Outstanding opportunities for financial support are available to graduate students in Transportation Engineering. Most of our graduate students receive support in the form of assistantships and fellowships. In some cases, a nice “package” can be arranged by combining a fellowship with an assistantship. These awards are typically sufficient to allow graduate students to be financially independent and afford a reasonable student lifestyle. The Austin area offers outstanding cultural and recreational opportunities and affordable good quality student housing. Austin has been consistently rated as being among the top cities to live in the U.S.. The following is a list of the principal forms of financial support available.
Research Assistantships
This is the most common form of graduate student support. It usually involves half-time appointment (20 hours per week) to a sponsored research project conducted under faculty supervision. The active and dynamic nature of the research program in Transportation at UT Austin ensures a wide variety of topics in the various areas of Transportation. These awards are normally for a 12-month period, and provide a monthly stipend of about $1,825 (for M.S. students) and $1,950 (for Ph.D. candidates), depending on experience, qualifications and performance. These appointments sometimes include payment of all of tuition and required fees. Research Assistants also qualify of significant fringe benefits, including University-approved medical, life and disability insurance. While dependent upon funding availability and student performance, assistantships usually continue until the student’s graduation. In addition, the research conducted usually forms the basis of the student’s thesis or dissertation.
Teaching Assistantships
This award involves the student in the teaching activities of the faculty. A limited number of such assistantships are available for undergraduate and graduate classes, particularly those requiring laboratory or extensive computer assignments. Preference is given to those with an interest in a teaching career, so doctoral candidates are encouraged to acquire one semester of experience in this arena. The stipends are comparable to those for research assistantships.
University Fellowships
These are prestigious and highly competitive fellowships offered by the University providing nine-month stipends. They are awarded to a limited number of graduate students based on a University-wide competition. Combined with research assistantships, they provide the recipient with about $32,000 for two years.
Engineering Foundation Fellowships
Several fellowships are available annually through the Cockrell School of Engineering for outstanding prospects; awardees typically have GPAs in excess of 3.5 and GRE scores above 1400 (verbal + quantitative). These are primarily partial fellowships of about $1,500-3,500 and are awarded in addition to a research assistantship with tuition and required fees paid.
The T. S. Huff Fellowship in Transportation
This fellowship, established in memory of the late T. S. Huff, is awarded to a graduate student in Transportation Engineering to support his/her development and ability to contribute to the Transportation Engineering profession. This honor provides $1,000-3,000, and is usually awarded in addition to a research assistantship.
Mary Kate Collins Memorial Endowed Presidential Scholarship in Civil Engineering
This fellowship, established in memory of Mary Kate (Kitty) Collins, the first employee of the Center for Highway Research (now known as the Center for Transportation Research), is awarded to a graduate student in Transportation Engineering. This honor provides $2,500 minimum to a graduate student in Transportation Engineering, and is usually awarded in addition to a research assistantship.
Robert Herman Endowed Scholarship
This scholarship, established in memory of the late Robert Herman, is awarded to an outstanding graduate student with an interest in and strength in applying analytical, mathematical and quantitative approaches to problem solving in the general field of transportation science. This honor provides $1000 minimum, and is usually awarded in addition to a research assistantship. Preference for this scholarship is given to Ph.D. candidates in Transportation Engineering, but may be awarded to graduate students in other programs or Colleges. This scholarship is open to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and international students.