Assistantships

A number of exceptional graduate students within the department are supported by assistantships every year. Research assistantships, one type of assistantship, provide an average stipend of at least $15,000 per year and can offer a full waiver of tuition and fees. Other types of assistantships are teaching assistantships, graduate assistantships, and project assistantships. Students who are employed on any type of assistantship receive student health insurance as part of their benefit.

Research assistantships (RA), the most common type of assistantship, are administered by individual professors and are typically associated with specific research projects. To receive consideration for an RA, you should identify a faculty member doing research in an area in which you are interested and contact that faculty member directly. Because of the quality of our program, the demand for assistantships is competitive. Therefore, when you contact one of our faculty, be prepared to provide your GPA, GRE scores, the university from which you received your BS degree (exceptional students from ABET-accredited engineering programs are preferred), and other indicators of your performance as well as a statement describing the similarities between your interests and the professor’s research area.

Most assistantship positions become available for the fall semester and continue through the year, but occasionally some are available starting in the spring semester.