The following competitive fellowships are of two kinds: those for entering graduates and those for more advanced graduate students at work on dissertations. All applicants to the English Department’s PhD program are automatically considered for the competitive fellowships for entering students; no further application is required. However, all first-year PhD students who do not receive competitive fellowships receive non-teaching A&S Fellowships, as described under Funding.
Fellowships for Entering Students
Provost’s Humanities Fellowships
Two fellowships are awarded annually to entering graduate students of high academic merit pursuing work in the humanities. In the past applicants to the graduate programs in the English department have been very successful in receiving these fellowships and a full tuition scholarship for the period of the fellowship. Fellows may elect to receive this fellowship over a period of either two or three terms. Preference is given to entering first-year students. Applicants to all the graduate programs in the English department who wish to be considered for financial aid are automatically considered for this fellowship.
In 1994, the University of Pittsburgh established the K. Leroy Irvis Fellowships to enhance the academic excellence and diversity of the Pitt's graduate student body and prepare doctoral students for academic and research careers. Each year, schools select distinguished doctoral applicants who have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement to participate in this prestigious program, which provides a non-duty bearing fellowship for the student’s first year of doctoral study as well academic guidance and cohort-based mentoring throughout the student’s doctoral studies.
Dissertation Fellowships
Andrew Mellon Fellowships
These fellowships are awarded by the Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences for an academic year of either two or three terms, and include a full tuition scholarship and health insurance. These fellowships are customarily awarded to advanced PhD students. In recent years, the English department has been awarded three to six of these fellowships. The deadline for receipt of applications is determined by the Director of Graduate Studies each year. If you have any questions please contact the Graduate Administrator.
Carol Kay Fellowship
The Carol Kay Fellowship is a non-teaching fellowship offered annually on a competitive basis. Carol Kay was an important interdisciplinary scholar of eighteenth-century British literature and culture and a valued colleague in the English Department.
Carolyn Chambers Memorial Fellowship and Nancy Anderson Fellowship
The Carolyn Chambers Memorial Fellowship, awarded alternately to graduate students in English and in History, is a four-month fellowship that comes with a stipend and a full tuition scholarship. During the year in which it is available to the English department, the Chambers Fellowship will be combined with the Nancy Anderson Fellowship, which also offers one term of financial support, in order to support an outstanding PhD student.
In alternate years, when only the Nancy Anderson Fellowship is available to the English department, that fellowship will be used to provide one or two term(s) of support (depending on the availability of funds) for a graduate student pursuing advanced research towards the PhD. The recipient of the fellowships will be selected on the basis of academic achievement and the promise of research capability. While the award is based on merit, financial need shall be considered when selecting the recipient. Students are not allowed to be gainfully employed either at the University or elsewhere during the period in which they hold a fellowship.
Cultural Studies Fellowships
Administered by the Cultural Studies Program (a separate entity from the English department), this fellowship supports advanced PhD students with a stipend for two or three terms and tuition remission. Applications are available in the Cultural Studies Program office located in 2205 Posvar Hall.
Lillian B. Lawler Fellowships
A gift from the Lillian B. Lawler estate has made it possible to offer predoctoral scholarships and fellowships to graduate students in the foreign languages, English, or History. Priority is given to students with financial need. The English department has been very successful in receiving one or more of these scholarships and fellowships each year. The deadline for receipt of applications is determined by the Director of Graduate Studies each year. Questions should be directed to the Graduate Administrator.
Richard C. and Barbara N. Tobias Fellowships
The generosity of the late Professor Richard C. Tobias has enabled the Department of English to offer these fellowships to support the completion of extremely promising dissertation projects in the department. These fellowships, which support fourth- and fifth-year PhD students, provide a stipend and a full tuition scholarship, with no teaching duties, for the period of the fellowship. Applicants for this fellowship must have held their dissertation prospectus meeting.
Other Fellowships
Owens Fellowships
This is an award of $2,000 for students in financial need who show promise of high academic achievement. It requires that students take the Millers Analogies Test and complete financial aid forms. Applications are available in the Office of Student Services, 322 Thackeray Hall.