Funding & Support

Students admitted to the PhD in Theatre & Performance Research are eligible to apply for graduate assistantships and university fellowships. Doctoral students receive five years of funding. We encourage all U.S. students, including MA students, to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), regardless of income. The FSU Office of Financial Aid offers additional resources and recommended timelines.

Assistantships

Assistantships are competitive and the number and type of funded positions vary from one year to the next. Teaching Assistantships, Graduate Assistantships, and Research Assistantships provide students with a stipend, tuition waiver, and health insurance subsidy—valued at over $165,000 for out-of-state PhD students.

Teaching Assistantships provide first-hand experience in teaching—face-to-face and virtually—and place students in mentored teaching assistant positions or as instructors of record. Graduate and Research Assistantships offer opportunities to aid faculty research, gain library experience in the Degen Resource Room, assist with departmental administration, support professional service work, plan special events, or explore other tasks as needed by the faculty and department.

Research & Travel Funding

The prestigious Jay & Dr. Sue Newman Award in Theatre Studies supports student research, excellence, or conference participation with annual awards of $500-$3000.

The School of Theatre recognizes the importance of networking, conference attendance, and research travel for graduate students. Thus, School of Theatre graduate students may apply for dedicated departmental research and travel funding annually.

Fellowships & Grants

The FSU Graduate School has a comprehensive list of fellowships, funding opportunities, and financial resources.

• The Legacy Fellowship, awarded by the Graduate School, provides support for up to five years for newly admitted doctoral students. It offers a $10,000 annual supplement to the departmental assistantship and a health insurance subsidy.
• The Leslie N. Wilson-Dolores Auzenne Assistantship, awarded by the Graduate School, is available to new and currently enrolled graduate students in both master’s and doctoral programs. Preference may be given to applicants who are historically underrepresented.  It offers a $5,000 stipend, tuition waiver, and health insurance subsidy, in addition to the departmental assistantship. The award is for one year and encourages awardees to reapply for continued support.
• The FAMU Feeder Fellowship is for students that graduated from Florida A&M University and completed the FAMU Feeder Program. It offers a stipend, tuition waiver, and health insurance subsidy.
• The McKnight Doctoral Fellowship is a state-wide program designed to address the under-representation of African American and Hispanic faculty at colleges and universities in Florida. It provides up to five years of support with a stipend of $12,000, tuition waiver, and an annual health insurance subsidy.
• The McNair Scholars Fellowship provides support to first-generation and underrepresented students who were McNair Scholars as undergraduates and are pursuing doctoral studies. Up to five years of support are included, with fellowships of $16,000-$20,000 in the first and final year and departmental assistantships in the intervening years.
• The FSU Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards works with current students eager to identify and apply for additional funding.

NOTE: Fellowships have early deadlines–usually at the beginning of January–and they often require the GRE and TOEFL exams, additional materials, and/or departmental nominations. Check deadlines and eligibility requirements. If you are eligible, contact Dr. Beth Osborne (bosborne@fsu.edu).

Additional Sources of Funding

The Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, available to immigrants and children of immigrants, provides up to $90,000 in financial support over two years.

The Academic Common Market: Students who are residents of one of the 16 SREB (Southern Regional Education Board) states (Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia) can enroll in FSU and pay in-state tuition if the graduate degree they want to study for is not offered by their in-state institutions.

The American Association of University Women Dissertation Fellowship focuses on women in the final stages of completing their dissertations. It includes a stipend of $6,000-$30,000.

International Students

The Center for Global Engagement tracks opportunities of particular interest to international students. The International Linkage Institute Program allows students from eligible countries to apply for a waiver of the out-of-state portion of tuition, a value of approximately $10,000 annually. The Latin America-Caribbean Scholarship allows eligible students to qualify for in-state tuition, and provides a $500 scholarship each semester.