Welcome to Penn State

Graduate Financial Aid Information

Various forms of financial aid are available to graduate students in the Comparative Literature Department. However, it is not possible to give financial aid to all deserving students because of the limitations on funding. There are several kinds of funds: some are provided through public or private foundations, others through Penn State's Graduate School, others through the College of the Liberal Arts, and others through the Department of Comparative Literature.

Duration of financial support through Penn State assistantships, fellowships, and lectureships. The progress of each student will be reviewed annually by the Graduate Committee. For assistantships and lectureships, renewal depends on satisfactory performance in the assigned duties and in graduate study, and on the availability of funds.

The usual limits of support on Penn State funds are (1) for M.A. students, two years of support; (2) for Ph.D. students, four years beyond the M.A. Fifth-year funding is available on a competitive basis. A "year" means fall and spring semesters. Sometimes funding can be provided for longer periods than these, but students need to be aware that funding cannot be provided indefinitely. Also, students who interrupt their enrollment or assigned duties may not automatically receive further funding when they re-enroll.

Summer funding is usually available for a limited number of students. In recent years, several graduate students have received summer teaching appointments either in the department or in Penn State's Summer Intensive Language Institute, a special six-week program that offers intensive courses in foreign languages.

The department may admit qualified graduate students beyond the number to whom it can offer funding. Such unfunded students may apply for funding in subsequent semesters. They will be judged competitively against other applicants at the time, without special priority.

Students whose degree programs extend beyond the limits of their assistantship, fellowship, or lectureship support, or to whom such positions cannot be offered because of the limitations of the department's and the Graduate School's funds, are encouraged to seek other forms of financial aid, such as loans, tuition grants-in-aid, and part-time instructorships in other language and literature departments.

1. Assistantships, Fellowships, and Lectureships

Assistantships. Several teaching assistantships are usually available in comparative literature courses. Comparative literature graduate students are also eligible to compete for assistantships in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Swahili. The department will make recommendations for all these positions. Students interested in applying must submit application forms (available from the department office) to the graduate program staff assistant or to the graduate officer. Last-minute appointments have been known to occur, but students are advised to submit their applications and supporting materials in early December for the subsequent academic year.

Fellowships. The department awards an annual Sparks Fellowship (1-2 semesters of a non-teaching stipend). Penn State's Graduate School via the Liberal Arts Research and Graduate Studies Office also offers a number of fellowships for which comparative literature graduate students are eligible to compete. The Graduate School may have special funding for minority group students who are American citizens; students who think they may qualify for such funds are invited to describe their minority-group status to the Comparative Literature Department.

Students should also plan to apply for any national or international fellowships for which they might be eligible and competitive. For example, Penn State graduate students have gone to several foreign countries on Fulbright Fellowships (applications from U.S. students must be initiated through the Comparative Literature Department in May for fellowships beginning in the subsequent calendar year; applications from international students are initiated in their home countries). Mellon Fellowships are available to support graduate study in several humanistic disciplines, including comparative literature; this is a national fellowship program administered by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, CN 5329, Princeton, NJ 08543-5329 or visit http://www.woodrow.org/mellon/. An annual directory of such fellowship opportunities is included in the September issue of the journal PMLA--which is available in the department office, in most libraries, and from the Modern Language Association (address inside the back cover of this handbook). Students are urged to apply for such funding. Our success rate has been very good. The department can help you to prepare the applications.

2. Tuition Grants-in-Aid

The Graduate School offers a number of grants that pay tuition. Information and application forms are available from the Graduate School's Fellowships and Awards office located at 317 Kern Building or telephone the office at 865-2514. These grant-in-aid application forms are to be forwarded by the graduate officer, who must endorse each application. Tuition grants are not usually available to first-year students.

3. Loans and Other Financial Aid

The Office of Student Aid, 314 Shields Building, offers limited financial assistance in the form of National Direct Student Loans. Apply through the Office of Student Aid well before April 1 for the subsequent year.

Graduate students may also be eligible for work-study grants: apply through the Office of Student Aid. If you receive a work-study grant (this is a U.S. government program), inform our office, as the department may be able to offer you a job in research or instruction or related functions.

The Office of Residential Life Programs offers a limited number of positions for graduate students to serve as resident assistants in undergraduate dorms. Applications for the upcoming academic year are accepted in the preceding fall or early winter. Resident assistants receive partial tuition grants, plus room and board expenses. Contact the Residential Life Office in 135 Boucke Building at 863-1710 for details.

Many students help support themselves through part-time work on campus or in the surrounding town. For information about work on campus, contact the Student Employment Office in 314 Shields Building at 865-6301. (International students' visas may limit their work opportunities.) In the past, graduate students have tutored student-athletes through the Morgan Academic Support Center for Student Athletes. Information about tutoring is available at 328 Boucke Building.

Other students serve as part-time instructors in various Penn State academic programs. Usually these are advanced students who have previously held assistantships in those departments.