Graduate Funding
Funding for Graduate Students
We want to make sure you have the resources you need to complete your degree. We offer a variety of funding opportunities in the form of departmental support, assistantships, scholarships, and fellowships. Explore your possibilities to find the funding model that works best for you.
Five-Year Ph.D. Funding Guarantee
Starting in Fall 2020, Grainger Engineering Ph.D. students in their first five years of enrollment are guaranteed a funded appointment for fall and spring that includes a full tuition waiver, a partial fee waiver, and a stipend. Students are also eligible for summer support. Students must remain in Good Academic Standing and successfully perform the duties of their assistantships.
College of Engineering Fellowships & Scholarships
Grainger Engineering graduate students can obtain funding through the College of Engineering with the following fellowships and scholarships. In addition, the departments within the College of Engineering also have fellowships and scholarships.
Carver Fellowship
The Carver Fellowship is for incoming doctoral students and is one of the most prestigious in the college. It is a one-year, $30,000 fellowship (fall, spring, and summer terms). Up to four students are awarded the fellowship each year. Each department within Grainger Engineering is eligible to nominate two of their top recruits for this fellowship. Students who receive the Carver Fellowship may not receive any additional funding during their first year.
SURGE Fellowship
The SURGE (Support for Under-Represented Groups in Engineering) Fellowship is aimed at increasing the number of qualified people in faculty and research positions from groups currently under-represented in engineering.
Mavis Future Faculty Fellows (MF3) Scholarship
This scholarship is for current engineering Ph.D. students who have passed their qualifying exam and are interested in pursuing a career in academia. The program is made possible by a generous bequest of Frederic T. and Edith F. Mavis. Dr. Mavis received B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in civil engineering from the University of Illinois before a distinguished academic career.
Yee Fellowship
This fellowship is for either current or incoming Chinese engineering graduate students. Special consideration will be given to students from inner provinces or inner province universities in China and who intend to become faculty members in Chinese universities. Up to four students will be awarded a one-year, $5,000 fellowship. Departments will be asked to nominate up to two students for this fellowship during the spring term. This fellowship is made possible by a generous bequest of Drs. Warren and Ming Ting Yee. Dr. Warren Yee received his Ph.D. degree in civil engineering from the University of Illinois in 1943. He was a partner in the Detroit firm of Harley, Ellington, Pierce & Yee Associates, and later was the founder of Bio-Tech Research Laboratory, Inc., in Washington, D.C.
Application fee waiver for Domestic Ph.D. applicants
- Available now through January 15, 2020
- Domestic applicants only
- Must have a 3.5 or greater cumulative undergraduate GPA
- Must be eligible for direct admission into a Ph.D. program
Why Illinois?
Meet a few of our graduate students and find out why they chose to pursue boundless opportunities at Illinois.
Comparing costs
This is where we fall on the Cost of Living Comparison Among Top 25 Engineering Graduate Schools. For a more detailed cost of living comparison, see the Cost of Living Comparison calculator.
| University | Location | Cost of Living Index | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Carnegie Mellon University |
Pittsburgh, PA |
87% |
|
|
Johns Hopkins University |
Baltimore, MD |
88% |
|
|
University of Illinois |
Urbana, IL |
93% |
|
|
Texas A&M University |
College Station, TX |
94% |
|
|
University of Pennsylvania |
Philadelphia, PA |
96% |
|
|
Georgia Institute of Technology |
Atlanta, GA |
97% |
|
|
Purdue University |
West Lafayette, IN |
98% |
|
|
Virginia Tech |
Blacksburg, VA |
102% |
|
|
University of Texas |
Austin, TX |
107% |
|
|
University of Michigan |
Ann Arbor, MI |
111% |
|
|
Cornell University |
Ithaca, NY |
113% |
|
|
University of Wisconsin |
Madison, WI |
116% |
|
|
University of Maryland |
College Park, MD |
119% |
|
|
Northwestern University |
Evanston, IL |
128% |
|
| Princeton University |
Princeton, N.J. |
162% |
|
| University of California-Los Angeles |
Los Angeles, CA |
164% |
|
| University of Southern California |
Los Angeles, CA |
164% |
|
| Columbia University |
New York, NY |
168% |
|
| Harvard University |
Cambridge, MA |
183% |
|
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Cambridge, MA |
183% |
|
| California Institute of Technology |
Pasadena, CA |
194% |
|
| University of California-Berkeley |
Berkeley, CA |
231% |
|
| University of California-Santa Barbara |
Santa Barbara, CA |
247% |
|
| University of California-San Diego |
La Jolla, CA |
372% |
|
| Stanford University |
Stanford, CA |
445% |