Students who receive financial support are required to carry a full program of graduate studies. Holders of research assistantships, fellowships, scholarships, and traineeships must carry 8 credits during a regular semester and a minimum of 2 graduate credits in the summer session. While a research assistantship award is made to the candidate, it is used under the supervision of a major professor in a department research project for which support is available, typically from the federal government or private industry. The department awards a number of teaching assistantships for instructional duties within the engineering mechanics program. The Graduate School awards University Fellowships to a number of outstanding first-year candidates nominated by the individual departments and selected by the University Fellowships Committee.
Competition is keen.
Additional information is available from the department. Outstanding candidates are also encouraged to apply to the National Science Foundation for NSF Graduate Fellowships and to the Hertz Foundation for Hertz Graduate Fellowships. NSF and Hertz applications must be made in October or November. Fellowships funded by the nuclear utility industry. These are one-year fellowships for candidates following a program of study in the fission power field who intend to enter the nuclear power industry with the master's degree.