Funding at KU
$17M+ Research Expenditures
29 Graduate Degrees
52% International Students
A variety of scholarships, fellowships, and assistantships are available to graduate students through the School of Engineering , KU, and outside sources. The KU Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships offers a helpful calculator to estimate costs and search for scholarships.
Funding Opportunities
Assistantships
We offer Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA) and Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA) to eligible students. Appointments to these assistantships vary by department, as do the funding level.
- Graduate Teaching Assistantships: Teaching Assistantships may be available to students through individual departments, either in engineering or outside of engineering. Appointments and stipends vary among academic departments, and application for appointment as a teaching assistant should be made directly to the department concerned. Depending on the level of appointment, the University pays all or some of a GTA's tuition, including any differential tuition assessed.
- Graduate Research Assistantships: Research Assistantships are available to graduate students through grants from state-appropriated research funds and from federal and private agencies. Stipends vary among academic departments. Those granted research assistantships are eligible to pay tuition at the in-state rate.
School of Engineering Scholarships and Fellowships for First-Year Graduate Students
Scholarships and fellowships are awards based either on academic merit alone, or on academic merit and financial need. Awards are applied directly to a student's tuition and fees. Typically, funds left over after disbursements are made are returned to the student in the form of a check (or direct deposit into a bank account).
School of Engineering scholarships and fellowships for incoming graduate students are awarded on a competitive basis. Award considerations include the applicant's academic performance (GPA), personal statement, scores on achievement tests, letters of recommendation, evidence of involvement in and commitment to the engineering profession, and an individual's record of scholarly activities. There is no separate application process for these awards. Students are automatically considered when a complete application is submitted by the priority deadline. Each department nominates qualified graduate students. Awards are generally allocated in March.
Incoming and current students may also qualify for the following KU and external scholarships and fellowships.
- Engineering Graduate Ambassador Fellowship, deadline: end of March each year
- Madison and Lila Self Graduate Fellowship, deadline: students are nominated for this fellowship, departmental deadline is normally late January or early February
- Graduate Studies Fellowships and Scholarships, deadline: varies, check the link provided for details
- Graduate Engineering Association (GEA) Student Travel Funding
Funding from Engineering Departments
Individual programs or departments may offer funding opportunities for graduate students. Links to information about program/departmental funding are below.
- Aerospace Engineering
- Bioengineering
- Chemical & Petroleum Engineering
- Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering
- Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
- Engineering & Project Management
- Mechanical Engineering
Funding from KU Offices
Many departments and offices across the university offer scholarships to students. This is not a comprehensive list. Links to information about these scholarships are below.
Outside Funding Opportunities Scholarship/Fellowship Opportunities for Current Graduate Students
| Academic Field | Program | Sponsor | Description | Eligibility/ Requirements | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transportation | Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program (DDETFP) | Department of Transportation | The Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program (DDETFP) awards fellowships to students pursuing degrees in transportation-related disciplines. | Bachelor's degree from US accredited institution | 9/14/20 |
| High Energy Density Physics, Nuclear Science, and Materials | Stewardship Science Graduate Fellowship | Department of Energy | DOE NNSA SSGF provides excellent financial benefits and professional development opportunities to students pursuing a Ph.D. in fields of study that solve complex science and engineering problems critical to stewardship science. | U.S. Citizens; Full-time doctoral students at an accredited U.S. university; Students may apply as senior undergraduate students or as a 1st or 2nd year graduate student. |
1/6/2021 |
| Any STEM Field | NSF Graduate Research Fellowship | National Science Foundatio | The GRFP provides up to three years of support for the graduate education of individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant achievements in science and engineering research. | The GRFP provides up to three years of support for the graduate education of individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant achievements in science and engineering research. | 10/20/20 |
