Funding and Research Support

Global Studies is able to offer most of our MA students a full academic year (3 academic terms) of support as a tuition and fee waiver, health benefits, and a .40 FTE GE (Graduate Employee) salary for teaching assistance or other on-campus employment.

Many GLBL MA students are able to secure a second year of GE funding as well. GE funding is contingent on making satisfactory academic progress.

You can find out more about the university’s system of GE awards, tuition and fee waivers, employment opportunities, insurance benefits, and other support at the University of Oregon’s Division of Graduate Studies’ website

The total tuition and fee waiver, GE salary, and associated insurance benefits can be found on the Division of Graduate Studies’ website

Graduate Employee Forms 


Department Awards for Graduate Students 

The Department of Global Studies offers awards to support graduate student professional development, e.g., research related activities, presentations at conferences, or other enrichment opportunities.

George & Conni Slape Fellowship

This fellowship is awarded competitively twice a year to support graduate student international research and/or internship activities. Slape Fellowships are designed to support international research and/or internship related travel expenses up to $1000. Applicants must thoughtfully integrate into their application the academic literature on their topic and clearly detail their research methods and research plan. Graduate students will receive a call for applications each fall and spring term via email.

Thurber Awards

Thurber Awards, funded by the estate of the late Professor Clancy Thurber (a founder of our program), are a key resource for professional development expenses. Thurber Awards are allocated on a non-competitive basis. Each graduate student in the program has access to the amount that was promised at the time they began the Global Studies master’s program. Students must submit a statement explaining how the funds will be used for their professional development. This support is made available through Thurber funds with qualifying documentation (previous Thurber awards will be counted towards this amount). 

In order to access these funds, students must use the 

File Global Studies Thurber Application 2024

 to apply for Thurber monies, including signed approval from their advisor. Send the completed form to the graduate coordinator and submit official receipts/documentation to the accounting technician, in regard to the use of funds. Please note that original receipts are required for reimbursement. 


University of Oregon Funding Opportunities for Graduate Students 

Gary E. Smith Professional Development Scholarship 

The Division of Graduate Studies offers the Gary E. Smith Professional Development Scholarships for graduate students. This award is designed to support outstanding graduate and law students pursuing professional development or training enrichment activities that would provide (a) unique opportunities not normally available as part of the degree program; (b) intensive, focused development in a particular professional skill area; and (c) will advance the student’s progress toward graduation and/or career goals.    

Awards will be no more than $3,000 and the number awarded will be limited by available funds. 

Relevant Graduate School Links 

Funding and Awards External Fellowships and Awards 

National and International Distinguished Scholarships : Boren, Carnegie, Critical Language, Fulbright, Rhodes, RISE, Rotary, Soros etc. 

Oregon Humanities Center Graduate Research Support Fellowships: February Deadline 

Departmental Merit Awards 

Global Corners International Graduate Student Recruitment and Retention Award 

OUS-SYLFF Graduate Fellowships for International Research 

Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund (Sylff) 
The UO participates in the Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund (SYLFF) program, a special initiative that offers a limited number of fairly generous graduate student awards for international research. This is a competitive fellowship for which each department can nominate only one student to the graduate school. Talk to your advisor if you are interested in applying. Do this as early as you can. Your advisor provides one letter of recommendation for the department’s deadline. To be nominated by Global Studies, apply to the department by early March.  

Graduate Teaching Excellence Award 
The award acknowledges a GE’s investment in professional development. Applicants need to have at least 5 terms of experience as an instructor (sole instructor, lab or discussion leader), a record of excellence in their instructional duties, and an exemplary academic record. One award of $1,000 will be made.  Awards will be announced before the end of spring term. 

Other Award or Funding Opportunities

Boren Awards 
Deadline: usually the end of January each year Boren Fellowships provide up to $24,000 for overseas study, for a minimum of 12 weeks overseas and a maximum of one year overseas. The award presents unique funding opportunities for U.S. undergraduate and graduate students to study less commonly taught languages in world regions critical to U.S. interests, and underrepresented in study abroad, including 40 countries in Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East. The program focuses on geographic areas, languages, and fields of study deemed critical to U.S. national security. 

Coverdell Fellows Program 
Global Studies has partnered with the Coverdell Fellows Program, to seek Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV) applicants to our 2-year graduate program. Coverdell Fellows work closely with Global Studies faculty to identify an internship that furthers their professional aspirations, while serving under-served American communities. Coverdell Fellows also complete academic requirements to earn an MA. RPCV applicants must include the following with your application; Description of Service (DOS) document signed by the country director from the RPCV's country of service- verifying your participation and dates of service. 

