Financial Support

The primary types of financial support available in the Materials Science and Engineering Program are research assistantships and fellowships. You may apply to TA in any department; however, you only receive resident tuition if the department in which you TA is related to your degree program and the TA appointment is for at least 20 hours per week. Continued financial assistance is always dependent upon maintaining at least a 3.00 grade point average and continuing to make progress towards attainment of your degree. In addition, there is a 14 long-session semester limit on financial assistance for graduate students (summer does not count). After 14 semesters no student may continue to receive support by employment in a student position (TA, GRA, AI).

Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA) Positions

GRA positions are the most common form of financial assistance available for MS&E students. Funding is provided through research grants obtained by faculty. The number of graduate research assistantships varies, depending on individual faculty research support. Therefore, all graduate research assistantships are dependent upon availability and duration of funding.

Teaching Assistantship (TA) Position

The Texas Legislature has mandated that all international students demonstrate oral fluency in English before being allowed to teach. Therefore, all international students who are interested in possibly applying for teaching assistantships need to take the ITA "Oral English Proficiency Assessment" exam. It is offered before each new semester. You may take it one time for which the MS&E program will pay. If you must retake it, there is a $75 fee. Following the assessment, there is one "ITA/AI Orientation to Teaching at UT Austin" session you must take online.

You should speak to your supervisor about TA policies. Each department has different policies and procedures concerning allocation of TA positions.

Fellowships

There are University Fellowships available for continuing MS&E students. Announcements about possible fellowships will be sent out by e-mail. You are encouraged to apply if you think you meet the requirements.

University Fellowships: Each year the Office of Graduate Studies accepts nominations of students from all programs and departments for consideration for University Fellowships. Students are nominated by faculty and selected based on grade point average, papers published, leadership activities on and off campus, conferences attended, and other evidence of outstanding achievement. Reply to the graduate coordinator if you think you should be eligible for a University Fellowship. The competition is university-wide so these fellowships are highly competitive.

Travel Awards: Professional Development (Travel) Awards are available to help defray expenses for a few advanced doctoral students attending major professional meetings. Priority is given to students who are in their last year of doctoral study and have had a paper accepted for presentation at a major professional meeting. Students will only be considered for this award if the published abstract for this talk lists their affiliation as Materials Science and Engineering, University of Texas at Austin.  If you are planning to attend and present a paper at a professional meeting, talk to the graduate coordinator about applying for this type of award. The exact amount of the award varies depending on the funds available.