The fields of Social Sciences and Humanities used to be neglected very often by both academicians and students studying at other fields such as Natural Sciences and Medicine. They used to see Social Sciences and Humanities inferior to "real" sciences. However, this perception has changed a lot. Now both of these fields are seen as an integral part of sciences in general, and colleges are trying to give equal weight to this area as well. This interest has also shown itself in the rise of the numbers of grants, scholarships, awards and honors available in this field. Over the course of this article we will explore the different grants and scholarships available to the social sciences.
Yale University is quite helpful to students studying in the field of Social Sciences, especially Political Economy and International Politics. The Georg Walter Leitner Program in International and Comparative Political Economy offers financial help to students researching in these fields. Grants ranging from $500 to $5000 are available to Ph.D. candidates, graduate students and undergraduates. It is also possible to receive travel grants as part of the program.
The Political Science department at the University of Minnesota has scholarship, grant and fellowship programs as well. Undergraduate students are funded by programs such as the Professor Charles Backstrom Undergraduate Scholarship in Political Science, the Judge Earl and Mrs. Cecill Larson Scholarships, the Jonathan Smaby and Michelle Roberts Scholarship available only to Political Science students. Other than scholarship programs, the university also offers awards to undergraduate students based on their projects and papers. University of Minnesota has also a list of other funding sources available to Political Science students who are not awarded by the university itself. Graduate students are luckier; all students admitted to the Ph.D. program at the Political Science department at the University of Minnesota receive free education. Readers should keep in mind that this is the case in most other universities as well. This holds for not only Political Science or Social Sciences in general, but all fields of study. What the Political Science department at the University of Minnesota has more to offer is the fellowships and teaching and research assistantships with additional stipends ranging from $4,000 to $14,000.
American Political Science Association (APSA) has also many grants and fellowship programs to offer Political Science students, some of which are Congressional Fellowship Program, Minority Fellows Program and Small Research Grants.
Students majoring in History can seek grants in private organizations such as Daughters of the American Revolution which funds students studying American History at the undergraduate level. Another scholarship for American History students is Richard Gilder American History Scholarship at the University of Michigan. Missouri State University and Wartburg College in Iowa are also prominent for the scholarships they provide History students with.
