Funding Your Degree

Funding Your Degree

Funding Resources for Graduate Students

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Sources of funding in the ECE Graduate Program include:

Funding decisions related to fellowships are generally made by the graduate program executive committee or Graduate Studies, depending on the source of funding for the fellowship. Not all fellowship funding decisions are made by either the graduate program executive committee or Graduate Studies. For example, graduate students often seek fellowship funding directly from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, foundations and a range of other agencies and organizations.

Funding decisions related to Graduate Student Researchers are made by the principal investigator of the source of funding.

Teaching assistant appointment decisions are made by the Undergraduate Program Chair approximately four weeks prior to the start of each quarter and are based, in part, on a graduate student’s educational background, grade point average, academic standing, degree objective, feedback from instructors and recruitment status at the time of entering the graduate program.

  • University and Department Fellowships and Graduate Scholarships

  • University fellowship applications are available online at https://grad.ucdavis.edu/financial-support. Applicants who wish to be considered for a fellowship or graduate scholarship must file all admission and fellowship applications by January 15.

    Fellowships and graduate scholarships are awarded on the basis of scholarship and promise of outstanding academic and professional achievement. Awards may consist of a stipend and/or a waiver of tuition and fees. In many cases, support is packaged into multi-year support offers.

    In evaluating applications, the department gives consideration to the extent and quality of previous undergraduate and graduate work, evidence of ability in research, evidence of intellectual capacity, and promise of productive scholarship. For some fellowships, financial need or the availability of other sources of support in the graduate program is relevant to the selection process. Only students with a minimum 3.5 cumulative undergraduate or graduate grade-point average will be considered for a fellowship. Domestic applicants are strongly encouraged to file a FAFSA form.

  • GAANN Fellowships

  • The GAANN Fellowship program, funded by the U.S/ Department of Education, is targeted to domestic Ph.D. students with superior ability and demonstrated financial need in the area of computer engineering. Financial need is determined by FAFSA. GAANN fellows must make a commitment to complete a Ph.D. degree within a five-year period, during which the fellow will receive full financial assistance. An integrated graduate program will provide the fellow with the academic coursework, research experience and intellectual environment required for teaching and/or research positions in the U.S.

  • Graduate Student Researcher Positions

  • A Graduate Student Researcher (GSR) participates in a faculty member’s research project during the academic and summer quarters. Typically the research is in conjunction with the student’s M.S. or Ph.D. thesis work. GSR positions are appointed directly by the faculty. Faculty obtain funding for these positions from externally-funded research grants or contracts. Students are encouraged to consult with faculty members working in their field of interest concerning availability of GSR positions. In order to take advantage of GSR opportunities, it is extremely important that students contact faculty in their area as soon as possible.

  • Accel Partners’ Fellowships

  • Accel Partners’ Fellowships support students in the area of high-speed communications. These fellowships are awarded on a competitive basis to students in high-speed analog circuits, optical networking and devices, photonic materials, signal processing, communications and micromachining.

  • Northrup Grumman Fellowship

  • The Northrup Grumman Fellowship is awarded to our top entering Ph.D. student who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and who shows promise in the areas of communications, electronic circuits, optoelectronics or signal processing.

  • Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

  • All graduate students who are U.S. citizens, permanent residents or immigrants are encouraged to file a FAFSA as early as possible, but no later than March 1. This form, submitted directly to the Federal Student Aid Program Office, is used to determine financial need only. Students applying for need-based financial aid (i.e., work-study, GAANN) are required to complete the FAFSA application. After December 1 of each year, the FAFSA may be obtained from the Financial Aid Office, any US institution of higher education, or online at https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa.

Financial Aid Office

Loans, grants, and work-study employment are administered by the Financial Aid Office. These funds must be used for education-related expenses and are intended to supplement the student’s own resources. For further information:

Financial Aid Office
University of California
One Shields Avenue
Davis, California 95616
(530) 752-2390, FAX (916) 752-7339
https://grad.ucdavis.edu/financial-support