Many students admitted to the traditional M.S./Ph.D. track are offered a funding guarantee of four years through the Department of Computer Sciences, typically in the form of teaching assistantships. We also nominate our top applicants for fellowships. Funding consists of a tuition waiver and a stipend.
Here is an overview of those and other opportunities:
Through the department
Financial aid through the department is available in the form of:
- Graduate assistantships: teaching assistantships (TAs), research assistantships (RAs), project assistantships (PAs), and lecturer student assistantships (SAs)
- University and Departmental fellowships for first-year students
- Epic research assistantships for first-year students
- Departmental summer research assistantships for first-year students
- Departmental fellowships for more advanced PhD students
Most graduate assistantships, and fellowships for the first year, are awarded at the time of admission. Students interested in temporary TA appointments should contact the department's Instructional Program Manager.
To receive a new or renewal appointment from funds controlled by the department, a student must be making satisfactory academic progress.
On campus
It is often possible for a CS graduate student to find, after arrival on campus, a part-time job that pays well enough to support the student while in graduate school. A wide variety of departments and projects on campus need help with both programming and administering computational resources. There is no single way to find out about all of these related jobs. The Graduate School has some useful suggestions. This website also maintains job listings. Students should also consider contacting the Division of Information Technology (DoIT), as well as individual departments on campus for opportunities.
External
Outstanding students are strongly encouraged to apply for external scholarships. The Department maintains a list of opportunities with their application deadlines.