Financial Aid
Our department offers a variety of financial support through scholarships, grants, loans, work studies, and more for qualified undergrad and grad students in need. Some aid is awarded based on merit or financial need, while other forms of financial support, such as loans, may be available to most incoming students.
For more information on additional financial aid opportunities from the college and university, visit the college’s Financial Aid and Scholarships page, or visit One Stop for a robust breakdown on the cost of attending UT.
Undergraduate Aid
Working toward an undergraduate degree is a significant investment in your future and we’re committed to helping you achieve those goals through financial aid and scholarship opportunities. Through the university and college, there are several options out there to help you along the way.
College Scholarships
The college awards more than $1 million in scholarships annually to qualified undergraduate students. First-year students are eligible by meeting the priority application deadline while current, returning, and transfer students must fill out a scholarship application form.
Additional Financial Aid Opportunities
In addition to college scholarships, mechanical and aerospace engineering students can apply for additional financial aid opportunities through the university. These opportunities include scholarships, work study, grants, and student loans.
Graduate Student Aid
Financial support for graduate students is available through graduate assistantships and through several multi-year or single-year fellowships filled on a competitive basis. Head to UT Grad School for more information on the policies regarding graduate assistantships and graduate fellowships. Learn more about these and other opportunities by using the drop downs links below:
Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA)
GTAs are funded by the department and are normally restricted to doctoral students.
GTAs are normally only offered by the department when a faculty member strongly endorses an incoming student and does not currently have sufficient funds to support the student through their doctoral program. These are for a limited time to allow the faculty member to secure funding for the student’s doctoral research.
The GTA includes a tuition waiver, monthly stipend, and health insurance. Some departmental duties will be assigned for this GTA during the fall and spring semesters during which the student is enrolled. There are a very limited number of GTAs available for students which require them to conduct an undergraduate section of a laboratory course. These are limited to students with good communication skills and who normally have received their BS from UT.
Students seeking a GTA should contact Jeffrey Reinbolt. A GTA is not meant to support the student through graduate school, and a GRA should be sought as soon as possible by the graduate student.
Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA)
GRAs are offered directly by individual faculty from research funds they have obtained. The GRA includes payment of tuition, a monthly stipend, and health insurance. A GRA is meant to support the student while performing research required for the degree. Students seeking a GRA should contact faculty with research interests aligned with their own.
Beginning fall 2022, graduate students on assistantships will no longer pay mandatory fees (library fee, technology fee, etc.) and differential tuition (charges associated with certain colleges). Such fees will now be covered by the university.
Fellowships
Students with a minimum 3.6 GPA in all previous course work are eligible to apply for a Hilton A. Smith Graduate Fellowship and/or a UT Graduate School Fellowship. Information regarding these fellowships is available through the Office of Graduate Admissions.
Departmental fellowships are occasionally available to outstanding applicants. No specific application procedure exists for these fellowships. Opportunities also exist for students to apply for fellowships sponsored by their governments, industry, and technical societies.
Student/Faculty Research Awards
The Student/Faculty Research Awards are awards to be used to advance the work for both faculty and graduate students.
Grants up to $5000 will be awarded to student/faculty pairs who submit proposals for funds to support research or creative projects. The funds may be used:
- to purchase supplies needed for research; for travel to work in other laboratories, libraries, or archives;
- for specialized training or in a variety of other ways, so long as the outcome will be the professional development of the graduate students and the advancement of an identified research/creative agenda of both the student and faculty member.
Office of Research Funding Opportunities
The Office of Research & Engagement’s Faculty Development Team (FDT) has identified many funding opportunities for Graduate Students and Post-Docs. The opportunities span the academic fields of Science & Engineering, Humanities, Social Sciences, as well as opportunities in the UT Graduate School. View funding opportunities on the Office of Research & Engagement’s website.