The Department makes every attempt possible to ensure that packages of five years of support (in the form of fellowships, teaching associateships, or research associateships (departmental or on externally-funded projects)) are made available to all students admitted into the Ph.D. program; these support packages are valid as long as the student's academic progress remains satisfactory. Financial aid beyond the fifth year of graduate study is discouraged by the College of Humanities and the Graduate School and is provided only under special circumstances. For more information about financial aid to graduate students at Ohio State, see Admissions' page on financial aid.
Application Fee Waivers
There are a variety of programs offering fee waivers for domestic applicants. You can find information about how to apply here. In addition, the department offers a limited number of fee waivers for both domestic and international applicants. Email Dr. Micha Elsner, the chair of the Graduate Studies Committee, to apply.
University Fellowships
University Fellowships are available to incoming graduate students on a competitive basis: the Department of Linguistics makes nominations for these to the Graduate School, and a graduate school selection committee chooses the awardees from among the best-qualified applicants to all graduate programs in the University. Both applicants with and without an M.A. from another institution are eligible for University Fellowships, as are Foreign students. Fellowship awards are set each year by the Graduate School to reflect the cost of living. The current stipend amounts are listed on the Graduate School's Fellowship website. Note that there is a guarantee of a Teaching or Research Associateship in the Linguistics Department for at least the second year if academic progress is satisfactory. University Fellows may, with prior Graduate School approval, be permitted to use their summer stipend for study off-campus at programs like the Linguistic Institute sponsored by the Linguistic Society of America.
Teaching Associateships
Teaching Associateships in the Linguistics Department are usually awarded only to advanced graduate students whose performance has already been observed. However, a limited number of Graduate Research Associateships are available to first-year graduate students. A Graduate Asociate receives a monthly stipend and a waiver of tuition and fees. In addition, a student who receives a Graduate Associate appointment for Autumn and Spring semesters automatically receives a tuition and fee waiver for the Summer semester of that year (minimum of 4 credit hours). Additionally, students are responsible for the COTA bus fee and the recreation fee. Health insurance costs vary, as several alternatives are available. Graduate Associates are eligible for subsidized insurance offered by the University. For details, see the Student Health Insurance website on Graduate Associates.
Normal duties of a Graduate Teaching Associate (considered to be an appointment of 50% time, or 20 hours per week) consist of teaching one section of Linguistics 2000, a 3000-level course such as 3602, 3603, 3701, 3802, or approximately equivalent time in assisting a faculty member in teaching another course. Students should prepare for teaching 2000 and the 3000-level courses by taking Linguistics 6000, a course designed to train instructors in the techniques and materials used to teach introductory linguistics courses, in the Spring and May terms of their first year. A student's 2000 teaching performance is evaluated each semester based on classroom observation by a faculty member and the University's Student Evaluation of Teaching forms. In addition, GTAs for whom English is not their first language must demonstrate their fluency in spoken English through testing and possibly course work before they will be allowed to assume classroom teaching duties. Such students can meet the requirement in one of two ways: (1) Scoring 230 or higher on the Test of Spoken English (TSE), administered by the Educational Testing Service, Princeton, NJ 08541-6157, or (2) Scoring 230 or higher on the SPEAK test administered at Ohio State. Those scoring lower than 230 can meet the requirement by taking courses in spoken English.
Research Associateships
Duties of a Graduate Research Associate vary but amount to approximately the same time commitment as for Graduate Teaching Associates. The Department may make a commitment of a Graduate Associateship to an incoming student during the Spring or Summer before the student enters the program, but the assignment of duties (teaching vs. research, and nature of research assignment) may not be made until the student actually enrolls.
Opportunities for diversity students
Eligible students are also eligible to apply for the University's Graduate Enrichment Fellowships. The Graduate School says the following about the Enrichment Fellowships:
The intent of the Graduate Enrichment Fellowship program is to recruit individuals who will bring diversity to the Graduate School. The Graduate School considers diversity to be a broadly defined concept. Examples of features of an applicant’s file that could satisfy this criterion include, but are not limited to, ethnic background, social or economic disadvantage, nominee status as a McNair Scholar, disability, or other characteristics or attributes that may contribute to the diversity of the Graduate School.
More information can be found on the Graduate School's Fellowship website.
How to apply for fellowships and associateships
Application for all kinds of University Fellowships, Graduate Enrichment Fellowships, and Linguistics Department Teaching and Research Associateships is made simply by checking the appropriate boxes on the Graduate School Application Forms. Note that, per the Graduate School requirements for fellowships, the Linguistics Department deadline for all applications for admission is December 1 for all applicants. Applicants for fellowships should take special care to ensure that their applications are complete (see Checklist for Graduate Applicants) and reach the University by the deadline. The results of the University Fellowship competitions are announced in mid-February.
Externally-funded fellowships
Three-year National Science Foundation Fellowships are available to graduate students in linguistics who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents, but application must be made when the student is an undergraduate senior or first-year graduate student. Visit the National Science Foundation for specific information on the award and deadlines. Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships (Title VI) may be available to linguistics students who develop specializations in Slavic and East European languages, East Asian area studies, Middle East area studies, or African studies.
Associateships in Other Departments
Students in linguistics may qualify for Graduate Associateships in teaching English composition, teaching English as a second language, and teaching various foreign languages. Students interested in these positions should communicate directly with the appropriate language department; the Department of Linguistics has no language teaching associateships at its disposal.
Dissertation-year and other special awards
Students who have begun work on dissertations are eligible to be nominated for the University's Presidential Fellowships. For more information, visit the Presidential Fellowship webpage.
Students are encouraged to present papers at conferences, and funding is often available to enable students to travel to such conferences. The department also encourages students to attend the Summer Linguistic Institute sponsored by the Linguistic Society of America (or similar summer programs), and can frequently provide support for students to attend, especially if the student receives a Fellowship from the Institute.
Any questions about financial aid not answered by this Web site can be obtained by contacting the Graduate Program Coordinator, Dr. Julia Papke, at papke.5@osu.edu.