DISSERTATION-YEAR FELLOWSHIP
During their penultimate year of financial support, students may submit an application to receive their final year of support in the form of a fellowship instead of a teaching or research assistantship. The application should include the following elements:
- A list of degree requirements that have already been satisfied, along with the dates when each was completed, to include (1) completion of required course work, (2) passing of qualifying examinations, (3) passing of language examinations or granting of equivalencies, (4) defense of dissertation prospectus. If any of these requirements remain to be satisfied, the applicant should list an anticipated date of completion
- A list of grants or fellowships received or applied for at the graduate level
- A summary of research for the dissertation completed to date
- A description of the work to be carried out during the fellowship period
- A timeline for completing the work
- An anticipated dissertation defense date
- A current copy of the applicant’s curriculum vitae
All materials should be submitted electronically to the director of graduate studies, with a copy to the chair of the Department of French and Italian, by January 31 of the penultimate year of support.
Among the criteria that will be considered in evaluating applications are
- Progress to degree: preference will generally be given to students who have achieved ABD status or who will have achieved it by the end of the academic year preceding the fellowship year
- Evidence of efforts to secure funding from sources outside Tulane or the Department of French and Italian
- Academic performance as demonstrated through course work and qualifying examinations
- Responsible and professional execution of teaching duties or other duties assigned by the department
- Participation in departmental events such as guest lectures, symposia, and journées d’étude.
BETH POE TRAVEL FUND
First-year graduate students enrolled at Tulane University are encouraged to apply for the Professor Beth Poe Travel Fund. The Travel Fund is awarded annually in honor of Elizabeth Poe, Professor Emeritus of French whose selfless devotion to students as a scholar, teacher, advisor, mentor, and friend had a profound impact on Tulane’s Department of French & Italian.
The award is adjudicated on a competitive basis and is reserved for first-year graduate students who wish to pursue research-related travel to France or a francophone country or to participate in an internationally recognized scholarly conference. Graduate students who are awarded the Beth Poe Travel Fund must use the award between their first and second years of graduate work.
The Fellowship consists of a stipend in the amount of $5,000.
Applications for the Beth Poe Travel Fund should be sent electronically to the Director of Graduate Studies by the deadline of March 15.
An application consists of the following materials:
- A curriculum vitae of no more than two (2) pages in length.
- A statement indicating for what purpose and how the award funds would be used.
SUMMER MERIT FELLOWSHIP
The SLA Dean's Office provides summer awards to help graduate students complete their degrees. Students may use the funds for expenses or equipment; research travel; presentations at professional conferences; and completing the dissertation. A tuition scholarship will be provided to cover the cost of registration. For detailed instructions and the application deadline, please see the Summer Merit Fellowship Awards page.
TRAVEL FUNDS FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS
The Department of French and Italian provides two travel grants to help students present their scholarly work at conferences. The Lafcadio Hearn Travel Grant is open to students in their first three years of graduate study (first two years for students coming in with a master’s degree). The Alfred Mercier Travel Grant is offered to students having completed their coursework. Each grant covers expenses of up to $500 to defray costs of conference registration, airfare, lodging, and related expenses. At the beginning of every year, the Department chair will send an email to students with specifics on how to apply for the travel grants.
In addition to the Departmental travel grants, the School of Liberal Arts provides support to ABD students with the J.E. Land Fund for Graduate Education. The fund provides up to $1500 for SLA graduate students who have been invited to attend professional conferences to present their work in the form of invited papers, lectures, and presentations. The J.E. Land Fund can be used to cover registration fees, coach travel, and accommodations. For further information, see the J.E. Land Fund for SLA Graduate Student Travel.
The Provost’s Office also provides graduate and professional students funds for travel to present a paper or poster at a conference. Requests for funds must be received before travel is initiated, and must meet the application deadlines below.
An application for the GSSA Travel Award may be submitted by the appropriate deadline pending receipt of an official notification of acceptance to present. A conditional award can be made contingent upon notification of paper/poster acceptance. If the abstract is not accepted, the award will be withdrawn.
Applications will be accepted three times per year. For further information, go to the GSSA Travel Funding page.
Every year, the School of Liberal Arts and the Provost’s Office contact all students by email to provide them with updated information regarding these opportunities.
GRADUATE STUDENT EXCELLENCE AWARDS
At the end of every school year, the Department of French and Italian recognizes students who have exhibited outstanding research, collegiality, or consistent exemplary teaching in the classroom. Students may be recognized with three types of awards:
Graduate Student Excellence in Research Award
Graduate Student Excellence in Teaching Award
Graduate Student Excellence in Service Award
These awards are given to graduate students at the ABD stage and presented during the annual year-end award ceremony.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE OPPORTUNITIES
The graduate program in French Studies maintains an exchange with the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris. The exchange is open to advanced PhD students in French Studies, with preference given to those who have achieved ABD status. Each year, interested students will be asked to submit an application, which is to include an indication of their status in the program (e.g., course work for the PhD completed, qualifying examinations completed, language requirement satisfied, dissertation prospectus defended, etc.), a statement of purpose outlining the student’s proposed research plan for the year and explaining how participation in the ENS exchange would be beneficial to his or her professional development, and a timeline for completion of the PhD. Candidates will be selected based on the application materials submitted, their overall academic performance in the program, their performance as Teaching or Research Assistants, their participation in departmental events such as lectures and symposia, and other relevant criteria.
The university also maintains an exchange program with the Free University of Berlin. The exchange is open to advanced graduate students in all disciplines.