Funding Your Graduate Education in Engineering

Graduate education can be expensive. That is the bad news. However, the good news is that there are several sources of funding available. The other good news is that Rutgers engineering tuition is one of the most affordable in the country. By attending Rutgers School of Engineering (SOE), you will receive a top-notch graduate education at a superb location for a low cost.

Every prospective applicant to Rutgers SOE should research the types of fellowships or other types of financial support that may be available to them. Here, we describe the types of financial support available to graduate students in engineering. Please note that financial support decisions are made by the graduate programs that admit you. The Office of Graduate Education in Engineering, the Graduate School, or the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions do not make financial aid decisions.

Financial aid can be in one of these forms:

1. Research assistantship. If you are offered a research assistantship, you will be contacted by the faculty member whose research funding will pay for your assistantship. Note that if you accept an offer for a research assistantship, you have in essence selected your adviser in graduate school. A research assistant is expected to do research related duties in conjunction with the research project that is supporting the assistantship.
2. Teaching assistantship. The chair of the department to which you have been admitted will contact you offering this support. In general, teaching assistants are expected to work 15 hours a week to fulfill their teaching duties. Such duties include grading of homework and projects, assistance in proctoring and grading exams, as well as teaching of laboratory and recitation sections.
3. A fellowship given by Rutgers. In general, all students admitted to a graduate program in SOE are considered for departmental or university-wide fellowship awards. These fellowships are awarded on a highly competitive basis. In general, recipients of fellowships are not expected to perform any duties in return for their fellowships. Departments in the SOE have a limited number of such fellowships, which are funded by departmental endowments, School of Engineering, or by the Graduate School. These fellowships are usually limited to one or two years.
4. A fellowship outside of Rutgers. You apply for these fellowships directly. Most of these fellowships require U.S. citizenship. Some require a joint proposal with a faculty member (check the details carefully). We strongly encourage all applicants who are eligible to apply for these fellowships. Apply early. Given below is a partial listing of fellowships of interest to engineering students (also contact the web site of the graduate program to which you are applying for more opportunities):
   • Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative University Fellowship Program
   • American Society of Engineering Education Fellowship Home Page
   • American Society of Engineering Education SMART Fellowship
   • American Society of Civil Engineering Fellowships
   • AT&T Labs Fellowship Program (for women and minorities)
   • AAUW (American Association of University Women) Fellowships
   • Department of Energy Computational Science Fellowships
   • Department Homeland Security Graduate Fellowships
   • Fannie and John Hertz Foundation Fellowships
   • Ford Foundation Minority Fellowships
   • Gates Millennium Scholars
   • GEM Fellowships for underrepresented minorities
   • The Institute for International Education (resources for foreign students)
   • Bell Labs Graduate Research Fellowship Program
   • NASA Graduate Student Researchers Program
   • National Defense Science and Engineering Grants
   • National Center for Environmental Research (currently discontinued, but may be renewed)
   • National Science Foundation Fellowships
   • Nuclear Regulatory Commission Graduate Fellowships
   • Oak Ridge Associated Universities
   • Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education
   • Whitaker Foundation
   • Zonta International Amelia Earhart Fellowship Awards
   
   Printed information on many fellowships is sent to all universities each year, usually in the fall. Please check your bulletin board or with your school's financial aid office. You may also find the FastWeb site and the Financial Aid Information Page to be of interest. Rutgers students, check out the CHaSeR site.

5. A combination of the above. If the combination involves a research assistantship, you will directly be contacted by the faculty member involved.

Please Note: The financial aid awards are made solely by the department you applied to and NOT by the School of Engineering, the Graduate School, or the Office of Graduate and Professional Admissions. Please do not contact them to find out if you have received financial aid.

Please Note: In general, only a small fraction of admitted students receive financial aid. Doctoral students usually get higher priority than master's students. Do not take it as a sign of failure if you are not awarded financial aid by the graduate program you applied to. Always be on the lookout for new opportunities and do not limit your search for funding to the list given above.