Conference & Research Funds

Doctoral students in good standing have access to funding from the Graduate School and within the department to support conference travel and to defray research-related expenses. Access to these funds also varies based on the student's year in the program, as indicated below.

Graduate School Grants

Students who have successfully completed three quarters of work in their respective Ph.D. program are eligible to apply for Graduate Research Grants and Conference Travel Grants through the Graduate School. Any given individual may receive one Graduate Research Grant during their time at Northwestern, while Conference Travel Grants are available once each academic year (though only for presentation at, or other official participation in, a professional academic conference). Please follow the links for further information on deadlines, application procedures, and funding availability.

English Department Travel Funding

Funds are available each year from the department to support travel on up to two approved trips. Eligibility is based on the student's year in the program, and conference travel funding must be pursued through the Graduate School before further support will be made available from the department. Application for Graduate School Conference Travel grants requires a promise of support from the student's home department. In addition to this, the department will provide funding for a second trip allocated from its own resources.

In certain situations, students in their first year of the program (who do not otherwise qualify for Conference Travel Funding from the Graduate School) may petition the department for funds to present at a conference. All such requests require the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies.

Once a student has achieved candidacy, this funding from the department may also be used to support research-related travel; such trips do not require that the student have applied to the Graduate School for travel to an unrelated conference beforehand.

Finally, students on the job-market may use these department funds to defray the expense of travel to the annual Modern Language Association conference for the purpose of interviewing for academic jobs. Further participation in the conference is not required, nor is the receipt of interview invitations.

Summer research funding is also available to all doctoral students in good standing, though availability may vary from year to year. A request for proposals will be sent out each year which will indicate just what restrictions such requests may be made under.