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Financial Assistance
This page details the various types of financial assistance available to graduate students. The majority of financial assistance for graduate students at Georgia Tech comes from Graduate Assistantships. These assistantships support over 50 percent of ECE's full-time graduate students. They provide not only a modest stipend, but also lower tuition. Additional sources of financial support are fellowships, loans, and jobs with the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). For more information on demographics, admissions, and time-to-degree for doctoral students in our program, go to Doctoral Program Statistics (https://lite.gatech.edu/home). Enter the search criteria for Sch/Electrical & Computer Engr
Graduate Research Assistantships are funded by faculty research grants from industrial or governmental sponsors. Students on graduate research assistantships typically participate in the faculty member's research by running experiments, analyzing data, developing software and hardware, and co-authoring papers. The majority of research assistantships require the student to commit for more than a year. Therefore, most students funded on faculty research grants are Ph.D. students or M.S. students who have already decided to pursue the Ph.D. degree. The selection of Graduate Research Assistants is made by individual faculty and opportunities are regularly announced through our mailing lists. The recommended monthly stipend level is $2,417 for Ph.D. students and $2,100 for Master's students. In Fall 2021, about 78% of Ph.D. students and 21% of M.S. students were supported by Graduate Research Assistantships.
Graduate Teaching Assistants help faculty by grading, running labs, holding tutorials and office hours, etc. The selection of Graduate Teaching Assistants is made every semester by the Graduate Office after an open call for application at the end of the preceding semester. In addition, about 50% of first year Ph.D. students are supported by a Graduate Teaching Assistantship until they find an advisor supporting them as Graduate Research Assistants. The recommended monthly stipend level is $2,017 or $1,483 depending on the number of weekly work hours (20 hours vs. 13 hours). In Fall 2021, about 10% of Ph.D. students and 10% of M.S. students were supported by Graduate Teaching Assistantships.
Graduate Assistantships A limited number of graduate assistants may work in non-academic units, helping with tasks such as designing information systems, administering programs, and doing research for proposals. In Fall 2021, about 1% of Ph.D. students and 2% of M.S. students were supported by Graduate Assistantships.
Additional information about Graduate Assistantships, fellowships, loans, and off-campus employment options is available on the Office of Graduate Studies site (https://grad.gatech.edu/paying-for-grad-school).
Georgia Tech students hold a variety of national and local fellowships. Some are determined by national competitions (applications are usually due in early fall). Some are awarded by the academic departments (schools) at Georgia Tech. A few are administered by the Institute Graduate Office, upon recommendation by a departmental (school) graduate coordinator. ECE offers a limited number of fellowships to top applicants, on the order of $3,000 per year for four years.
More information on fellowship programs can be found at the graduate studies website.
Some students will find that they have to take out loans even if they do receive other funding. U.S. and state government loans are available to citizens and permanent residents only and require advance planning. In order to assure timely availability of loan funds for the next academic year, graduate students must complete the loan application process by April 15. For more information, contact:
Office of Student Financial Planning and Services
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA 30332-0460
Phone: 404.894.4160
GTRI has facilities located both on and off campus and provides many opportunities for employment of qualified graduate students on a part-time or full-time basis. Visit the graduate research assistant opportunities section of the GTRI website for more information.
GEORGIA RESIDENCY: Because Georgia Tech is a state-supported school, out-of-state residents must pay higher tuition. To be declared a Georgia resident for fee-payment purposes, you must show that you have lived here for more than one year and that you came to Georgia with the intent of establishing a domicile here, i.e. for reasons other than attending school.
The School of Electrical and Computer Engineering holds career fairs in both Fall and Spring semesters, which complement the Institute-level events with a more specific focus on the industries relevant to electrical and computer engineering. The School also supports students with their internship and job search by offering a broad range of services, including 1-1 career advising appointments, workshops on campus and career resources, career fair preparation, resume building, interview planning, networking skills, and salary negotiation. In Summer 2021, about 70% of M.S. students and 30% of Ph.D. students were on internships.
Ph.D. graduates of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering go on to hold positions both in industry and academia.
Last revised December 8, 2021
Georgia Institute of Technology
North Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30332
Phone: 404-894-2000