Teaching/research assistantships, grader positions, and graduate fellowships and awards

The application for spring 2025 TA, IA or Grader positions available for graduate students are now open.

Various forms of financial support are available to new and continuing graduate students including teaching and research assistantships. These opportunities may be accessed through each academic unit as well as individual faculty members.

PhD students: Apply here for Spring 2025 TA/IA/Grader application

Master’s students: Apply here for Spring 2025 TA/IA/Grader application

Teaching Assistantships

Students receiving teaching assistantships may be assigned appointments which are half-time (20 hours per week) or quarter-time (10 hours per week). Assignments may include sole responsibility for the teaching of undergraduate laboratories, assistance in the teaching of undergraduate laboratory recitations and assistance in grading of undergraduate homework. Students may additionally be asked to prepare lectures in undergraduate courses and administer examinations. Teaching responsibilities are in addition to the time spent on research for the graduate degree. Teaching assistantships generally include a tuition waiver and a stipend. However, only full tuition waivers are given to those students who hold half-time teaching assistantships. Quarter-time assistantship holders receive only a half tuition waiver. In addition to the stipend and full tuition waiver, 50% time TAs also receive health insurance benefits.

All teaching assistants whose native language is not English must Take the iBT (Internet-based TOEFL) test and receive a score of 26 or higher on the oral portion of the test. Alternatively, students can instead take the SPEAK Test – offered on campus at ASU, the SPEAK Test is the local version of the TSE. Students taking the SPEAK Test at ASU must achieve a minimum score of 50 for limited teaching capacity, or 55 for full teaching capacity.

Global Launch’s International Teaching Assistant Program provides both the SPEAK test and the ITA Teacher Training Course. Online registration is available on their website: globallaunch.asu.edu/learn-english/special-programs/international-teaching-assistant

TA positions are awarded to highly qualified PhD students.

Research Assistantships

Research assistantship appointments pay the student a stipend for involvement in a particular faculty research project—this project usually also serves as the student’s dissertation research topic. A first-year PhD student receiving a half-time (50%) teaching or research assistantship generally receives a generous starting stipend for 12 months, the full tuition waiver and health insurance benefits. In addition to a stipend, students receiving a research assistantship are generally given a tuition waiver. The amount of the tuition waiver, however, depends upon whether the student is appointed as a 50% time (20 hours per week) RA or a 25% time (10 hours per week) RA. Students given 50% time RA appointments additionally receive health insurance benefits. Students receiving stipends for research activity, which also constitutes the dissertation research, spend considerably more time each week working on the project than is otherwise expected by the assistantship.

Review details about TA and RA assistantships: https://graduate.engineering.asu.edu/fellowships/assistantships/ 

If you are looking to do research with faculty, please DO NOT send a general email to all/multiple faculty. Please read about the research of a specific faculty, and find what interests you most to send a directed email to the faculty. 

Travel Awards

Fellowships and Awards

The internal department deadline is two weeks before the posted deadline. Nominations are not guaranteed. Required forms and documents need to be submitted to Araxi Hovhannessian via email. The name of the award and the deadline must be in the subject line of the email.

Graduate College Prestigious Awards website: lists various national and discipline-specific awards and fellowships

Other Graduate College Fellowships: completion fellowship, graduate college fellowship, interdisciplinary enrichment fellowship, etc.

Fulton Graduate Fellowships

Graduate programs at ASU can nominate students for or apply for the following fellowships and awards, both merit-based and needs-based, administered and funded by the Graduate College. Students can not apply directly to these funding opportunities.

 

Other Fellowships and Awards
Entries are sorted by due date.

