The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded nearly $3 million to Rutgers’ School of Arts and Sciences (SAS), the largest grant the foundation has given to the university.

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The grant targets six SAS humanities programs to help them recruit the most qualified graduate students and provide the support that will assure their success in progressing toward a doctoral degree.

“This grant strengthens our efforts to attract the nation’s brightest scholars,” said Ziva Galili, acting executive dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. “With these additional resources, we can compete with the best private institutions and bring more top students into our graduate programs.”

More than 100 students in art history, comparative literature, English, history, linguistics and philosophy will benefit through the following initiatives:

  • Stipends to help recruit the best-prepared students in English, history, and philosophy
  • Summer research and writing grants to assist students making excellent progress on coursework and dissertation research in these programs as well as art history, comparative literature and linguistics
  • Competitive dissertation fellowships that will be open to students in all six programs who are making excellent progress toward their degrees.


“We’re particularly excited about the additional summer research awards that will be given,” Galili said.  She cited the success of prior funding from the Mellon Foundation for summer research initiatives in the Department of English at Rutgers-New Brunswick. The funding allowed students in the English department to carry out primary research, publish their findings and complete their degrees in a timely manner.  By competitively supporting summer research and dissertation writing in six programs, the new Mellon Foundation grant will raise the level of graduate work, encourage timely completion of the doctoral degree and help graduates successfully compete for awards and employment.

 

 

Media Contact: Nicole Pride
732-932-7084, ext. 610
E-mail: npride@ur.rutgers.edu