Below you will find information regarding funding and cost of attendance information for students in the traditional CS MS/PhD, professional CS MS, and MS Data Engineering programs.
It is important to understand the funding landscape, both for the specific programs you’re interested in and UW-Madison itself. As you review the information below, please keep in mind the resources on funding provided by the UW-Madison Graduate School, which can help to clarify funding options.
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Tuition, Fees & Cost of Attendance
Applicants can use the following resources to review tuition rates, applicable fees, and cost of attendance:
- Tuition and fee information can be found on the Bursar’s Office website. Tuition can vary by academic program, so when reviewing tuition information via the Tuition Rates Workbook, be sure to filter by individual programs.
- Cost of attendance information can be found on the Office of Student Financial Aid website.
- For international visa-holding students, ISS also maintains information on their Becoming a Global Badger page.
Below you will find funding information for our programs.
General Funding by Program
Graduate students in the traditional CS MS/PhD program are eligible for a range of financial support, including teaching assistantships, research assistantships, and graduate fellowships. Many students admitted to the traditional MS/PhD track are offered a funding guarantee of four years through the department, typically in the form of teaching assistantships for incoming students. Funding consists of a tuition waiver (tuition remission) and a stipend.
Most graduate assistantships are awarded at the time of admission.
PMP is a self-funded program. Direct financial support is not available from the department. Note that:
- While students in PMP can apply for assistantships and may consider on-campus employment — for example, PMP students are eligible to apply for grader positions, which are hourly with no benefits — students enrolled in this program are not eligible to receive tuition remission from graduate assistantship appointments at UW-Madison.
- PMP students may still receive the pay and health insurance benefits that are standard in assistantship offers.
- The CS Department does not guarantee assistantship positions to incoming PMP students.
Resources to help you afford graduate study might include assistantships, fellowships, traineeships, hourly positions, and financial aid. Please see our information on funding and FAQs below for additional resources and information.
The call for fall semester Computer Sciences Department TA and grader applications will be sent to admitted students via email.
MSDE is a self-funded program. Direct financial support is not available from the department. Note that:
- While students in MSDE can apply for assistantships and may consider on-campus employment — for example, MSDE students are eligible to apply for grader positions, which are hourly with no benefits — students enrolled in this program are not eligible to receive tuition remission from graduate assistantship appointments at UW-Madison.
- MSDE students may still receive the pay and health insurance benefits that are standard in assistantship offers.
- The CS Department does not guarantee assistantship positions to incoming MSDE students.
Resources to help you afford graduate study might include assistantships, fellowships, traineeships, hourly positions, and financial aid. Please see our information on funding and FAQs below for additional resources and information.
The call for fall semester Computer Sciences Department TA and grader applications will be sent to admitted students via email.
Assistantships, Fellowships & Funding Resources
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Teaching Assistantships (TA)
The information below is specific to CS Department TA positions. For general assistantship information and applications for non-CS Department TA positions, please see the Graduate School graduate assistantships and UW-Madison Student Jobs websites.
Minimum Requirements
- TAs are expected to enroll in a minimum of six credits. Credit requirements must be satisfied by graded courses taken at 300 or above; courses numbered below 300, audit, and pass/fail do not satisfy enrollment requirements. Graduate research courses (799, 899, and 990) are graded S/U and can be used to meet enrollment requirement.
- TAs are expected to be making satisfactory academic progress.
- International students are expected to adhere to the University’s policies related to spoken English proficiency.
Appointment & Workload Expectations
- TAs are typically 50% appointments, which entail 20 hours per week (or 360 hours of work per semester).
- TAs will discuss TA duties, responsibilities, and expectations with the course instructor.
- International students are limited to 50% appointments and domestic students are limited to 75% appointments for all on-campus employment during the academic year.
Application Process
The Computer Sciences TA application link is emailed out to all students in the traditional Computer Sciences MS/PhD graduate program. TAs must reapply for each semester. If you are not a Computer Sciences student but are interested in employment opportunities within the CS Department, please fill out this interest form.
TAs are selected by the instructors for each course. Each application is carefully read and considered. Instructors consider, among other criteria, the applicants’ background and experience with the course content. During the fall and spring semesters, Computer Sciences students with guaranteed support are given TA placement priority, and traditional graduate students are prioritized over professional students (per campus norm).