All students
  •  Monthly — Academic Hero Scholarship — Open to any student with a minimum 3.0 GPA, who submits a 500 word essay using the following prompt: “Tell us about a time you collaborated and accomplished something greater than you could have on your own.” $5,000 scholarship.
  • December 15 — ScholarshipPoints $10,000 Scholarship — One random member will be awarded each quarter. To become eligible, sign up for a free ScholarshipPoints membership and log in.
  • December 15 — Résumé Genius Scholarship — Create a résumé based on the life of any fictional or non-fictional character, from TV, history, literature or myth. $1,000 scholarship.
  • May 4 — Asia SiVon Cottom Memorial Scholarship Fund — Submit a minimum 300 word essay on the effects and aftermath of September 11 on today’s society, what you plan to achieve through college that can possibly impact the community and/or the world, and why you should receive a Memorial Scholarship. Must submit using a U.S. mailing address, but do not need to be a U.S. citizen to win. Award usually ranges from $500 to $2,000.
  • TBD 2021 — “From Failure to Promise’ Essay Contest — Using the book “From Failure to Promise: 360 Degrees” write at least 1,500 words addressing all three prompts. Open to graduate level students with at least a 2.5 cumulative GPA. $10,000 award.
  • Varies — CKSF Scholarship Competition — Register to participate in scholarship quizzes that test your knowledge of topics ranging from general “common knowledge” to specific academic subjects, books, websites and even movies. Scores are based on time and accuracy. Students with the highest score at the end of each competition win. Award amounts range from $250 to $2,500.
  • Monthly — $2,000 “No Essay” College Scholarship — Log in or create a free account to apply. Winners chosen each month. International students must have valid visas to be eligible.
  • Find more scholarships on FastWeb.com, enrollment is free and scholarship searches can be customized.
First and second year students
  • November 15 — NSF graduate research Fellowship (US citizens only) — The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited U.S. institutions. Each Fellowship consists of three years of support during a five-year fellowship period. Currently, NSF provides a stipend of $34,000 to the Fellow.
  • October 23 — Hertz Foundation (US citizens only) — The Graduate Fellowship Award is based on merit (not need) and consists of a cost-of-education allowance and a personal-support stipend. Doctoral students only.
  • October 4 — Facebook Emerging Scholar Program — This program is designed to specifically support talented students from underrepresented minority groups and encourage them to continue their doctoral studies, pursue innovative research and engage with the broader research community. Award covers tuition and fees for two academic years, a stipend of $37,000 each year, and up to $5,000 in conference travel support.
  • November 1 — Soros Fellowships for New Americans — For permanent residents or naturalized citizens if born abroad, or children of naturalized citizen parents if born here. Criteria for selection include creativity, originality, initiative and sustained accomplishment. Must be 30 years old or younger. Award of up to $90,000 in financial support over two years.
  • November 15, 2020 — National GEM Consortium — Mission is to enhance the value of the nation’s human capital by increasing the participation of underrepresented groups (African Americans, American Indians and Hispanic Americans) at the master’s and doctoral levels in engineering and science.
  • November 30 — National Physical Science Consortium (U.S. citizens only) — Goal is to increase the number of American citizens with graduate degrees in the physical sciences and related engineering fields. Provides a stipend, covers tuition and may last up to six years. Providing an annual $20,000 expense allowance, bringing total funding to as much as $120,000.
  • Varies — Ford Foundation (US citizens only, predoctoral, dissertation or postdoctoral) — Through its Fellowship Programs, the Ford Foundation seeks to increase the diversity of the nation’s college and university faculties by increasing their ethnic and racial diversity, to maximize the educational benefits of diversity and to increase the number of professors who can and will use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students. Predoctoral Fellowships offer a one-year stipend of $24,000.
  • December 6 — National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship (U.S. citizens only) — The DoD will offer these fellowships to individuals who have demonstrated the ability and special aptitude for advanced training in science and engineering.
  • February 14, 2020 [ASU needs to Nominate] — Interdisciplinary Enrichment Fellowship (IEF) — ASU supports newly admitted first-year masters and doctoral students who demonstrate academic excellence and are underrepresented in their field of study.
Second through Nth year students
  • October 13 — Lattie and Elva Coor Building Great Communities Graduate Fellowship — (U.S. citizens) ASU provides this opportunity to students in any discipline who can demonstrate active engagement with communities in Arizona. Research or activities must be directed towards strengthening neighborhoods and/or improving the lives of Arizonans. Work should contribute to sustainable associations between ASU and one or more community in the state. Award of $3,000 for one year.