| Any area with research that helps use emerging high performance systems more effectively | Computational Science Graduate Fellowship | Department of Energy | DOE CSGF provides outstanding benefits and opportunities to students pursuing doctoral degrees in fields that use high-performance computing to solve complex science and engineering problems. | U.S. Citizen or permanent resident. May apply as an undergraduate senior, M.S. student, or 1st year doctoral student. | 1/15/20 |
| All Engineering and Computer Science | National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship Program | Department of Defense | The DoD promotes education in science and engineering disciplines relevant to the Defense mission by awarding fellowships to encourage promising U.S. scientists to pursue doctoral degrees in designated research disciplines. | U.S. Citizens, U.S. Nationals, or U.S. Dual Citizens; Doctoral students | 11/2/20 |
| Any STEM Field | Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship | National Academicies | Awards will be made to individuals who have demonstrated superior academic achievement, are committed to a career in teaching and research at the college or university level in the U.S., show promise of future achievement as scholars and teachers, and are well prepared to use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students. | U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, U.S. permanent residents, individuals with DACA and temporary protected status, and Indigenous individuals. Applicants must have a minimum of 3 years of study left to complete their degree. | 12/17/20 |
| Any STEM Field | Graduate Fellowships for STEM Diversity | Graduate Fellowships for STEM Diversity | GFSD's goal is to increase the number of American citizens with graduate degrees in the physical sciences and related engineering fields, emphasizing recruitment of a diverse applicant pool. | U.S. Citizen | 12/15/20 |
| Any STEM Field | Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship | National Academicies | The dissertation fellowships provide one year of support for individuals working to complete a dissertation leading to a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) or Doctor of Science (Sc.D.) degree. The Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship is intended to support the final year of writing and defense of the dissertation. | U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, U.S. permanent residents, individuals with DACA and temporary protected status, and Indigenous individuals. Applicants must have completed all degree requirements except for writing and defense of the dissertation. | 12/10/20 |
| Earth Sciences and Engineering | NRC Research Associate Programs (RAP) | National Academies and National Research Council (NRC) | The NRC Research Associateship Programs (RAP) promote excellence in scientific and technological research conducted by the U.S. government through the administration of programs offering graduate, postdoctoral, and senior level research opportunities at sponsoring federal laboratories and affiliated institutions. | Applicants should hold, or anticipate receiving, an earned doctorate in science or engineering. Many awards are open to foreign nationals as well as to U.S. citizens. | Reviews are conducted four times each year |
| Bioengineering | Predoctoral Fellowship in Drug Delivery | PhRMA Foundation | The PhRMA Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship in Drug Delivery provides support for students in advanced stages of training and thesis research in drug delivery research, including basic pharmaceutics, biopharmaceutics, pharmaceutical technology, pharmaceutical biotechnology or biomedical engineering. | Eligible candidates will have completed most of their pre-thesis requirements (at least two years of coursework) and be engaged in thesis research as PhD candidates by the time the award is activated | 5/15/20 |
| Biomedical, behavioral, or clinical sciences | Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for Individual Predoctoral Fellowships to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (Parent F31 - Diversity) | National Institute for Health (NIH) | The overall goal of the NRSA program is to help ensure that a diverse pool of highly trained scientists is available in appropriate scientific disciplines to address the Nation's biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs. | US Citizen, National or Permanent resident | April 8, August 8, and December 8 |
| Engineering, Computer Science, and Environmental Science | Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Program | Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science | Provides supplemental awards to outstanding U.S. graduate students to pursue part of their graduate thesis research at a DOE laboratory/facility in collaboration with a DOE laboratory scientist within a defined award period in areas that address scientific challenges. | U.S. citizen or permanent resident; Graduate students currently pursuing Ph.D. degree | 5/6/20 |
