Fellowships & Scholarships

The Immigration History Research Center (IHRC) graduate student fellowship program supports students working on a broad range of international migration- and US immigration-related research topics. 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.

Benefits

Academic year fellowships are awarded for one or two semesters. They are 50% appointments and provide a stipend of $11,000 for one semester, full tuition support for up to 14 graduate credits during the semester, and subsidized health insurance through the Graduate Assistant Health Plan. In addition to a stipend and fees allowance, a cubicle for the duration of the fellowship period may be supplied by the Immigration History Research Center in Andersen Library if space is available.

Eligibility 

To be considered for IHRC fellowships, candidates must:

• be admitted to, or currently enrolled in, a Masters or PhD degree program at the University of Minnesota;
• have research interests related to global migration and/or immigration, race, and ethnicity in the US, refugee resettlement, immigration law and politics, ethnic organizations, identity, arts, folklore, gender, journalism, and literature;
• meet additional requirements for specific fellowships. See links to fellowships below.

If your research is on global migration or US immigration but does not fit into one of the listed area studies, you may still be eligible for a fellowship. Please contact us at [email protected] to discuss eligibility if your research is broadly related to IHRC areas of interest but you are uncertain about its fit for a specific fellowship. Read about our previous fellows (PDF), including this article about archival research.

Academic Year Graduate Fellowships

• Hildegard and Gustav Must Graduate Fellowship in Estonian American Studies: Provides support for students working in the Estonian American collection of the Immigration History Research Center Archives. Preference is given to students studying Estonian American history, and knowledge of the Estonian language is highly recommended, but all students with demonstrated research, writing, and digital humanities skills are encouraged to apply.
• Graduate Fellowship in Finnish American Studies: Open to students broadly researching in areas related to migration, ethnicity, assimilation, community building, labor activism, religion, and music. Preference given to students studying Finnish American history and culture, but all students with demonstrated research, writing, and digital humanities skills are encouraged to apply.
• American Latvian Association Graduate Fellowship in Latvian American Studies: Provides support for students working in the Latvian American collection of the Immigration History Research Center Archives. Preference is given to students studying Latvian American history, and knowledge of the Latvian language is highly recommended, but all students with demonstrated research, writing, and digital humanities skills are encouraged to apply.
• Italian American Immigration Endowed Graduate Research Fellowship: Provides support to students with demonstrated experience and/or commitment to research related to Italian history and culture, the Italian language, or Italian American immigration history.
• Francis Maria Fellowship in Arab American Studies (NOT AVAILABLE IN 2025-2026): Open to students broadly researching in areas common to Arab American history: migration, displacement, religion, ethnicity, diaspora, and the historical and current experiences of Arab and Muslim Americans in the United States and globally. Preference given to students studying Arab American history, including the experiences of Arab Americans and Arabic-speaking immigrants and refugees in the US, and possessing knowledge of Arabic. However, all students with demonstrated archival research, writing, and digital humanities skills are encouraged to apply.

Summer Fellowships

• IHRC Summer Graduate Fellowship: Applications for summer 2025 are due March 31, 2025