Financial Support & Department Employment
Generous graduate financial support is provided through fellowships, graduate research assistantships, and teaching assistant appointments.
Fellowships
Outside fellowships are granted on a competitive basis and qualified students are encouraged to apply. Fellowships usually cover tuition and fees and provide a stipend. Effective September 1, 2011 all fellowship holders will be eligible for university health benefits. However, fellows can opt out of the university health insurance and can purchase student health and should speak to the graduate cordinator for more information. Fellowship stipends are taxable and fellowship recipients must arrange to pay their taxes quarterly since stipends are not subject to withholding tax. The proper tax form is the 1040-ES/V, which can be downloaded from the IRS web page.
In addition to outside fellowships, there are also supplemental fellowships provided to qualified students by the Cockrell School of Engineering. These fellowships range from $1,000 to $9,000 and may or may not be renewable on an annual basis. Professors and the graduate advisor determine which students to put forward for these awards.
Graduate Research Assistantships
Graduate Research Assistantships (GRAs) have a minimum appointment of 20 hours a week (half-time) and the monthly rate of pay is based on previous degree and years of experience, and is determined by the supervising professor. However, semesters when students are fulfilling the required 10hr Teaching Assistant appointment GRA hours drop to 10 to equal a full 20 hr appointment. GRAs are normally funded through faculty research projects sponsored by government or industry. GRA appointees also receive health insurance benefits. The stipend is taxable and subject to withholding. Tuition and fees of GRAs are paid by either faculty research accounts or discretionary funds. If duties are required tuition is taxable and subject to withholding. The GRA is responsible to pay the difference. The stipend amount for continuing students is reviewed by the faculty each year, and policies on raising the stipend are determined in consultation with the Dean of Engineering and the Provost, subject to availability of funds.
Teaching Assistantships
The department has a policy that each Ph.D. student must serve as a Teaching Assistant (TA) for 10 hours, usually their second and fourth semester. This requirement will be tracked in order to confer degrees. TA’s are assigned each semester by order of rank, refer to the Teaching Assistant Policy for full details. Students must complete the online Teaching Assistant Appointment Form, providing three preferences for course placement, and email it to the graduate coordinator at t@che.utexas.edu to be appointed.
Graduate Student Loans
Several loan funds are administered through the Office of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. In the event that students need extra financial support they should consult the Office of Student Financial Services in the main building in room 6 (MAI 6).
A very limited amount of funds are available through the department at any one time. See the graduate advisor for assistance with emergency student loans.