| Any STEM Field | Faculty for the Future | Schlumberger Foundation | The Faculty for the Future program awards fellowships to women from developing and emerging economies to pursue PhD or Post-doctoral research in STEM at leading universities worldwide. Faculty for the Future Fellows are expected to return to their home countries after completion of their studies to contribute to economic, social and technological advancement by strengthening the STEM teaching and research faculties of their home institutions. | Applicants must be a female and a citizen of a developing country or emerging economy where women are underrepresented in STEM disciplines; are preparing for a PhD degree or post-doctoral research in a STEM discipline |
11/9/20 |
| Bioengineering | Gilliam Fellowships for Advanced Study | Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) | The goals of the Gilliam program are to ensure that populations historically excluded from and underrepresented in science are prepared to assume leadership roles, including as college and university faculty, and to foster the development of a healthier, more inclusive academic scientific ecosystem. The program provides awards to pairs of dissertation advisers and their graduate students. | Application for the Gilliam Fellowships for Advanced Study is by invitation only. | 9/14/20 |
| Computer Science | Facebook Fellowship Program | The Facebook Fellowship is a global program designed to encourage and support promising doctoral students who are engaged in innovative and relevant research in areas related to computer science and engineering at an accredited university. | Full-time PhD students | 10/2/20 | |
| Any STEM Field | American Fellowships Dissertation Fellowship | American Association of University Women (AAUW) | The program provides fellowships for women pursuing full-time study to complete dissertations, conducting postdoctoral research full time, or preparing research for publication for eight consecutive weeks. | U.S. Citizens or permanent residents; Must be used for the final year of writing the dissertation | 11/1/20 |
| Any STEM Field | International Fellowship | American Association of University Women (AAUW) | The program provides support for women pursuing full-time graduate or postdoctoral study in the U.S. who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Preference is given to women who show prior commitment to the advancement of women and girls through civic, community, or professional work. | Applicant is NOT a US citizen or permanent resident. Applicants must be conducting a full year of study or research. | 11/15/20 |
| Energy | Energy Fellowship Program | Link Foundation | The Link Foundation supports programs to foster the theoretical basis, practical knowledge, and application of energy, simulation, and ocean engineering and instrumentation research, and to disseminate the results of that research through lectures, seminars and publications. | The applicant must be working toward a Ph.D. in an academic institution. | 12/1/20 |
| Any STEM Field | National Fellowship Program | Graduate Women in Science (GWIS) |
The Graduate Women In Science (GWIS) National Fellowship Program promotes knowledge in the natural and social sciences and encourages women’s academic and professional careers in the sciences. |
Awards will be made to women who demonstrate outstanding ability and promise in research, and who are performing hypothesis-driven research at any institution in the U.S. or abroad. | 1/11/2021 |
| Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning | The Open Phil Al Fellowship | Open Philanthropy Project | The Open Phil AI Fellowship seeks to fully support a small group of the most promising PhD students in AI and ML who are interested in making the long-term, large-scale impacts of AI a central focus of their research. | Full-time AI and machine learning students in any year of their PhD | 10/22/20 |
| Engineering | Graduate Fellowship Award | Hertz Foundation | The Hertz Foundation awards fellowships to graduate students pursuing a PhD with research focusing on understanding and solving major, near-term problems facing society. For each applicant, that could mean something different—inventing a new technology, developing a business, or applying their interests in innovative ways. | U.S. Citizens and permanent residents; pursue a PhD in the applied physical and biological sciences, mathematics, or engineering; students may apply as college seniors or first-year graduate students. | 10/23/20 |
| Engineering | Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship Program | Commercial Spaceflight Federation | The Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship Program is a highly selective internship and mentorship program that provides extraordinary summer opportunities to current college juniors, seniors, and graduate students passionate about commercial spaceflight. | U.S. Citizen or permanent resident; Applicant is a college junior, college senior, or graduate student who intends to pursue a full-time career in the commercial spaceflight industry. | 11/13/20 |
