Fellowships, Assistantships, and Awards
Fellowships
The purpose of fellowships is to permit their holders to devote full time to graduate study. Recipients of fellowships must be enrolled as degree candidates and must register during each academic term for which they hold their fellowships. Students are nominated by their advisors for these fellowships. The AE Fellowship/Scholarship Awards Committee chooses the recipients of department awards.
- Illinois Distinguished Fellowships
These three-year fellowships are awarded by the Graduate College to entering graduate students. Only fifteen are given across the University of Illinois campus each year. The department nominates applicants to this program based on their application for admission and supporting documents. - SURGE Fellowships
These fellowships are given by the College of Engineering to women and underrepresented students in the engineering area. The department nominates applicants to this program based on their application for admission and supporting documents. - Roy S. Carver Fellowship
These prestigious one-year fellowships are awarded by the College of Engineering to entering master’s degree and doctoral degree students. Only six Carver fellowships are given across the engineering campus. The department nominates applicants to this program based on their application for admission and supporting documents. Applicants must demonstrate a strong potential to pursue graduate programs in the College of Engineering successfully by exhibiting a solid and comprehensive understanding of basic and engineering science principles, outstanding creativity, and an exceptional potential to conduct innovative research. - Mavis Memorial Fund Scholarship (MMFS) Awards for Doctoral Students
This fellowship is awarded by the College of Engineering to entering and continuing Ph.D. students who have demonstrated an aptitude for the instructional program. It is intended to encourage students to pursue an academic career. Applications are solicited from students and faculty and the department’s Graduate Awards Committee makes the official nomination to the Graduate College. - NASA Illinois Space Grant Fellowship
These fellowships are awarded to entering and continuing students by the Department of Aerospace Engineering. For entering students, selection is based on application and supporting documents. Awards to continuing students are based on academic and research performance. Selection of fellowship recipients is made by the Department of Aerospace Engineering’s Graduate Awards Committee. - Department University Fellowships
These fellowships are awarded to entering and continuing students by the Department of Aerospace Engineering. For entering students, selection is based on application and supporting documents. Awards to continuing students are based on academic and research performance. Selection of fellowship recipients is made by the Department of Aerospace Engineering’s Graduate Awards Committee. - Fellowships Awarded by Outside Agencies
There are additional opportunities to apply for fellowships sponsored by outside agencies. The Graduate College (http://www.grad.illinois.edu/fellowship/fellowGC.html), College of Engineering (http://www.engr.uiuc.edu/Advising/fellowships.php) and the department serve as resources for fellowship application and information - Tuition and Service Fee Waivers
The Graduate College grants tuition and service fee waivers providing exemption from tuition and part of the service fees for the academic year and the summer immediately preceding or following that year. Students holding waivers must register for a full program of study. Holders of waivers may accept incidental employment not to exceed twenty hours per week with the university or with an outside employer. - Assistantships
Generally, quarter-time and half-time appointments are available. Assistants with appointments ranging from 25 to 67 percent time are exempt from paying tuition and service health center fees. For assistants holding such appointments in the spring semester, the exemption extends through the summer session unless they hold summer appointments of more than 67 percent time. Recipients of assistantships must be registered during the academic year. International students are limited to 50 percent time while registered for classes.
Teaching Assistants
Teaching assistants are appointed by the department. M.S. students cannot be supported by a teaching assistantship for more than four semesters and Ph.D. students for more that two semesters. International students are required to pass the SPEAK Test offered by the Center for Teaching Excellence. Teaching assistantships are not available for summer sessions. Typical duties assigned to teaching assistants include teaching laboratory courses or discussion sections of courses taught in the lecture-discussion format; preparing course materials such as problem sets, quizzes, and solution sets; grading homework and quizzes; and aiding in the development of new courses or laboratory experiments. Teaching assistants are also expected to schedule time for office hours each week for each class or section taught. A half-time assistant should expect to spend about twenty hours each week carrying out the assigned duties. Satisfactory performance of duties is determined by the faculty instructor in charge of the assignment and by the head of the department.
Although assistants on academic-year appointments are not entitled to vacations, the department permits teaching assistants to be absent during Fall Break and Spring Break or when classes are not in session between semesters, provided that they have completed their teaching duties.
Research Assistants
Research assistants have appointments in the department, laboratory, center, or institute that administers the research project that they assist and are responsible to the members of the AE graduate faculty who direct the research project. Research assistant appointments may be for the academic year, for the academic year and summer session, or for a summer session only. In some instances, research assistants may hold calendar-year (that is, twelve-month) appointments. Research assistantships are generally renewable subject to satisfactory academic progress, satisfactory performance of the duties of the assistantship, the continued need for services, and the availability of funds.
The director of the research project employing a research assistant assigns the duties. In most instances, the work required of a research assistant is tied directly to the thesis research, and, in such instances, it is not possible to determine absolutely the number of hours of work expected of the assistant. If the work is not related to thesis research, a half-time assistant should expect to spend twenty hours each week carrying out the assigned duties. Satisfactory performance of duties is determined by the director of the research project employing the research assistant and by the head of the unit administering the project.
Research assistants employed for the academic year or summer session or any portion thereof are not entitled to vacations other than the official university holidays which occur during the term of their appointments. Summer appointments are typically for two months, and the third summer month is the (unpaid) vacation time for assistants employed for the academic year and summer session. Any time taken off during the period of appointment must be with the consent of the director of the research project employing the assistant.
Graduate Awards
- Department of Aerospace Engineering Awards
Roger A. Strehlow Memorial Award: The award is presented annually in his honor to a graduate student in recognition of outstanding research accomplishment. Professor Strehlow joined the aero faculty in 1961. His background was in chemistry, and he was an acknowledged expert in the field of detonations and explosions. He also made significant contributions toward the understanding of the structure, stability, and extinction of laminar premixed flames. He was an early advocate of microgravity combustion and successfully characterized the extinction and flammability states of flames under microgravity conditions. Professor Strehlow was the first AIAA Fellow in the Department of Aerospace Engineering. - College of Engineering Awards
Henry Ford II Scholar Award: The award is made to an outstanding first-year engineering graduate student entering the second year of study. The award is based upon performance during the first year of study and is given in addition to the usual assistantship or other support. In addition to grade point average, the award is based upon other evidence of accomplishments such as initiating research or contributing directly to practice. When more than one nominee meets all criteria, preference will be given to the nominee whose field will contribute most to areas related to the automotive industry. The Henry Ford II Scholar Award, in the amount of $5,000 is supported by an endowment grant of $100,000 from the Ford Motor Company Fund. - Ross J. Martin Award
The Ross J. Martin Award has been established to recognize an outstanding research achievement by a graduate student in the College of Engineering. The award is to recognize the importance of research in graduate engineering education. Dean Martin served as Director of the Experiment Station for twenty-six years; the engineering research budget grew from $5 million to $36 million dollars under his administration. - Mavis Memorial Fund Scholarship Awards for Doctoral Students
These awards are presented annually to students working for their doctorates in the College of Engineering. It is the donor's desire that those students planning to become teachers be given preference. Approximately ten awards for an amount of $5,000 each are given out each year. The nominations to the college should be submitted by the department head.
