Teaching assistantships provide support for most first-year graduate students. The work that teaching assistants perform plays an important role in the education of undergraduate students enrolled in chemistry courses. In recognition of these contributions, the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry makes several cash awards at the end of each semester to those teaching assistants demonstrating superior performance. These awards are designated Joseph W. Bouknight Graduate Teaching Awards in honor of a distinguished teacher in the department for more than 30 years. Given twice a year, these awards acknowledge the hard work and dedication of our graduate teaching assistants.
Research assistantships support most graduate students after their first year.
Most first-year graduate students are placed on research appointments for the summer terms and subsequently for the regular semesters, enabling them to devote full time to their research. These appointments carry the same monthly stipend and fees as teaching assistantships. The department and the University also have a number of fellowships open to graduate students. In addition to the University-administered fellowships sponsored by federal programs, the department has some industrial fellowships which are awarded annually to students of unusual academic and scientific promise. Prospective graduate students with superior records will automatically be considered for these supplementary appointments.