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Carnegie Mellon Department of Chemistry collage of research images from the department

Graduate Program

Financial Support and Fellowships

photo of Bruce McWilliams with graduate students Andrea Benvin and Haifeng Gao

Bruce McWilliams with 2007 Astrid and Bruce McWilliams Fellowship recipients Andrea Benvin and Haifeng Gao.

Full financial support is offered to all full-time Ph.D. students, including tuition and stipend. The support is typically in the form of teaching assistantships for the first year (two semesters is a degree requirement) and later as either a teaching assistant or as a research assistant. Every effort is made to provide continuous financial support for students who are in good standing in the program.

The basic monthly stipend for 2007–2008 is $1850/month, including a $50/month departmental supplement provided to assist in covering the cost of health insurance. This departmental support is guaranteed for 9 months during the academic year. Support for the summer is normally provided from research funds by the student’s research advisor, so the basic annual stipend is $22,200. A number of outstanding incoming students will receive additional fellowships beyond the basic stipend based on merit and ability to contribute to the department’s teaching needs.

A number of outstanding incoming students will receive additional fellowships beyond the basic stipend based on merit and ability to contribute to the department’s teaching needs.

Departmental fellowships:

Thanks to generous gifts from alumni and friends, the department also offers fellowships to students based on their performance in the Ph.D. program. These fellowships last for up to three years, or until the student graduates, whichever comes first. The following fellowships provide $3000/year as a supplement the students' stipend with up to $1000/year of the fellowship funds to be used for the student's travel to conferences:

John & Nancy Harrison Legacy Graduate Fellowship in Chemistry and Biochemistry is awarded to a dedicated graduate student based on research accomplishments and promise. Students must have ABD status to be eligible. Previous recipients supported by the Harrison's gift include Jeff Pyun, Tomislav Pintauer, Bhaskar Datta, Nicolay Tsarevsky, Arani Chanda and Wade Braunecker.

Joseph A. Solomon S'1957 S'1959 Memorial Fellowship in Chemistry is awarded to a dedicated graduate student who is already demonstrating promise in research. Students must be in their 2nd or 3rd year to be eligible. The first recipient of the fellowship was Daniel Siegwart in 2006.

Dr. Konrad M. Weis Fellowship in Chemistry recognize a well-rounded graduate student who demonstrates excellent contributions and strong future promise in research, outstanding commitment as a teaching assistant, and very responsible departmental service and citizenship. Recent recipients were Alina Dragulescu-Andrasi and Anca Dragulescu-Andrasi.

College sponsored fellowship:

A generous alumni gift has also made possible the Astrid and Bruce McWilliams Fellowship in the Mellon College of Science. (link to press release for now) This fellowship will support MCS graduate students conducting leading-edge research in emerging fields such as nanotechnology, biophysics and cosmology. The current recipients of this fellowship are Andrea Benvin (Chemistry), Sandeep Gan (Physics), and Haifeng Gao (Chemistry).

Applicants are also encouraged to pursue other fellowships. Both NSF and NIH provide support for 5 years.

Note for M.S. Students. Please note that while the Department of Chemistry maintains Masters programs, students whose goal is a Masters degree do not receive financial support from the department. Occasionally, students receive support from their industrial employers.

More details about financial support and policies can be found in the Guide to Graduate Studies.