media Analysis and Practice (CMAP) are also eligible for a Mellon Graduate Fellowship from the Center for Digital Humanities, which may possibly fund a sixth year of graduate study.