| Aerospace Engineering | Amelia Earhart Fellowship | Zonta Club of Anchorage | The Amelia Earhart Fellowship program helps talented women, pursuing advanced studies in the typically male-dominated fields of aerospace-related sciences and engineering, achieve their educational goals. | Women of any nationality pursuing a Ph.D./doctoral degree who demonstrate a superior academic record in the field of aerospace-related sciences or aerospace-related engineering are eligible. Applicants must be registered in a full-time Ph.D./doctoral program when funds are received in September and will not graduate before April. | 11/15/20 |
| Any STEM Field | GEM Fellowship | The National GEM Consortium | The GEM Fellowship is designed to focus on promoting opportunities for individuals to enter industry at the graduate level in areas such as research and development, product development, and other high-level technical careers. GEM also offers exposure opportunities to a number of opportunities in academe. | U.S. Citizen or permanent resident; member of an underrepresented group in science and engineering | 11/13/20 |
| Multiple research areas inlcuding: Intelligence, Systems, Theory, Ecology & Environment, Medical, Health, & Genomics | Microsoft PhD Fellowships | Microsoft | A two-year fellowship for PhD students at North American universities pursuing research aligned to the research areas carried out by Microsoft Research. | Doctoral students must be in their third year of PhD studies and nominated by the department chair’s office in their field of study. | 8/14/20 |
| Engineering, Computer Science, and Environmental Science | SMART Scholarship | Department of Defense | The SMART Program provides STEM students with the tools needed to pursue higher education and begin a career with the DoD. SMART is a one-for-one commitment; for every year of degree funding, the scholar commits to working for a year with the DoD as a civilian employee. Summer internships prepare scholars for full-time employment and get them accustomed to working with the DoD. | Citizen of the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, or United Kingdom at time of application; able to complete at least one summer internships at a DoD facility; requesting at least 1.5 years of degree funding prior to graduation; willing to accept post-graduation employment with the DoD; | 12/1/20 |
| Any STEM Field | HSF Scholarship | Hispanic Scholarship Fund | The HSF Scholarship is designed to assist students of Hispanic heritage obtain a university degree. Awards are based on merit; amounts range from $500 to $5,000, based on relative need, among the Scholars selected. All majors and graduate fields accepted-Emphasis on STEM majors. | Must be of Hispanic heritage; US Citizen, Permanent Legal Resident, DACA or Eligible Non-Citizen (as defined by FAFSA); | 2/15/20 |
| Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Science | CSGrad4US Fellowship | National Science Foundation | Aim to increase the number of diverse, domestic graduate students pursuing research and innovation careers in the CISE fields. Inlcudes a year-long prep program, stiped of $34,000 for three years, and $12,000 cost of education allowance for three years. | U.S. Citizen, National, or Permanent Resident; Have never enrolled in graduate school; must be enrolling in a doctoral program by 2023. | 4/13/21 |
| Any STEM Field | Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship | Department of Energy | Ten-week summer fellowship provides students with educational opportunities to gain real-world, hands-on research experience with the DOE Office of Fossil Energy. | Undergraduate or Master's student; U.S. Citizen | 1/10/21 |
| Computer Science and Engineering | American Society of Naval Engineers Scholarship | American Society of Naval Engineers | up to $4,000 based on merit (academic record, work history, and professional interest in naval engineering) and financial need. | U.S. Citizen | 3/5/21 |
| Any Field Contributing to Environmental Issues | EPA P3 Awards | Environmental Protection Agency | Teams of students design environmental solutions that move us toward a sustainable future. | U.S. Citizen; | 2/9/21 |
| Imaging | Raymond Davis Scholarship | Society for Imaging Science and Technology | This scholarship is given to an advanced-level undergraduate or a graduate student with an academic and/or research focus in a field related to imaging. | Undergraduat with at least 2 years of academic study or a graduate student | 10/1/20 |
| Engineering related to vertical flight technology | Vertical Flight Foundation Scholarships | Vertical Flight Foundation | Awarded to college students demonstrating an interest in pursuing engineering related careers in vertical flight technology. | Enrolled full-time for at least one semester at time of application | 2/1/21 |