Graduate Funding Opportunities

The Hite Institute of Art + Design and Department of Art + Design offers a number of scholarships, awards, and assistantships for graduate students in Art History, Studio Art, and Critical & Curatorial Studies.

Scholarships and assistantships are awarded based on merits and will be granted on the basis of satisfactory progress. Consideration will also be given to financial need. Master of Arts (MA) students may receive funding for a maximum of two years, and Master of Fine Arts (MFA) students may receive funding for a maximum of three years. Awards are not automatically renewed; they must be applied for each year. All graduate students who applied receive a scholarship or assistantship.

Hite Assistantships

Established in 1946 through a bequest from Allen and Marcia S. Hite, the Hite Endowment Fund underwrites various programs in the Department of Art + Design including Hite Assistantships.

Award: Multiple awards. Up to $12,000. Students are eligible to receive these awards for more than one academic year, however, they must complete a new application each year in order to be reconsidered.

Area of Concentration: Art History, Studio Art, Critical & Curatorial Studies.

Eligibility: All graduate students. Description: Awards are made with duties assigned in the following categories:

• Class Assistants: aid faculty in one of their courses each semester. Duties are assigned by the individual faculty members, but generally include grading exams and assignments.
• Studio Assistants: aid faculty with general studio and equipment maintenance.
• Research Assistants: engage in activities such as bibliographic searches.
• Exhibition Assistants: work with Gallery Director and staff on exhibition or curatorial projects.
• Visual Resource Assistants: work with the department's digital image collection.

Application deadline: January 15

Don Payton Graduate Awards in Art History

Award: Up to $8,000.

Area of Concentration: Art History.

Eligibility: All art history graduate students.

Application deadline: January 15

Cressman Scholarships

Award: Up to $12,000.

Area of Concentration: Art History, Studio Art, Critical & Curatorial Studies.

Eligibility: All graduate students.

Description: Award with assigned duties which advance the research and teaching activities of the department.

Application deadline: January 15

Frederic Lindley Morgan Research Assistantships

Award: Up to $10,000.

Area of Concentration: Art History.

Eligibility: Doctoral students whose area of concentration is Architectural History.

Description: Award with assigned duties related to the Morgan Professorship program.

Application deadline: January 15

Curatorial Research Assistantships

Award: Stipend, tuition remission* and health Insurance.

Area of Concentration: Critical & Curatorial Studies.

Eligibility: Graduate students in the Critical & Curatorial Studies program.

Description:  Curatorial Research Assistants gain broad experience by serving in a number of capacities in a museum setting. Compensation includes a $14,000 stipend, tuition remission, and health insurance.

Application deadline: January 15

Arts & Sciences Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA)

Award: $14,000 stipend, tuition remission*, and health insurance.

Area of Concentration: Studio Art.

Eligibility: Current Studio Art graduate students in the M.F.A. program who have completed a minimum of 18 hours of graduate coursework.

Description: GTAs are expected to teach 6 hours (two courses) of introductory-level courses over the academic year. Compensation includes a $14,000 stipend, tuition remission, and health insurance.

Application deadline: January 15

Frederick G. Heath Scholarship in Glass

Award: Up to $1000.

Area of Concentration: Glass.

Eligibility: Must be a distinguished graduate student in the glass program.

Application deadline: January 15

*fees are not included.

Graduate Funding Application forms and Arts & Sciences Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA) Application forms may be requested via email from hite@louisville.edu.