art_history
Art and Art History

Funding Graduate Studies in Art History

Tuition and Fees

Tuition and fees are established by the Texas State Legislature and are subject to change. For the 2008-2009 Academic Year, tuition each semester for nine hours of coursework (a full-time course load in the graduate Art History program) is $3,778 for Texas residents and $6,791 for non-Texas residents and International students. Please see Graduate Tuition Tables and Graduate Costs of Attendance Charts for more information on fees and rates.

Financial Aid

Information on financial aid can be accessed through The University's Office of Student Financial Services. Clicking on drop-down menus such as College Costs, Funding Sources and The Process will assist you in locating information on grants and loans as well as assist you with completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. Email questions to finaid@www.utexas.edu or call (512) 475-6282. Information about how to search for sources of funding and external fellowships is also available from the Graduate and Recruitment Outreach Program within the Office of Graduate Studies. For more details on this outreach program, call 512-471-7811 or email go@www.utexas.edu. The General Libraries maintains a computerized grants search program for advanced research in the Perry-Castañeda Library. UT Austin doctoral students have received outside grants for dissertation research in the form of Fulbright Grants, German government exchange fellowships, IREX grants to Russia, Kress and Chester Dale Foundation Fellowships, Smithsonian Fellowships, Dumbarton Oaks Fellowships, Swann Foundation Grants, and other awards from private endowments. The Graduate Advisor will assist students in planning their applications for research awards.

University Fellowships

Please note that applicants are nominated for fellowships at both the university and departmental level based on academic merit.

The Graduate School administers a variety of Recruitment Fellowships for incoming graduate students. Each year the Art History Graduate Adviser, in consultation with the Art History Admissions Committee, nominates outstanding applicants who meet the eligibility guidelines for these fellowships. The current amount of these awards is a $10,000 stipend to be disbursed over 9 months, with an additional $ 1,119 supplement for health insurance. Fellows are eligible to pay tuition and fees at the in-state rate and receive $3,012 tuition assistance each long semester. Ph.D. students who are awarded this fellowship are offered two additional years of funding in the form of teaching assistantships.

Graduate School Continuing Fellowships are one-year fellowships awarded in a University competition. Each year, Art History faculty nominate one or two advanced art history doctoral students for this fellowship to support dissertation research and writing. Currently, the fellowship has an $18,000 stipend disbursed over 9 months, with an additional $1,119 supplement for health insurance. Fellows are eligible to pay tuition and fees at the in-state rate and receive $3,012 of tuition assistance each long semester.

The Donald Harrington Fellows Program is a one- to three-year award for exceptional incoming graduate students at the masters or doctoral level. Of those admitted in the Fall semester each year, the Art History faculty will nominate the most promising and accomplished new student for review by the Harrington Board. University wide, up to 16 Harrington Fellows are supported each year with a $30,000 stipend, payment of full tuition and required fees, a stipend to obtain medical insurance, and an allowance of $2,000 for travel, equipment, books, or other professional expenses.

Departmental and College of Fine Arts Fellowships

The following types of aid are available from the College of Fine Arts or the Department of Art and Art History on the recommendation of the Art History faculty:

Recruitment Fellowships for incoming students, 4-5 ranging from $8,000 to $19,000. Students holding these awards are eligible to pay tuition at in-state rates.

Competitive Academic Scholarships of $1000 for about 25 students. Students holding these awards are eligible to pay tuition at in-state rates. These scholarships support students at all stages of the program, but some are awarded to entering students.

Departmental and College Funds in varying amounts to help support the research-related travel needs of Ph.D. students.

Professional Development Awards from the Graduate School and Art History departmental funds defray student travel expenses associated with presenting papers (based on original research) at academic conferences. These funds are awarded primarily to doctoral students.

Student Employment

Teaching Assistantships are awarded to Ph.D. students upon recommendation by the faculty. Teaching Assistants are assigned to assist an instructor with an introductory Art History survey course. Teaching Assistants attend twice weekly lectures, lead three discussion sections per week, and grade the work of the students in those sections. Each year, thirteen Teaching Assistantships are awarded; the current stipend for Teaching Assistants is $6,000 per semester for 20 hours per week. Teaching Assistants must take the teaching technique course, ARH 398T Supervised Teaching in Art History, during the first term of employment and normally do not serve as Teaching Assistants for more than four long semesters. Advanced Ph.D. students are employed as Assistant Instructors who conduct and organize their own classes; these Assistant Instructors usually teach one introductory Art History survey each semester or two semesters.

All students appointed as Teaching Assistants or Assistant Instructors for 20 hours per week for a period of 4.5 months or longer qualify to pay tuition at the in-state rate ($3,778/semester), receive tuition assistance (currently $3,258/semester) and are eligible for the same health insurance benefits offered to faculty and staff.

Each semester the Art History faculty assigns selected graduate students (including Master's Degree students) as graders in large survey and upper-division classes. Graders normally work three to six hours per week. The number of grader positions vary each year and the salary is based on the number of students in the class. Graduate students may also be employed on a part-time basis in the Blanton Museum of Art, the Fine Arts Library, or the Slide and Photography Collection.

All student employees must be in good academic standing (maintaining a 3.0 grade point average and making satisfactory progress towards the degree). Students employed as Teaching Assistants, Assistant Instructors and Graders must have no incomplete grades and remain registered for nine semester hours of coursework during each long semester of employment. Renewal of any of these positions depends on a satisfactory faculty evaluation of the student's performance.