Doctoral Fellowships

Successful applicants to the Ph.D. program for fall semesters will be considered for doctoral fellowships.  Exceptional incoming computer scientists in our graduate program are candidates for the prestigious new Provost’s Graduate Excellence Fellowship or the Calhoun Graduate Excellence Fellowship. The University of Texas at Austin is working to identify talented and exemplary graduate students to receive four years of fellowship support. The goal is to help selected students excel in their vital role of advancing research, mentoring undergraduates, and fostering discovery alongside our top-tier faculty.

The Department of Computer Science is pleased to be able to offer a limited number of candidates of the highest promise these competitive multi-year fellowships.  Students with outstanding academic records and those who have established a track record of success as researchers and innovators will be automatically considered for these elite awards. Provost’s or Calhoun Graduate Excellence Fellowship support includes a 9-month stipend of $24,300.* In addition, fellows receive up to $4,000 over four years in research and travel support, a waiver of tuition and fees, and University medical benefits. The total compensation package is valued at over $153,000 per recipient.

* For two of the four years, fellows receive these stipends as standalone support. The remaining two years tie stipends to work as a teaching assistant or a graduate research assistant in a faculty member’s lab. Students are asked to teach for either one or two years only, as this amount of time instructing others is considered optimal for our graduate students' professional development.

Research Assistantships

Some students enter our program with research assistantships; however, research assistantships normally are appointed on a semester basis. These are under the purview of the individual professors and are generally made after the student has been enrolled for at least 1-2 semesters.  A GRA appointment is typically for 20 hours per week for the semester, and covers the student's tuition, fees and insurance.  Most students find a research supervisor during the second or third year and may be supported as research assistants.

Teaching Assistantships

Teaching assistantships are available for doctoral students.  Appointments to teaching assistantships are on a semester basis. Each semester, students in the department may submit their application to be a teaching assistant.  In addition, offers of teaching assistantships are often made at the time of admission by the admissions committee. New International TAs must satisfy an oral English Assessment conducted by the University. The Test of Spoken English does not substitute for this assessment.  A TA appointment is typically for 20 hours per week for the semester, and covers the student's tuition, fees and insurance.

Other Funding

Information and assistance in searching for external fellowships/grants for which graduate students may apply can be obtained from the Office of Graduate Studies: https://gradschool.utexas.edu/finances/fellowships/externally-funded

Tuition and Fees

The amount that each student must pay for tuition and fees depends on 2 criteria:

  • The number of hours for which the student is enrolled. Typically CS graduate students take nine hours, but, in rare cases, they may petition for approval to enroll in twelve.
  • The student's residency status. Texas residents pay lower rates than do students who are international or out of state.  Those students who have certain graduate fellowships, TA positions, or RA positions are entitled to pay the Texas resident tuition rate.  Please see our tuition rates http://tuition.utexas.edu/rates/graduate for more information.