  • September 30 [ASU needs to Nominate] — Microsoft PhD Fellowship — The Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship is a two-year fellowship program for outstanding doctoral students nominated by their universities. Computer science students in their second or third year of an eligible doctoral program only. The award covers 100% of the tuition and fees for two academic years, offers a stipend of $28,000, and travel allowance.
  • [ASU needs to Nominate] — IBM PhD Fellowship — Recipients are matched with an IBM mentor and intern at an IBM research lab for 1–3 years. Students should have an interest in problem solving, by making connections with colleges and technical faculty. The award includes a stipend for two academic years (each year $35,000), and an educational allowance of $25,000.
  • October 4 — Facebook Fellowship Program — For any full-time doctoral student involved in ongoing research in computer science and engineering. The Fellowship covers two years of tuition and fees, includes a stipend of $37,000 each year, and provides up to $5,000 in conference travel support.
  • September 27 — Adobe Research Fellowship — Recipients are selected based on their research (creative, impactful, important and realistic in scope) and how their work would contribute to Adobe, their technical skills (ability to build complex computer programs) and personal skills (problem-solving ability, communication, leadership, organizational skills, ability to work in teams). Award of $10,000.
  • January 15 — DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellowship (U.S. citizens, first year master’s or doctoral students without master’s degrees only) — Fellows in the DOE CSGF program are using high performance computing to better understand fundamental properties of the world and universe around us, and to solve complex problems in areas of national importance, such as climate change and sustainable energy sources. The Fellowship includes a yearly stipend of $36,000, fully covers tuition and fees, and provides $5,000 academic allowance.
  • No longer accepting applications — The Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship (women only) — In her honor, Google is proud to honor Anita’s memory and support women in technology with the Google Anita Borg memorial Scholarship. Google hopes to encourage women to excel in computing and technology and become active role models and leaders in the field. Award of $10,000.
  • Varies — Department of Energy’s Office of Science Graduate Student Research Program — The SCGSR program provides graduate dissertation/thesis research opportunities at DOE national laboratories.
  • No longer accepting applications — nVidia Graduate Fellowship — The NVIDIA Graduate Fellowship Program provides funding to doctoral students who are majoring in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, System Architecture, Electrical Engineering, or a related area. NVIDIA particularly invites submissions from students pushing the envelope in artificial intelligence, deep neural networks, autonomous vehicles, and related fields. Award of $50,000.
  • [ASU needs to Nominate] — Google PhD Fellowship — The Google U.S./Canada PhD Student Fellowship Program was created to recognize outstanding graduate students doing exceptional work in computer science, related disciplines or promising research areas.
  • Applications open in December [ASU needs to Nominate] — ISA Educational Foundation Scholarships — Scholarship is intended for students who demonstrate outstanding potential for long-range contribution to the fields of automation and control.
Finishing students
  • October 31 [ASU Student Advisor must Nominate] — ACM Doctoral Dissertation Award — ACM established the Doctoral Dissertation Award program to recognize and encourage superior research and writing by doctoral candidates in computer science and engineering. These awards are presented annually at the ACM Awards Banquet. Award of $20,000.
  • November 1 — AAUW Dissertation Fellowship (U.S. citizen women only, dissertation) — American Fellowships support women doctoral candidates completing dissertations. Award of $20,000.
  • January 7 — Ford Foundation (U.S. citizens only, dissertation) — Through its Fellowship Programs, the Ford Foundation seeks to increase the diversity of the nation’s college and university faculties by increasing their ethnic and racial diversity, to maximize the educational benefits of diversity, and to increase the number of professors who can and will use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students. Award includes a one-year stipend of $25,000.

Visit the Computing Research Association’s Resources website for information on research strategies and funding opportunities.

Policies Related to Financial Support of Graduate Students

A limited number of students receive written offers of financial aid prior to entering the program. Students who elect to enter the program without a written commitment of financial aid are responsible for providing their own financial support. Although it is the desire of the faculty to assist students by the aggressive pursuit of research grants, the faculty are not responsible for providing funding when a student enrolls in the program. All supported students are expected to complete their work assignments in a satisfactory manner as judged by the faculty. Additionally, supported students are required to register for at least 12 semester hours of coursework during each semester of residence, which includes research hours. Any suspension from the Graduate Program results in the loss of financial support.

Policy dictates that supported students in the doctoral program are paid a stipend consistent with that of a research or teaching assistant until they pass the qualifying examination, and then receive a stipend consistent with that of a research or teaching associate.