Financing your degree is an obstacle faced by all students. Support through loans, awards, and/or employment is available to both incoming and continuing graduate students through the Financial Aid Office, the University, the Department, and affiliated research centers. As a graduate student, it is critical to develop a habit of searching for funding. Taking the initiative to search for opportunities should be done continuously: Apply EARLY, OFTEN, and be PERSISTENT.
The Department has budgeted funds to subsidize graduate student travel to major conferences for giving talks and presenting posters. This is money that, in principle, the Department wants to spend, since giving conference talks is part of professional training and might help you in a job search. Therefore, the Department strongly encourages you to submit abstracts to major conferences in your field, as soon as your research program has developed to the appropriate point. We ask that you please apply to DGE's Doctoral Travel Grant before using Department funds for travel. Requests for conference travel funding from the Department will be considered once you have used your allotted $1,000 or if the University denies your application for whatever reason. For more information, please see the Department's website.
The Linguistics Department is currently able to fund attendance at a summer school/summer institute or summer fieldwork for Ph.D. students, up to $2000. You will be funded (up to the $2000 limit) for one summer school/institute or one summer of fieldwork for the entirety of your graduate student career. This includes costs for fees, travel fare, lodging & food. The eligibility period begins the summer preceding your 2nd year (your MA year) through the summer preceding your 5th year. For more information and policies, which include eligibility criteria, please see the Department's website.
Funding is approved by the Student Research Support Committee. Ladefoged Scholarship Awards are made from the fund established in memory of Peter Ladefoged. These awards go to graduate students in the Linguistics Department to offset the expenses of student research projects, including for language consultants or experimental subjects if departmental Student Research Support funds are not available. For more information and application information, please see the Department's website.
Funding is approved by the Student Research Support Committee. The Linguistics Department is remarkably generous in supporting student research as it contributes to a dissertation, thesis, and paper writing, as well as to students’ general growth as linguists. However, there is a budget for such funding requests and it is not unlimited. Requests are considered on a first come, first serve basis. Strong preference is given to work related to theses and dissertations or contemplated publications. Assistant/subject funding per student is limited to $1,000 per academic year, with an additional limit of $500 for the first 6 months of the year (July-Dec). For more information, eligibility criteria, policies, and the application form, please see the Department's website.
The Division of Graduate Education offers a $1,000 total reimbursement to students who are within their first seven years of doctoral study. These funds are to encourage students to present their work and network at conferences in their field, to support travel associated with off-campus research and to enable students to take advantage of off-campus professional development opportunities. For more information and the application, please see their website.
The Division of Graduate Education (DGE) offers a a searchable database, GRAPES, of 540 private and publicly funded awards, grants, and fellowships of interest to prospective and current graduate students, students working on a master's thesis or doctoral dissertation, and postdoctoral scholars. The DGE has also created a fellowship directory listing starting points of where to find fellowships.
Full information regarding FLAS opportunities at UCLA and eligible languages are available on the Division of Graduate Education's website.
The FLAS fellowship is intended for language study at the intermediate and advanced level. Applications to fund beginning-level language study will only be considered in extraordinary cases. If you plan to apply for a FLAS to fund beginning-level language study, please consult the relevant Center during the application process.
Please visit this page to request access for particular fellowships. These resources will include basic information, links, and videos pertaining to major extramural fellowships as well as samples of successful application essays available for view. These resources will be housed in CCLE websites and UCLA Box folders. The materials are managed by the GWC and made available to UCLA graduate students who request access.
To request access, follow the link above select from a handful of links that will direct you to private Google forms for a major fellowship or group of fellowships of interest. Please note that access is given for the current academic year. If you need access again in a later year, you may need to request it again.
The mission of UCLA’s Financial Wellness Program is to empower all Bruins to confidently navigate their finances in a way that supports their overall well-being. This program fosters financial literacy skills through workshops, coaching and online educational efforts. Additionally, we aim to encourage students to know who, when, and why to ask for help. Overall, the program centralizes and advocates for student economic support services on campus.
Even if you don't plan on borrowing federal loans, it is recommend to file a FAFSA every year (if eligible). The FAFSA will also determine if a graduate student is eligible for the graduate work-study program. In addition, the FAFSA confirmation page is the most accepted form of proving financial need for a number of fellowship opportunities based on need.
Students in financial crisis should contact the Economic Crisis Response Team (ECRT). the ECR Team can take a comprehensive approach to your situation and can help you determine as many options as possible.
Interest-free short-term loans are available through the Loan Services Office.