Funding Commitment
The Department of Comparative Studies is committed to offering full funding packages for all admitted students, including international students. Students are sometimes funded entirely through a Graduate Associate position in the department, and sometimes through a combination of University Fellowship funding and a Graduate Associate positions. Renewal of funding is contingent on satisfactory performance (as a Graduate Associate) and satisfactory progress to degree (in all cases).
There is no additional application needed to secure funding—all admitted Comparative Studies students receive funding.
Types of Funding
Graduate Associateships: Graduate Associates are appointed by the department, usually as Graduate Teaching Associates (GTAs). Teaching assignments, ranging from serving as teaching assistants in large courses taught by faculty to serving as instructors of record in one's own course, are determined by departmental and student need. GTAs receive tuition and fee waivers, a health insurance subsidy, and a nine-month stipend. More details on GTA benefits and responsibilities are available through the Graduate School, here.
University Fellowships: University Fellows and Graduate Enrichment Fellows are selected by the Graduate School on the basis of academic merit, through university-wide competition. Fellows receive tuition and fee waivers, a health insurance subsidy, and a twelve-month stipend. Applicants do not apply directly to for these fellowships—the department will nominate eligible students as part of the admissions process. More details on Fellowship benefits and responsibilities are available through the Graduate School, here.
External Funding: Some students come to Comparative Studies with external funding, such as a Fulbright Fellowship. Applicants who have such funding should contact the department's Academic Program Coordinator to make a note on their application, at compstudies@osu.edu. External funding typically replaces departmental funding.
Duration of Funding Package
The duration of the funding package reflects the length of time it takes to earn the degree sought, based on the department's timelines to degree. Students entering the M.A. program receive two years of guaranteed funding. Students entering the M.A./Ph.D. program who successfully apply for continuation into the Ph.D. receive five years of guaranteed funding, with the possibility of one additional year by petition. Students entering the Ph.D. program directly, having already earned an M.A., receive four years of guaranteed funding, with the possibility one additional year by petition.
Summer Funding
The department cannot guarantee summer funding for every student. Our base funding package includes a nine-month stipend, beginning in mid-August and running through mid-May. Summer funding opportunities are limited to a small handful of summer grading positions, with priority granted to advanced Ph.D. students.
Fellowship students receive twelve-month funding packages and so do receive summer funding during the year(s) they are on fellowship, with an attendant expectation that, prior to advancing to candidacy, they will be engaged in coursework during the summer(s) that they are on fellowship.