Funding
All students admitted to the PhD in Performance Studies (PS) are fully funded for five years (20 academic quarters, including five summers), with a full tuition scholarship and a living stipend.
This financial support comes from a combination of research assistantships, teaching assistantships, and fellowships. Summer fellowships are geared to intensive preparation for qualifying exams, travel to archives or research sites, and writing.
For more on graduate student funding in PS, please see The Graduate School’s financial information.
Grants and Fellowships
Typically, graduate students in Performance Studies spend their entire first and fourth years of study on fellowship to promote academic excellence as they complete their graduate performances, MA exam (in the first year) and start dissertation research (in the fourth year).
If students require more than 5 years of funding, they are encouraged to seek out fellowship opportunities from a variety of internal and external sources. Our students have a strong record of success at winning internal awards, such as Northwestern’s Black Arts Consortium (BAC), the Sexualities Project at Northwestern (SPAN) Fellowship, and the Presidential Fellowship, as well as outside fellowships, such as the Fulbright fellowships. For more information about external funding, consult Northwestern’s Office of Fellowships. Students who win external fellowships may be eligible for additional financial support from The Graduate School.
Students may also apply for smaller grants that cover conference travel expenses and research expenses.
Conference travel funding is available from a variety of Northwestern sources, including The Graduate School, the Buffett Institute for Global Studies, the Mellon Clusters in the Humanities, and the School of Communication.
Additionally, summer language acquisition grants are available through several channels, such as the Graduate School’s Summer Language Grant.
Health Insurance
All students in Performance Studies are provided excellent health insurance through The Graduate School. As of the 2024/2025 Academic Year, graduate students are now eligible for fully subsidized Dental and Vision coverage as well.
Finding Housing
Northwestern has two “on-campus” housing options:
Northwestern has resources for off-campus housing, whether you wish to live in Evanston, Rogers Park, or another neighborhood. Most of the current Performance Studies students and candidates live off-campus.
Family and Medical Leave
Funded PhD and MFA students may request a paid Medical Leave of Absence (MLOA) for a maximum of six months (two quarters) at 100% of the base stipend rate in the event of a family or medical emergency.
Graduate Students in Performance Studies are also eligible for TGS Childcare Grants.