Graduate Funding

UT's Center for Indigenous Languages of Latin America (CILLA) announces the availability of several Joel Sherzer research grants of approximately $500–$1000 each available to graduate students for 2024 summer research focused on Indigenous Latin American languages.

If you wish to apply for a grant, please submit a brief description of your project. You should indicate what point in your studies the research will serve: masters thesis, first- or second-year paper, qualifying paper, or other (explain). If you have, or expect to have, partial funding for your project, you can still apply for this scholarship; you should indicate the source and amount of additional funding you have received or requested, and state specifically what is still needed that the Sherzer scholarship will cover. Your proposal should be no more than 4 pages (including the budget).
 
In the description of your project, indicate:

• What you will do and where.
• The relevance of your project in relation to your studies and other research.
• The contribution to scholarship and to community members.

Please include a budget in your proposal:

• Indicate the total amount your project will require, as well as the total and line-item amounts in each of the following categories: Transportation (airfare; ground transport); lodging and meals (ok to bundle as a per diem multiplied by the number of days); consultant fees (# of hours multiplied by rate per hour). These grants cannot be used for major equipment, but you can budget for consumables like memory cards.
• Please also state whether you have also applied to other sources of funding or have other funding already in hand; how much of your total budget you expect or hope will be covered by these other sources; and what specifically you plan to use the Sherzer for if you receive it.

Your application should be accompanied by a letter of recommendation from your (current or expected) PhD/MA supervisor.

Please send your proposal to pattieepps@austin.utexas.edu by Monday March 18. 

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Tinker Field Research Grants are for graduate students with little or no previous field experience to enable them to conduct pre-dissertation field research in Latin America or the Caribbean, including territories. Students will be able to acquire a comprehensive knowledge of language, terrain, and culture; familiarize themselves with information sources relevant to their studies; conduct pilot studies and preliminary investigations; and develop contacts with scholars and institutions in their fields.  

The Tinker Field Research Grants are not to be used for advanced dissertation research, but rather to provide graduate students with an introduction to, or formative experience with, hands-on field research in Latin America or the Caribbean.

Eligibility:

• UT graduate students in any department, discipline, or professional school may apply. Only students at the master’s or early-stage doctoral levels, or those pursuing professional degrees, are eligible. All-But-Dissertation (ABD) doctoral students are not eligible.
• Funds are only for pre-dissertation or master’s thesis field research in any Latin American or Caribbean country or territory, with limited funds available for non-Spanish- and non-Portuguese-speaking locations.
• Applicants who have received the Tinker Field Research Grant once are eligible to apply. However, priority will be given to first-time applicants. Using the application portal, indicate if you have received the Tinker Field Research Grant in the past.

For more information: Overview of the Tinker Field Research Grants

Opens: December 1

Deadline: March 2025, TBA

Apply Online 

Eligibility: Available to LLILAS graduate students who are conducting summer field research. Priority given to first-time MA applicants.

Deadline: TBA

Apply Online

Eligibility: Available to LLILAS and non-LLILAS graduate students whose field research deals with Brazil. Applicants must send a proposal of 1,000 words detailing their summer research project in Brazil and justifying how the proposed activities would advance their research project and/or prepare them for a career focused on Brazilian Studies.

Deadline: TBA

Apply Online

A graduate summer research endowment established in memory of Anna Luiza Ozorio de Almeida, by family members and scholars whose research focuses on Brazil.

Eligibility: Second-year LLILAS graduate students whose field research deals with Brazil. Applicants should provide a brief statement of the research project they wish to carry out and should attach a short résumé/CV to the application. The application should be accompanied by one letter of recommendation. The amount for this grant is approximately $600.

Deadline: TBA

Apply Online

• Fellowship provides (1) funds for students who are U.S residents or citizens or Mexican citizens who plan to conduct summer field research in Mexico, or (2) academic year living stipend for UT Austin students who are Mexican citizens.

  Deadline: TBA 

  Objective: The Texas Legislature created the E.D. Farmer International Fellowship with the purpose of building friendship and fostering goodwill between Texas and Mexico. This fellowship provides financial support to conduct research or fieldwork in Mexico or to undertake undergraduate or graduate studies or research activities at The University of Texas at Austin.

  Eligibility: The E.D. Farmer International Fellowship is limited to applicants who are residents or citizens of Mexico or the United States. Candidates must submit their applications under one of the following categories:

  • A: Mexican students applying to UT Austin starting in the Fall 2024 semester
    Eligible students are Mexican citizens: (1) who are applying to an undergraduate program at UT Austin and have already completed satisfactorily at least two years of study in a reputable college or university; or, (2) who are applying to a graduate program at UT Austin. Applicants must demonstrate academic excellence. Awardees receive a lump-sum award for use during the academic year. Stipends vary from year to year but can be up to $4,000 per student. Mexican students who are prospective UT students are not eligible to apply online. Applications must be mailed to the address below and should arrive by DATE TBA, to the address listed below. Their application must include:
    (1) 1–2 page personal statement describing how the funds will assist in accomplishing educational goals at UT Austin. A letter of recommendation is also required.
    (2) Current CV including foreign language proficiency
    (3) 2 letters of recommendation

