The ASE Graduate Program offers financial aid to highly qualified applicants in the form of Research Assistantships (RAs), Teaching Assistantships (TAs), and/or Fellowships. These offers may be presented to applicants wholly or in combination. The numbers presented below are provided as estimates of typical finanical aid offers.

RA Offers

Research Assistantships are awarded by individual faculty members. In 2011-12, half-time (20 hours/week) RA salaries range from $1500 to $1800 per month. In addition, tuition and required fees are paid by the research grant/contract supporting the student.

TA Offers

Teaching Assistantships are awarded by the department on the recommendations of faculty members. In 2011-12, half-time (20 hours/week) TAs receive $1800 per month and $3784 per semester to help pay tuition and required fees.

University Fellowships

Fellowships are offered to outstanding students by the University, and the stipend can vary between $2,000 and $9,000 per year. These offers may be made in place of or in addition to RA and TA offers. Some fellowship offers are multi-year. Read the specific language of any fellowship you are offered to determine the conditions of the fellowship.

Full-time Student

If you receive financial aid, you are expected to be registered as a full-time student in the semester that you received financial aid; that is, to register for 9 credit hours during fall and spring semesters and for 3 credit hours during the summer.

Out-of-State Tuition Waver

Out-of-state students receiving half-time RA or TA appointments qualify for in-state tuition. In 2011-12, in-state tuition and required fees for fall or spring (9 hours) is $4,616, out-of-state is $8,449 and summer (3 hours) is $3,924. You do not have to pay income tax on the wavered tuition.

Income Tax

You must pay income tax on RA and TA salaries, the $3,012 TA tuition supplement, and tuition and fees paid out of grants and contracts. For out-of-state students who qualify for in-state tuition, there is no tax on the difference between out-of-state tuition and in-state tuition.

Typical RA Offer

A typical 2011-12 RA offer to a Texas resident for one year could be the following:

Salary ($1,800/month): $21,600
Tuition and required fees: $13,156
Health insurance $ 1,119
Total annual stipend $35,875

An outstanding US PhD student (GPA>3.5, GRE=V+Q>1500) could also be offered a $9,000 Cockrell School of Engineering fellowship for a total stipend of $44,875 or $55,798 if not a Texas resident. With satisfactory academic performance (GPA>3.5) and research performance, the Cockrell School of Engineering fellowship is available for a total of four years.

Multi-Year Funding

Most financial offers are made for a year duration and are conditioned on satisfactory academic progress in graduate school. While there is no guarantee, financial aid is typically provided after the first year to highly qualified students throughout their graduate degree. Financial aid is contingent on the student's continued academic progress and the availability of financial resources.

Site Visits

Students who are interested in visiting the University may arrange individual site visits at any time. If you wish to visit, the best course of action is to determine which faculty you wish to visit and contact them to determine their availability. The faculty contact information can be found in our faculty directory. Once you have determined the dates of your visit, contact the Graduate Coordinator for additional information.

Once per year, a funded site visit is conducted by invitation for highly qualified applicants. You will be contacted if you are eligible to participate in this event. This organized site visit is typically held in mid-February.