Graduate Financial Aid
w Fellowships.
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- Distinguished Doctoral Fellowships are awarded by the Graduate School to PhD students upon recommendation of the ME department head and subsequent approval of the Graduate Dean and the Graduate School Fellowships Advisory Committee. Recipients must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Approximately 10 new fellowships are awarded each year. Fellowship awardees receive $20,000 in addition to other assistance such as a graduate teaching assistantship or graduate research assistantship (see below), renewable for up to three years after the first year of the fellowship. Minimum requirements are a 3.8/4.0 GPA and GRE scores of 1200 (verbal + quantitative) and 5.0 analytical writing.
- Doctoral Academy Fellowships supplement either a graduate teaching assistantship or graduate research assistantship. Fellowships are awarded to students upon the recommendation of the ME department head and subsequent approval of the Engineering Dean and the Graduate Dean. First priority is given to U.S. citizens and permanent residents. These are $10,000 annual supplements that may be renewed for a maximum of three years for a total of four years of support. Minimum requirements are a 3.5/4.0 GPA and GRE scores of 1100 (verbal + quantitative) and 5.0 analytical writing.
- Benjamin Franklin Lever Fellowships are tuition fellowships for qualified under-represented students that may continue through the doctoral degree.
- The Harry and Jo Leggett Chancellor’s Fellowship provides an annual grant to the selected student of $12,000 per year plus tuition. The fellowship can be combined with additional sources of funding. The fellowship is awarded for PhD students up to four years, and for MSME students up to two years. Preference is given to doctoral students.
- The Paul Kuroda Fellowship provides an annual grant to the selected student of $12,000 per year plus tuition. The fellowship is awarded to PhD students for up to five years and to MSME students for up to two years.
w Teaching Assistantships. The department typically hires several graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) each year. Teaching assistantships are awarded on a competitive basis according to a number of criteria including:
- academic ability
- language skills
- willingness to pursue the thesis option.
To be considered for a teaching assistantship, international students must submit a score on the GRE general test. International students whose native language is not English must demonstrate language skills by submitting a Test of Spoken English (TSE) score of 50 or more and the TOEFL or IELTS score required for admission.
Specific duties are at the discretion of the faculty in charge of the courses or other activities and can involve a variety of tasks from grading to preparing materials for distribution to students and supervising lab sections. Normally, initial offers of a GTA are made when the student is admitted; however, a GTA is often not awarded until after the student has been enrolled for one or more semesters. Awards are usually made for 12 months. Teaching assistantships are continued as long as the recipient is making acceptable progress in his/her degree program. Tuition is normally waived for half-time or greater GTAs, while non-resident tuition is usually waived for quarter-time or greater GTAs. Apply by submitting an "Application for Assistantship" to the ME Department.
w Research Assistantships. Graduate research assistantships (GRAs) are also available within the department and are awarded to graduate students by the department upon recommendations of individual faculty who are principal investigators on research grants and contracts. These assistantships enable the student to gain work experience on current research problems, and the student's work typically serves as the basis for a thesis. An "Application for Assistantship" should be submitted to the ME Department, and you should contact faculty members to discuss assistantships they may be able to offer. The number available varies but typically exceeds ten (10). Registration fees and tuition are usually waived for GRAs, but are subject to the sponsor's regulations.
w Typical 2005 - 06 GTA and GRA Stipends. $1500/month for MSME and $2000/month for PhD with all tuition, but not fees, waived for half-time assistantships. Non-resident tuition is waived for quarter-time assistantships.
w Travel Grants. PhD students are eligible for one $1000 grant per year to present a paper at a professional meeting. Go to Travel Grants for application forms and more information.