  
  Mail application materials to the following address:

  E.D. Farmer International Fellowships
  c/o Graduate Program Coordinator
  Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies, UT Austin
  Sid Richardson Hall 1.310
  2300 Red River Street D0800
  Austin, TX 78712-0331  USA

  • B: Mexican students currently studying at UT Austin
    Eligible students are Mexican citizens currently enrolled in undergraduate or graduate program at UT Austin. Undergraduate applicants must have satisfactorily completed at least two years of study in a reputable college or university. If the fellowship is requested to support living expenses, the awardee receives a lump-sum award at the beginning of each semester. Stipends vary from year to year but can be up to $4,000 per student. If the fellowship is requested to support field research in Mexico, funding will depend on the research budget presented by the applicant. Exchange program students are not eligible for the award. Apply here.
     
  • C: Residents or citizens of Mexico and/or the U.S. conducting research in Mexico
    Eligible applicants are students who have satisfactorily completed at least two years of study at an accredited college or university. This fellowship can only be used to support summer research conducted in Mexico. The award amount varies according to the research budget. Please submit materials here. (If the applicant is a Mexican national not currently enrolled at UT Austin, please see category A, above.)
     

  Application Instructions: 

  Submit the following materials through the funding application. This will include:

• Statement of purpose
• Résumé or CV
• Two (2) contacts for letters of recommendation: The application will ask you for two contacts who can serve as a reference. The deadline for references to upload their letters of recommendation is DATE TBA. 
   

If you experience any technical issues with the application, please contact llilas.gra@austin.utexas.edu.

LLILAS Conference Travel Awards provide support for LLILAS graduate students to attend a major professional and/or student-organized meeting at which they present an original paper based on their research.

Due to limited funding, priority will be given to doctoral students, who will be considered for at least one award of $1,000 maximum per academic year. Additional funding will be allocated to exceptionally well-prepared master's students.

Students must provide proof of acceptance of their paper as well as an abstract of the paper. Limited funds are available per semester; thus, students are encouraged to submit their application this link.

Eligibility: Must be a currently enrolled LAS graduate student in good standing during the semester in which the funds are to be used. Registration for the prior spring semester will fulfill this requirement for the summer semesters unless you have graduated. Applications will be evaluated by a faculty committee and students can expect to be funded once per academic year. 

Application Deadlines: APPLY HERE FOR FALL 2024: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/f18453d3f669400fba4594d79046209f

• Fall semester conferences (travel September–December): Apply by 11:59 p.m. October 1
• Spring and summer semester conferences (travel January–August): Apply by 11:59 p.m. January 31
   

Students must apply by the posted deadlines. Late applications and emailed requests will not be considered.

LLILAS graduate students may apply for emergency funding. Funding is reserved for circumstances that negatively affect the quality of scholarship and/or prevent students from timely and effective completion of the degree. Applications accepted on a rolling basis. Last date to apply for 2023–24 is TBA. Apply here.

LLILAS Stutts Funding awards provide support for Latin American Studies graduate students. This funding may be used for coursework and/or the cost of travel. Deadline for 2024–25 is TBA. Apply here.

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The Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship is a highly competitive U.S. Department of Education grant that provides graduate and undergraduate fellowships for students to pursue intensive training in modern languages and related area or international studies. These fellowships provide tuition and a substantial stipend for living expenses.

Note: You must be a U.S. citizen or national, or permanent resident of the United States, to apply for FLAS.

Objective: LLILAS Benson educates students to actively engage the world. Students acquire a first-class education in Latin American Studies, working with faculty who generate knowledge that is crucial to building a more just, safer, and more prosperous Latin America. We seek to inspire our students, our faculty, and the communities we serve to change the world for the better.

The Community Engagement Award recognizes a LLILAS student who demonstrates a commitment to community service, either in the United States or in Latin America, through a strong record of volunteerism and/or activism with one or more community organizations. Applicants will describe the nature and social impact of their work and how it ties in and is informed by their intellectual or research interests in Latin America broadly defined (i.e., work with organizations that serve Latino immigrants in the US would be eligible, for example). They also will need to submit a letter of support from the community organization in question. Our goal is to promote and recognize agents of change who improve the well-being of our region, and to encourage and recognize the commitment to social change of LLILAS students and their involvement with local communities beyond the university.

Eligibility: Must be a currently enrolled LAS undergraduate or graduate student in good standing.

Amount: Two prizes will be awarded: $800 for the undergraduate recipient, $800 for the graduate recipient.

Application: Application materials should be submitted online in spring of the academic year. Email recommendation letters to the LLILAS Benson Public Engagement Coordinator at llilas_publicengagement@austin.utexas.edu.

Deadline: March 2025 TBD

For more information, please contact llilas_publicengagement@austin.utexas.edu

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