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Materials Design Capstone Project
Learn more about the materials science and engineering Materials Design Capstone Project to match the opportunity that's right for you.

Graduate Funding Opportunities

Advice from the Graduate Program Director

Graduate Research Assistantships (GAR)

This is the primary form of financial support for doctoral students; $2,125/monthly stipend, tuition, and eligible fees. You must be admitted to our department before requesting an assistantship position from our faculty. Once admitted, Ph.D. students should directly contact MSEN faculty to express their interest in joining their research group. The MSEN department will make every effort to pair students with existing research assistantships by sharing admitted application files with faculty and making recommendations where possible. Ultimately it is the student’s responsibility to find a faculty advisor.

Note: It’s very uncommon for any Masters Students in the MSEN department to receive an assistantship— Masters students are expected to be self-supported.

Example: Dear Dr. Smith, I am admitted to the MSEN Ph.D. program at TAMU. Your group’s research is very interesting to me, especially (fill in reasons your research is interesting). Would you be available for a 30-minute zoom meeting to discuss potential research opportunities in your group? My CV is attached to this email. Below are some suggested meeting times (all given in the central time zone). Would any of them work for you? If not, please let me know what times would be most convenient for you, and I will do my best to accommodate.

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GAT)

Announcement Deadlines:

  • Fall: June
  • Spring: October

MSEN Teaching Assistantships will be announced via Departmental email, including the application link and deadline to apply. You must be currently enrolled to receive departmental communications. GAT’s are based on available funds and enrollment, meaning assignments are often made within a few weeks of the first day of class. Preference is given to students who are continuing Ph.D. students, earned a Master’s, and have prior experience; however, all students are welcome to apply. All International students who wish to gain a GAT must meet English Language Certification requirements to be eligible. 

MSEN Students are welcome to apply for teaching assistantships through other departments by contacting those departments directly.

College of Engineering Merit Fellowship

This highly competitive fellowship funds $30,000 for three to four years (Doctor of Philosophy) in addition to health insurance costs and tuition and fees. All competitive domestic applicants who applied for a fall semester matriculation are considered for this prestigious fellowship. Only one student is awarded for each participating department.

  • Award: $30,000/year, tuition, and allowable fees
  • Resident Requirements: U.S. resident or permanent resident
  • Applicable to: Fall Admits, New Doctoral graduate students
  • Nominations must be submitted by MSEN Department on February 1

Graduate and Professional School Pathways to Doctorate Fellowship

The Pathways to the Doctorate represents a partnership between GPS and TAMU faculty members. The goals of the Pathways to the Doctorate Fellowship program are to recruit into and graduate from TAMU doctoral programs high quality students who received their baccalaureate degrees from Texas A&M System Institutions (College Station excluded) and who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

Data-Enabled Discovery and Design of Energy Materials (D3EM)

The D3EM fellowship supports motivated and talented graduate students interested in the area of Data-Enabled Discovery and Design of Energy Materials (D3EM). This fellowship is supported by the National Science Foundation’s (NSF’s) Research Traineeship Program (NRT), through the grant awarded to Texas A&M University.

  • Award: $34,000/year, tuition, and allowable fees
  • Resident Requirements: U.S. resident or permanent resident
  • Applicable to: Current and Incoming Graduate Students both M.S. and Doctoral
  • Application Due: May 1 – Recipients announced June 1
  • Learn more about applying to the program

Materials Science and Engineering Fellowship

Application Deadlines:

  • Fall: Opens June 1 & Closes July 15
  • Spring: Opens November 1 & Closes December 15

The Materials Science & Engineering (MSEN) Department Fellowship is a competitive funding opportunity. For both unfunded incoming and continuing MSEN graduate students— as well as any MSEN student who received a competitive, full fellowship from the federal government or a non-profit organization are encouraged to apply. Those meeting the criteria are strongly encouraged to apply for the MSEN Fellowship.

Selected recipients may be considered for a non-resident tuition waiver for the awarded academic year. Those awarded in the Fall will receive a $500 disbursement for both Fall & Spring. Those awarded in Spring will receive a disbursement of $1,000.

Note: If a student receives another internal fellowship from the university, they cannot be eligible for this fellowship.

Email both completed application (link below) and CV to msen-advising@tamu.edu.

MSEN Engineering Fellowship Application

Graduate Student Travel Award

Current graduate students in MSEN are eligible to apply for awards to support travel to conferences, workshops, and other professional meetings. 

Eligibility:

  • Current MSEN graduate student (MS, MEng, or Ph.D.) in good standing
  • Travel to a professional meeting, such as a conference or workshop
  • Must have an accepted abstract to present (oral, poster, etc.). Traveling to attend without presenting is not supported.
  • The travel request must fall outside the scope of what can be funded by the project on which the student is appointed. This award is not intended to substitute for project-sponsored travel.

 Procedure:

  • Email a complete application package to demkowicz@tamu.edu and msen-advising@tamu.edu. Incomplete applications will be discarded without review.
  • A complete package is a single PDF file containing the following elements: 
    • Formal letter by the applicant stating a) applicant’s full name and UIN and b) name/location/dates of the conference, workshop, or meeting to which the student proposes to travel
    • Proof of acceptance of an abstract to be presented at the conference (e.g., a PDF printout of an official acceptance email from the conference organizers)
    • A brief note from the student’s faculty supervisor certifying that funds from a sponsored research project are not available to cover travel expenses
  • Applications must be submitted at least one month prior to the anticipated travel start date

Award:

  • Notification of award will be sent via email to the applicant
  • Awards will be made for up to $1K and issued on a travel card with a $1K limit
  • It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that all applicable travel-related procedures are strictly observed (travel authorization, preferred vendors, allowable charges, tax exemptions, etc.)

Financial Aid

The Texas A&M University Department of Student Financial Aid exists to help students find ways to fund their college education through loans, grants, and student employment. Financial aid counselors are available to advise students. The Department of Financial Aid is located on the second floor of the TAMU Pavillion. Telephone: 979-845-3236.

From the Financial Aid website, students have access to Jobs for Aggies (includes some graduate assistantships).

International students are advised to check into fellowships and scholarships.