Research Assistantships (RA)
Minimum Requirements
- Non-dissertator Research Assistants (RAs) are required to enroll in a minimum of eight credits in Fall or Spring semester. Non-dissertator summer RAs are required to enroll in two credits. This credit requirement must be satisfied by graded courses numbered 300 or above. Courses numbered below 300, audit, and pass/fail do not satisfy enrollment requirements. Graduate research courses (799 and 899) are graded S/U and can be used to meet non-dissertator enrollment requirements.
- RAs are expected to be making satisfactory academic progress. International students are expected to adhere to the University’s policies related to spoken English proficiency.
- Dissertator RAs are required to enroll in three credits of 990 each term, including summer if they have summer RA appointment.
Appointment & Workload Expectations
- RAs are typically 50% appointments.
- RAs should discuss RA duties, responsibilities, and expectations with RA advisor.
- International students are limited to 50% appointments and domestic students are limited to 75% appointments for all on-campus employment during the academic year.
RA Appointment Procedure
- RAs are selected by individual professors. Professors are looking for students whose research interests align with their own. Professors usually make offers to students who have been outstanding students in their course or students who have taken independent study with them and have done exemplary work.
- Computer Sciences graduate students with guaranteed support usually start with TA appointments in their first year.
Summer RAs
Annually, the UW-Madison Department of Computer Sciences awards several summer research assistantships (RAships) for first-year graduate students. Information is sent to current CS graduate students in April.
CS Graduate Fellowships
Annually, the Department of Computer Sciences awards up to four graduate fellowships providing nine months of support to outstanding students pursuing a doctoral degree. Each graduate fellowship provides tuition plus a stipend. The principal criteria for fellowship selection are academic merit, creativity, research accomplishments, and commitment to research.
These Fellowships are designed to give recognition and financial support to graduate students with the potential to do outstanding research, who have passed their qualifying exam process. Awards are made for one year.
Eligibility
Student must be a full-time Computer Sciences graduate student who is conducting research within the department and is supervised by a Computer Sciences faculty member. Candidates for the Cisco Fellowships and for the Klug NCR Fellowship must be dissertators.
Fellowship Sponsors
Computer Sciences graduate fellowships are a reality because of the generosity of our alumni and friends who have endowed them. The fellowships we award are:
- Anthony Klug NCR Fellowship in Database Systems;
- Cisco Systems Distinguished Graduate Fellowships (2), preference given to U.S. Citizens;
- Lawrence H. Landweber NCR Fellowship in Distributed Systems.
How to Apply
Students must be nominated by a Computer Sciences faculty member. Nominations deadline vary by year. Each nomination includes:
- A nomination letter from the nominator detailing the reasons for the nomination (maximum of two pages);
- Two additional supporting letters from faculty;
- Nominee’s CV;
- Up to three publications authored or co-authored by the nominee.
Nominations to renew an existing fellowship may also be submitted.
UW-Madison & External Fellowships
The Graduate School provides information for both UW-Madison and external fellowships.
Other Funding Resources
On Campus
It is often possible for a CS graduate student to find a part-time position to help support them while in graduate school. A wide variety of departments and projects on campus need help with both programming and administering computational resources. The UW-Madison Student Jobs website contains listings of on-campus jobs for students. 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 scholarship opportunities with their application deadlines.
FAQs
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Where can I find more information on funding and financial aid opportunities, including fellowships?
The Graduate School has a webpage dedicated to funding and financial aid types and opportunities.
Am I eligible for tuition remission from assistantship appointments?
Tuition remission is available to students in the traditional CS MS/PhD program.
Tuition remission is not available to students in the PMP or MSDE programs.
For specifics on the above programs’ tuition remission eligibility and assistantship policies, please review the individual programs’ information above.
Where can I find additional information regarding UW-Madison assistantships?
The Graduate School has further information on graduate assistantships on their website.
Are there other hourly positions available in the department?
Certain courses hire hourly Graders to assist the instructor and TAs with grading assignments. This would not involve office hours or other course planning tasks. The specific hour expectation will vary depending on the course, but general campus practice is that students, including graders, work no more than 20 hours (part-time) per week. For the 2024-25 school year, graders are paid $22.66/hour.
Peer Mentors are another form of hourly course support; this position is almost always filled by undergraduates.
Is there any information on funding and scholarship opportunities specifically for international students?
International Student Services (ISS) has information on funding and scholarships for international students. The Graduate School also maintains information on funding opportunities for international students.