Awards and Opportunities for Austrian Studies Graduate Students

The Center for Austrian Studies awards one fellowship for one semester to a University of Minnesota graduate student in the College of Liberal Arts with advanced doctoral (ABD) status. The award will give an accomplished Ph.D. candidate whose dissertation focuses on Austria, or the territories or successor states of the former Habsburg Empire (within the 1914 borders), the ability to devote full-time effort to completing their dissertation during the fellowship period, or to conducting necessary off-site archival research to allow for timely progress to the degree.

The amount of the one-semester fellowship will be $12,500; it will also include the costs associated with the Graduate Assistant Health Plan and tuition and fringe for the duration of the fellowship. In addition, a travel award of up to $2,000 for fellows conducting research abroad will be provided. For fellows conducting research domestically, a travel award of up to $1,000 will be provided.

The deadline to apply is in early March. For more information, please see the current call for applications.

Summer Research Grant in Austrian/Central European Studies: We regularly offer Summer Research funding in the amount of $6,000 to a University of Minnesota graduate student, in order to further their progress toward the degree. Generally, due to the competitiveness of the award, post-prelim Ph.D. students are given priority.

Please see the updated (2026) call for applications for more information. The deadline to apply is 11:59 P.M. on March 8th, 2026.

Note: The information below is for the Voices of Vienna Scholarship awarded by the Center for Austrian Studies for summers in even-numbered years only. Please contact the School of Music's Graduate Office at [email protected] for details concerning scholarships awarded to music students for summers in odd-numbered years.

The Voices of Vienna scholarship was established in 1989 by Kathryn and Wilbur Keefer in honor of the late William Wright, Professor of History and founding director of the Center for Austrian Studies (1978).  The scholarship is administered by the Center for Austrian Studies and the School of Music in alternating years.

This award is given to a graduate student in the social sciences or humanities, who proposes to do research in Austria or another country in Central Europe with ties to the former Habsburg Empire. Students must provide evidence of having successfully completed at least one semester of German or other language in the area in which the applicant proposes to study.

Please see the current (2026) call for application for further information. The deadline to apply is 11:59 P.M. on March 8th, 2026.

Research Assistantships for advanced doctoral (ABD) status graduate students: During the academic year and sometimes the summer, the Center for Austrian Studies regularly hires Ph.D. candidates as research assistants to work with Center staff and affiliated faculty on publications and other major projects. Please contact the Center at [email protected] about any current openings. 

Doctoral Research Fellowships - Funded by the OeAD (Austria's Agency for Education and Internationalisation): Doctoral research fellowships (now known as Ernst Mach Worldwide) are available for University of Minnesota graduate students who wish to spend a year in Austria. Please contact us, and visit grants.at, for more information. For graduate students from Austrian universities, please click here for additional information about the fellowship at the University of Minnesota. 

Fulbright Awards: The Fulbright Program, funded in the United States by the U.S. Department of State, provides research and other grants for U.S. citizens to Austria and other countries. Please refer to the University of Minnesota's Fulbright page for additional information. NOTE: Non-U.S. Nationals interested in Fulbright opportunities to the United States should visit their country's corresponding Fulbright commission website. 

Interdisciplinary Doctoral Fellowship: Administered by the University of Minnesota Graduate School, the Interdisciplinary Doctoral Fellowship (IDF) provides a unique opportunity for outstanding mid-career Ph.D. students who are engaged in interdisciplinary research to study with faculty at one of the University’s interdisciplinary research centers or institutes during the fellowship year. Applicants can designate the Center for Austrian Studies, contingent upon endorsement by the Center, and as long as the director of the center/institute is willing to write the applicant a letter of endorsement. Applicants should also check with their mentors and the Center Director early to ensure a good match.

Carlson School of Management - Exchange Program: The Carlson School of Management (CSOM) maintains a separate exchange program in which the Vienna School of Business and Economics (WUV) and CSOM exchange students on the MBA level. In addition, CSOM has European partnerships that have resulted in Global Executive MBA Programs.

Teaching Assistant Exchange - University of Salzburg: The University of Minnesota and the University of Salzburg have historically had an exchange agreement at the teaching assistant level. In every second year, a graduate student from each institution crosses the Atlantic to do research and teach courses in his or her native language. Please inquire with the Center about current opportunities related to this exchange.

Graduate students with demonstrated travel needs may apply for funding from the Center for Austrian Studies on a rolling, case-by-case basis. Funding is generally limited, and is not guaranteed. Graduate student funding must also adhere to the university's fiscal policies regarding the dispersal of funds for university-related activities. Please contact us at [email protected] with questions.

Center for German and European Studies - Hella Mears Fellowship: The Center for German and European Studies offers Hella Mears Graduate Fellowships to fund graduate student research on a wide variety of German and European topics. Since the fellowship's inception, fellowships have been awarded to advanced graduate students in a number of liberal arts disciplines.

Center for Premodern Studies - Saltus Grants: Awarded by the Center for Premodern Studies, Saltus Grants help graduate students expand or strengthen their work as scholars of premodern studies. Saltus Grants encourage students to take a leap toward a new skill or perspective in their scholarship or career. Saltus Grants contribute to professional goals and are complementary to research projects. Prioritizing new skills, platforms, and approaches, Saltus Grants fund opportunities beyond dissertation research and writing.

Immigration History Research Center - Graduate Fellowships: The Immigration History Research Center (IHRC) has numerous fellowships available to UMN graduate students working on a broad range of international migration- and US immigration-related research topics that overlap with Austria and Central Europe. Potential areas of research include global migration, US immigration, and race and ethnicity in the US, as well as refugee resettlement, immigration law and politics, ethnic organizations, identity, arts, folklore, gender, journalism, and literature. Research must also advance the work of the IHRC and involve graduate fellows in the work of the Immigration History Research Center Archives (IHRCA). Please refer to the the IHRC's fellowships page for further information.

Institute for Global Studies - FLAS (Foreign Language and Area Studies) Fellowships: The Institute for Global Studies offers Foreign Language & Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships in African and International studies. Note: As of Fall 2025, Title VI (and therefore, FLAS) Funding has been discontinued. We will update this page if funding gets restored.

• The competition is open to undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree students to study a modern less-commonly-taught language (LCTL) in combination with area studies courses. There will be two distinct competitions (African studies and International studies). Fellowships are available for the following modern foreign languages: 
• African Studies: Arabic, Somali, Swahili, Portuguese
• International Studies: Arabic, Chinese, Dakota, Dutch, Finnish, Hebrew, Hindi, Hmong, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Ojibwe, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Swahili, Swedish, Urdu
• Other languages may be approved on a case-by-case basis.