Cost & Financial Support

Duke has a strong commitment to financially support students selected for graduate studies. Graduate student support can come in a variety of forms including graduate fellowships, external fellowships, graduate assistantships, teaching assistantships, or graduate scholarships. For more information on the cost and financial support, refer to the Graduate School website

Graduate School Fellowships

Entering applicants who demonstrate academic excellence may qualify for one of the University fellowships which include the James B. Duke Fellowships, University Scholars and Dean's Graduate Fellowships. For more information on these fellowships, refer to the Graduate School website

Fellowship Sources Outside of Duke

Students in the Literature Program have been successful in obtaining outside funding through fellowships such as the Javits, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Josephine de Karman Fellowship Trust, Fulbright and the Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships.

Departmental Fellowships

Students accepted to the Literature Program can expect to receive 5 full years of department support in the form of a fellowship and a teaching or research assistantship if they do not receive support from other funding sources. The departmental fellowship and assistantship is based upon satisfactory progress and covers the following expenses:

  • A stipend for five years
  • Tuition
  • Annual health insurance
  • Annual health fee for five years
  • Annual recreation fee for five years

The Literature program will offer partial support for students in their sixth year, provided the student is eligible and applies to the Graduate School for the 6th year tuition scholarship. This support is based upon satisfactory progress and covers the following expenses:

  • Tuition
  • Annual health insurance (provided the student chooses the Duke student medical insurance plan)

An appointment of sixth year employment is not guaranteed by the department, but Literature students have often been successful in applying for fellowships outside of Duke, and are encouraged to apply for such funding.

External grants or fellowships does not change or extend the department’s guarantee of 5 years of funding (whether from external or internal sources). In order to encourage students to apply for external funding, the department has established the following structure:

  • 1 yr. of support - student receives full funding (tuition, fees and stipend) for 1 semester in the 6th year.
  • 2 yrs. of support - student receives full funding (tuition, fees and stipend) for both semesters of the 6th year.
  • 3 or more yrs. of support - the department will pay the students fees.