Fellowships and Funding

All master's and certificate applicants are automatically considered for the merit scholarship awards. These awards come in the form of a tuition discount.

All PhD candidates offered admission receive a full tuition waiver. Only PhD-granting departments award Prize Fellowships and other named fellowships to doctoral applicants. 

Merit Scholarship Awards

All master's and certificate applicants to degree programs at The New School for Social Research are considered for merit scholarships. Merit scholarships are determined on the basis of application strength, and applicants receive notice about merit scholarships at the same time as admissions decisions. These awards are renewable and available to the student during their time in the program.

Prize Fellowships

Prize Fellowships provide full tuition and financial support of $25,000 each year for four years to incoming doctoral students with distinguished records, so that they can devote themselves full-time to their program of study. The fellowships are renewable for four years for PhD students, subject to annual review. All applicants who apply by the December 15 deadline are automatically considered for Prize Fellowships.

Harry Magdoff and Paul Sweezy Fellowship

Named for two of the 20th century’s most influential Marxist economists, the Magdoff-Sweezy Fellowship provides full funding plus financial support of $25,000 per year for four years for five incoming doctoral students in the Department of Economics.

The Zolberg Melamid Fellowship in Migration Studies

The Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility awards up to two fellowships in migration studies to incoming doctoral students. The Zolberg Melamid Fellowship provides full tuition waivers and a $25,000 annual stipend each year for four years. Fellows will join the annual seminar on migration topics and take part in the institute’s other activities.

Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis Fellowship

The Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis (SCEPA) may award up to three fellowships in retirement equality studies to outstanding scholars who want to pursue their PhD in economics focusing on issues of older workers in the labor force and retirement. The Schwartz Fellowship provides full tuition for up to 30 credits of the PhD coursework, followed by up to six semesters of fees, and a $25,000 annual stipend for working 20 hours per week as a SCEPA research associate for the first three years. Fellows will research and write academic papers and refereed journal articles as well as accessible briefs for government bodies at the local, state, federal and international levels while taking part in the center's seminars and activities.

Current New School for Social Research students are eligible for any of the many opportunities listed below. For those requiring application forms, please use your New School email address.

Named Fellowships and Partial-Tuition Scholarships

The New School for Social Research offers dozens of named fellowships to support study and dissertation research and writing. There is no application process for these awards; departments select recipients based on their records. For more information, please visit our Benefactors page.

Funding Requiring Applications

GFSS Student Conference Reimbursement Fund
Deadlines: Late fall, late spring

The GFSS-SCRF allocates a limited amount of funds from the Graduate Faculty Student Senate each year to reimburse conference registration fees, as well as legitimate travel and accommodation expenses related to research. For more information, email [email protected] or [email protected].

GIDEST Fellowship
Deadline: February 2024

The Graduate Institute for Design, Ethnography, and Social Thought (GIDEST) offers fellowships annually to five doctoral students. GIDEST incubates transdisciplinary ethnographic research at the intersection of social theory, art, and design and fosters dialogue on related themes across the university. Learn more about GIDEST and apply. 

Dissertation Fellowship
Deadline: March 17, 2024

Each PhD program at NSSR will appoint four Dissertation Fellowships with a stipend of $10,000 and coverage of maintaining status fees for the 2024-2025 academic year. The Psychology department will offer two such fellowships in Clinical Psychology and two in Cognitive, Social, and Developmental Psychology. Additionally, two Dissertation Fellowship runners-up per department will receive coverage of their maintaining status fees for the 2021-2022 academic year. 

MA Project Grant
Deadline for spring: November 11, 2023

Funding for individual and group projects by MA students that improve academic life across the school

Dean's Conference Fund
Deadline for spring: November 11, 2023

Funding to support NSSR student-run academic conferences across disciplines 

Student Travel & Research Fund
Deadline: March 17, 2024

Research grants for eligible student research, workshop participation, and conference travel

Research Assistantships
Deadline: March 17, 2024

Research Assistants (RAs) provide support for ongoing faculty research projects and perform substantive academic tasks associated with curriculum. NSSR RA appointments typically vary in hours from 75 to 225 per semester (5–15 hours per week). 

Teaching Assistantships and Fellowships
Deadlines: December 9, 2023

• Research Assistants (RAs) support ongoing faculty research projects and substantive academic tasks associated with coursework.
• Teaching Assistants (TAs) assist faculty with their courses.
• Teaching Fellows (TFs) are PhD students who lead their own courses at the undergraduate level. 

Mellon Doctoral Fellowships
Deadline: February 23, 2024

The Mellon Foundation Initiative on Inclusive Faculty Excellence at The New School will support six fellowships to advanced continuing doctoral students across the university. These are one-year fellowships that carry a stipend of $30,000. This is a new grant, and these fellowships will be offered each year for the next four years.  

Janey Program Summer Fellowships
Deadline: Around April 

Janey Summer Fellowships are designed to assist pre-dissertation students who need to conduct preliminary research in Latin America in preparation for their dissertation work. The goal of the program is to help students conceive better projects, write more sophisticated dissertation proposals, and compete more successfully for outside funds. Learn more about the Janey Program in Latin American Studies.

Heilbroner Center for Capitalism Studies Student Research Fellowships
Deadline: April 15, 2024

The Robert L. Heilbroner Center for Capitalism Studies invites students of any discipline at the New School for Social Research to apply for a fellowship of up to $7,500 to support research and writing during the 2024–2025 academic year (July 1, 2024–June 30, 2025). 

International students are considered for the merit scholarships and Prize and Dean’s Fellowships listed in the Awards and Fellowships for Incoming Students section above, as well as several fellowships established solely for them. Aside from checking the interest box on the applications for merit scholarships, there is no application process for these awards; they are granted by department.

International students who qualify for aid should be aware that amounts awarded rarely meet the cost of tuition and never match the full cost of living expenses. All international applicants are urged to research all sources of aid from government and private organizations in their own countries before leaving, since it is extremely difficult to obtain aid after arrival in the United States.

All fellowship or scholarship monies that come from U.S. sources that are not designated for tuition and fees—such as stipends, travel grants, and grants for research expenses⁠—are subject to U.S. taxation withholding rates unless, on the basis of a tax treaty, documentation can be submitted to the university exempting the student from withholding.

International students are eligible to apply for on-campus jobs. Requirements for work authorization vary depending on visa type. Learn more about working on campus as an international student.

Partial scholarships are available to support exchange and overseas study programs.

New School for Social Research students can study overseas for one or two semesters or pursue language study for a summer. They can also participate in summer intersemester programs coordinated by our Transregional Center for Democratic Studies. For more information, email [email protected].

Students from partner institutions—including Humboldt University in Berlin, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt, the University of Bremen, L'École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS) in Paris, and the Technical University of Dresden—can study at The New School for Social Research for one year. These partner institutions may also invite advanced New School for Social Research doctoral students with demonstrated classroom experience to teach while conducting dissertation research.