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Class cancelled/Operations suspended

UPDATE: Classes and campus operations will resume on Wednesday, Jan. 22. Due to inclement weather affecting the Bryan-College Station area, Texas A&M University has cancelled all classes for Tuesday, Jan. 21. Additionally, all campus operations have been suspended. A decision about Wednesday, Jan. 22 will be made by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 21. Please visit emergency.tamu.edu for additional information about campus transportaion, campus dining, and other resources. Stay safe, Ags!

Graduate Funding Opportunities

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering offers financial assistance in the form of teaching assistantships, research assistantships, fellowships and scholarships to exceptional incoming graduate students. Teaching assistantships, some fellowships and scholarships are administered by the department. Research assistantships, some fellowships and scholarships are administered by the various areas of specialization and/or individual faculty members.

Your application for admissions automatically results in consideration for financial assistance from the department. You need not make a separate application for teaching assistantships or fellowships. However, the department makes decisions about admission and assistantships at different times. You may receive an offer of admission and then at some later point in time a separate offer of financial assistance.

Research Assistantships (RAs)

Research assistantships are offered by the faculty based on the student’s background, research interests and their match to faculty‘s research projects. The Graduate Office does not have the resources to help you find an assistantship. You must reach out to faculty and see if they have funding. Please, only reach out to faculty members you are genuinely interested in working with. Tell them what about their research you would like to learn more about. Make it a conversation. Do not just email and ask if they have funding. Emailing a professor and not starting a conversation is a sure way to get your email deleted.

Several of our faculty members are actively involved in various research projects and exceptional students often are offered research assistantships by the faculty before they arrive on campus. The students are advised to contact the faculty in their areas of interest for consideration for research assistantships. The areas of specialization, which briefly summarizes research programs and faculty interests, are enclosed to help you contact the appropriate faculty.

RAs provide a monthly stipend (minimum $2,250) as well as in-state tuition payment and are provided by individual faculty members. Sometimes, this also covers tuition and fees. This will be up to the professor granting the assistantship. Inquiries regarding RAs should be directed to the faculty member you want to work with.

Teaching Assistantships (TAs)

TAs provide the same support as an RA (stipend plus tuition). The teaching assistant is assigned to teach laboratory courses within the department. International students must pass the English Language Proficiency Examination (ELPE) administered by Texas A&M before they can be eligible for a TA position. An international student must receive a bachelor’s degree following 4 years of study at a US accredited institution to be exempted from taking the ELPE. International students are encouraged to sign up to take the ELPE upon arrival on campus so that they may be considered for TAs in future semesters.

Teaching Assistant Application (TA)

Incoming domestic students may be contacted if offered one as part of the admission package. For incoming international students, the Graduate Office does not provide teaching assistantships. You are encouraged to look into alternative means of funding for the first semester. There will be specific ELP requirements you must meet. Then you will be eligible to apply for a teaching assistantship, starting with your second semester at Texas A&M. This is departmental policy. This monthly salary comes with in-state tuition, which saves an out-of-state or international student approximately $2,250 per semester that the assistantship is awarded. Tuition for M.S. and Ph.D. students is covered.

Fellowships

The Electrical and Computer Engineering Department has a variety of fellowship opportunities available from the department, university, and other outside sources. These fellowships can be for domestic and/or international applicants. All admitted applicants will be considered for internal sources of fellowships. There isn’t a separate application for you to submit besides your Engineering CAS application to be considered for fellowships from the department. For external sources of funding, the applicant must contact the funding source directly.

The graduate admissions committee will prepare and submit your fellowship applications. Upload a copy of your CV to Engineering CAS. To be considered for the Electrical and Computer Engineering Graduate Merit Fellowship, please submit your Engineering CAS application no later than December 15. Tuition, mandatory fees and insurance are covered. 

For more information on our department assistantships and fellowships, please email us at gradinfo@ece.tamu.edu. We will be happy to answer any questions.

Departmental Scholarships

The department offers a number of $1,000 scholarships to incoming students on a competitive basis, only available for the fall. These scholarships also qualify the recipient to be eligible for the in-state tuition rate for the remainder of the year. This can represent approximately $6,000 in tuition savings. You may not have an RA, TA or Fellowship if you receive this award. Please email gradinfo@ece.tamu.edu for more information.