New Prospective Doctoral Students
All doctoral applicants are considered for campus and departmental fellowships. Fellowship support can come from Central Recruitment Fellowship programs (Chancellor’s Fellowship, Eugene Cota Robles Fellowship, and the Regents Fellowship), as well as Religious Studies departmental fellowships (Rowny Fellowship – open to all students, and Cordano Fellowship – open to applicants with an interest in Catholic Studies).
Admitted PhD & MA/PhD students are offered full financial support in years 1 through 5 consisting of a combination of stipend years and student employment years.
We are unable to offer financial support to students in the terminal Master’s program (MA Plan II).
Continuing Doctoral Students
There is an annual call for graduate student Central Continuing Fellowships for eligible continuing doctoral grads.
External Funding
Applicants are strongly encouraged to seek out national, governmental, and foundation fellowships, scholarships, grants, and loans which can be used at any university. Information about these may be obtained by writing directly to individual agencies and foundations. The department shares any information on external funding that is brought to our attention. The university Graduate Student Resource Center (GSRC) employs a Funding Peer Advisor as a resource for graduate students. In addition, the UCSB Graduate Division maintains a website that contains funding sources.
Related Links
Graduate Division Fellowships
Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships
Office of the Registrar – Establishing Residency
Last updated: 09/17/25