 


Conference Presentation Funding  

Global Studies encourages students to present their original work at regional, national and international conferences, and dedicates a portion of its budget to support graduate student presentations at conferences. This provides valuable professional development experience, and an opportunity to network in preparation for entering the job market. 

Students should take the initiative to identify suitable conferences and should also request information from their faculty advisors about possible conferences and how to successfully write and submit an abstract. Global Studies also offers opportunities for students to hone their presentations at lunch talks, in our proseminar class, and at other informal gatherings. 

 

To apply for conference funding, send to department head, Yvonne Braun:

  1. Email requesting funds (average: $200) 
  2. Abstract (reviewed/approved by your advisor) 
  3. Budget 
  4. List of all your other sources of support 

Students will be notified of the decision/award usually within two weeks. Please note that once this year’s funding has been exhausted, students must wait until the following year to apply. 


Past George & Conni Slape Fellowship Award Winners

2019:

  • ​​​Ellen Ziesenhene, Fall 2019, “Food Security in a Cultural Setting: Subsistence Food Production” 
  • Lina Lechlech, Spring 2019, “The Performance of Sexual Offences Courts (SOCs) in South Africa Through the Lens of Survivors” 
  • Dayna Hansberger, Spring 2019, “Exploring how Human-Centered Design Affects Sanitation Access and Household Latrine Satisfaction: A Case Study in Wolaita, Ethiopia” 
  • Nino Dgebuadze, Spring 2019, “The Gendered Impacts of Migration on Refugee Women’s Well-being in Greece”
  • Alex Camacho, Spring 2019, “Conservation Efforts of World Wildlife Fund in Context with Bolivia’s Social, Economic and Political Relation to Countries Rich in Biological and Cultural Diversity” 

2018:

  • Alyssa Sperry, Fall 2018, “Culture and Consumption of Salt on the Island of Jamaica” 
  • Michelle Nikfarjam, Spring 2018, “Sowing Dharma: Seed Sovereignty, Community Resilience, and Agricultural Development in Northern India” 
  • Maria Pomés Lorencés, Spring 2018, “Indigenous Identity in Lowland Bolivia” 

2017:

  • Farah Samti, Spring 2017 “Post-Uprising Tunisia: Body and Gender Politics in Protesting State Oppression” 
  • Joze Moreno Pelayo, Spring 2017 “Prevention Bridges”

2016:

  • Caitlyn O’Quinn, Fall 2016, “Costa Rica Cooperatives: Challenging Neoliberalism, Building Democracy?” 
  • Sugam Singh, Spring 2016 “National Network of Families of Disappeared and Missing Nepal” and “Forum for Protection of Public Interest (Pro Public)” on transitional justice issues in Nepal.
  • Sigride Asseko, Spring 2016 “How Gabon’s Local Seasonal Variations Affect Air Pollution and Respiratory Diseases”

2015:

  • Nicole Kessell, Spring 2015 “Migration, Identity, and the Spatiality of Social Interactions in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman” 
  • Ritendra Thapa Magar, Spring 2015 “Socio-economic Impact of Gravity-Goods Ropeways in Nepal” 

2014:

  • Najla Sabri, Spring 2014 “Female Entrepreneurship in the Formal Economy of Afghanistan” 

2013:

  • Divya Bajaj, Fall 2013 “Minding the Gap: Implementing Global Educational Policies on a Local Level” 
  • Tariq Rahman, Fall 2013 “Being Modern in Bhakkar: A Gated Community in Rural Pakistan” 
  • Amy Price, Spring 2013 “Research into the Cut Flower Industry in Colombia” Summer 2013 

2012:

  • Sara Clark, Fall 2012 “Host Mother Perspectives from Costa Rica: Cultural Exchange & Women’s Empowerment” (Summer 2013)
  • Kate Faris, Spring 2012 “Imagining an Alternative Life: Youth Workers and the Creative Arts in Bogotá, Colombia” 
  • Elizabeth Miskell, Spring 2012 “Research in Mexico”

2011:

  • Laura Massengale, Spring 2011 “Gendered Identities and Associational Life among the Peul in Paris”

2010:

  • Genevieve Beecher, Fall 2010 “Second Language Education in China (Heritage Learners)” 
  • Paula Sue Grimes, Spring 2010 “HIV AIDS in Zimbabwe: How are women with disabilities responding to the AIDS crisis in their communities?”

2009:

  • Deborah Sharp, Fall 2009 “Responsibility, Participation, and Social Engagement: Women’s capacity‐building programs in Johannesburg, South Africa”