Fully Funded PhD Programs in English

Last updated May 10, 2022

As part of my series on How to Fully Fund Your PhD, I provide a list of universities that offer full funding for a PhD in English. “Full funding” is a financial aid package for full-time students that includes full tuition remission and an annual stipend or salary for the three to the six-year duration of the student’s doctoral studies. Funding is typically offered in exchange for graduate teaching and research work that is complementary to your studies. Not all universities provide full funding to their doctoral students, which is why I recommend researching the financial aid offerings of all the potential PhD programs in your academic field, including small and lesser-known schools both in the U.S. and abroad.

You can also find several external fellowships in the ProFellow database for graduate and doctoral study, as well as dissertation research, fieldwork, language study, and summer work experience.

Would you like to receive the full list of more than 1000+ fully funded programs in 60 disciplines? Download the FREE Directory of Fully Funded Graduate Programs and Full Funding Awards!

Boston College, Department of English (Newton, MA): Offers a tuition remission fellowship plus a stipend for all students for five years as well as university-funded dissertation fellowships to support their research.

Columbia University, Department of English and Comparative Literature (New York, NY): All admitted students are fully funded for 6 years with tuition, fees, and a living stipend, $30,770 in total (including a grant to support research over the summer break).

Fordham University (New York, NY): All Ph.D. students receive a tuition scholarship as well as a stipend of at least $25,164. Students in later years of the program are eligible to apply for Distinguished Fellowships that carry stipends of up to $33,124.

Syracuse University, Department of English (Syracuse, NY): All students are fully funded. Each student admitted receives a full-tuition scholarship in addition to an annual stipend of $17,500. Some of these scholarships are configured to include teaching duties.

University of Chicago, Department of English Language and Literature (Chicago, IL): Doctoral students are awarded a five-year fellowship that includes a stipend, full tuition, and health insurance coverage. Students may also apply for research and travel funds.

University of Michigan, Department of English Language and Literature (Ann Arbor, MI): Offers a guaranteed six-year funding package to all students admitted to the program. Funding covers complete in-state and out-of-state tuition costs, health care benefits, and living expenses in the form of direct stipend and teaching. Summer funding is available in years one through five.

University of Notre Dame, Department of English (Notre Dame, IN): All students admitted to the PhD program can expect full funding for five years which includes tuition and stipends, plus opportunities for the sixth year.

University of Virginia, Department of English (Charlottesville, VA): Financial support, including health insurance and tuition remission, is awarded to all PhD students from the first through the fifth year of study, with a significant number of students receiving support in the sixth year of study.

Need some tips for the application process? See my article How To Get Into a Fully Funded PhD Program: Contacting Potential PhD Advisors.

Also, sign up to discover and bookmark more than 1300 professional and academic fellowships in the ProFellow database.

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