Fellowships

Fellowships provide graduate students with additional financial support to assist with the cost of their education. Typically, these are merit-based awards which are distributed in a variety of ways from both within and outside the University. Below, are some examples of internal fellowships distributed by the School of Arts, Sciences and Engineering, as well as some resources to find external fellowships.

Departmental fellowships are also available to students. These fellowships are distributed by individual departments and are typically only available to students within those programs. Please check our program pages to explore the opportunities available in your program of interest. You can also contact the department coordinator of the program for additional details.

Internal Fellowships

Each of the programs within our School of Arts, Science and Engineering have different application requirements and deadlines. Please be sure to check for these details prior to submitting an application.

Incoming Students

Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Science Dean’s Fellowship

The Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Science Dean’s Fellowship is awarded annually to incoming students in one of our seven Hajim PhD programs who have demonstrated a dedication to the pursuit of knowledge through exceptional work in their field of interest. Candidates are chosen by a committee of faculty members based on their program application. Final award decisions are made by the Arts, Sciences and Engineering dean of graduate education.

If you are interested in applying to one of our programs and receiving the Dean’s Fellowship please complete a program application.

LLE HEDP Minority Scholarships

The LLE Scholarships were established for the purpose of recruiting and retaining a diverse body of graduate students to participate in High Energy Physics (HEDP) science including Inertial Confinement Fusion and directly related technological fields such as lasers, optics, and system engineering. The LLE Scholarships are provided to graduate students who meet the following criteria:

  • Identify as Black/African American, Black LatinX, Black Hispanic, Indigenous/Native American, Alaskan, Hawaiian, or who otherwise fall into categories of students that are underrepresented* in HEDP fields at the University of Rochester
  • Are matriculated or have been admitted into one of the academic departments within the college of AS&E
  • Are carrying out studies and/or research in the areas described above

*These categories may be defined be socioeconomic status, gender, disability, and other potential factors.

The LLE HEDP Minority Scholarship will provide its recipient with an annual amount of $5,000 per year with a maximum of five years. If you are interested in applying to one of our programs and receiving the LLE HEDP Minority Scholarship please complete a program application.

Paul F. Slattery Fellowship

The Paul F. Slattery Fellowship is aimed at supporting students who have shown exemplary academic achievements in the humanities.

It is awarded annually to students who have been admitted into one of the following graduate programs at the University of Rochester:

  • English
  • Visual and Cultural Studies
  • Philosophy
  • History

Nominations for the Slattery fellowship are made by departments based on application review and awarded by the Arts, Science and Engineering dean of gradate education.

If you are interested in applying to one of our programs and receiving the Slattery Fellowship please complete a program application.

Provost Fellowship

The goal of the Provost Fellowship is to broaden and increase the diversity of our graduate students in doctoral programs by attracting promising students from backgrounds that have been historically underrepresented in a particular discipline.

Students are nominated by departments based on their application review. Nominees must be US citizens or permanent residents. Specific criteria for determining diversity and selecting nominees will depend on each program, but may include ethnicity, race, gender, or disability.

If you are interested in applying to one of our programs and receiving the Provost Fellowship please complete a program application.

Provost Promise Fellowship

The Provost Promise Fellowship recognizes exceptionally worthy PhD applicants who come from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds in higher education, who are intellectually curious and fiercely persistent, possess attributes which may fall outside of more traditional admissions criteria, and who may be perfectly situated to contribute to the rich learning environments we wish to cultivate and sustain at the University of Rochester.

As such, these fellows possess immense promise with respect to contributions to scholarship and research during graduate training and as future members of the academy. In addition, admitting departments and programs promise to provide fellows individualized support, guidance, and training to maximize their individual and professional development.

Students are nominated by departments based on their application review. Nominees must be US citizens or permanent residents. Specific criteria for determining diversity and selecting nominees will depend on each program, but may include ethnicity, race, gender, or disabilities.

If you are interested in applying to one of our programs and receiving the Provost Promise Fellowship please complete a program application.

Robert Jyr Chen Fellowship

Dr. Theresa Chen ’74 completed her PhD in pharmacology from the School of Medicine and Dentistry and Dr. Robert Jyr Chen ’73 (PhD) completed his studies at the University of Rochester’s engineering school in materials sciences. Dr. Chen has established this legacy fund in memory of her husband. The goal of this fellowship is to benefit graduate students in engineering who have financial need. In particular, this annually awarded scholarship aims to help students from foreign countries to pursue their goal of a master’s or PhD degree in materials science at the University of Rochester.

Students interested in applying for the Chen Fellowship should complete the University of Rochester’s graduate program online application for their program of interest. Nominations will be made by individual departments based on application review. Preference will be given to students that previously completed a degree at National Taiwan University and who are studying at the University of Rochester for an advanced degree in materials science.

Robert L. and Mary L. Sproull University Fellowship

The Robert L. and Mary L. Sproull Fellowship is the most prestigious fellowship awarded by the University of Rochester.

Robert L. Sproull was a distinguished physicist and was the University’s seventh president. While in office, he oversaw significant growth of degree programs, faculty size, laboratories, hospital facilities, and other campus structures. The fellowship program named in his honor reflects his commitment to intellectual excellence.

Each year 10 to 12 incoming PhD students are awarded the Sproull Fellowship. These students are nominated by a committee of faculty members and the final selection is made by the University dean of graduate studies.

If you are interested in applying to one of our programs and receiving the Sproull Fellowship, please complete a program application.

Current Students

Internal fellowships for current matriculated students are distributed by nomination from academic departments. If you are interested in being considered for one of the following fellowships, please speak with your department directly.

Dean’s Dissertation Fellowship

This fellowship is awarded annually to outstanding PhD students in the humanities in their fifth or sixth year of study. Faculty from the English, visual and cultural studies, and philosophy departments nominate students, and the Arts, Sciences & Engineering dean of graduate education awards the fellowships.

Donald M. and Janet Barnard Fellowship

The Donald M. and Janet C. Barnard Fellowship was created for PhD students in one of the University of Rochester’s engineering or natural science disciplines. The goal of this fellowship is to recognize outstanding achievement for one of our graduate students in these fields, as evidenced through their coursework and dissertation research work.

The fellowship provides a top-off to the student’s existing stipend, as well as a tuition award, and is for a one-year duration.

Nominations for this fellowship are solicited from programs in engineering and the natural sciences, including:

  • Biology
  • Biomedical engineering
  • Brain and cognitive sciences
  • Chemical engineering
  • Chemistry
  • Computer science
  • Earth and environmental sciences
  • Electrical and computer engineering
  • Materials science
  • Mathematics
  • Mechanical engineering
  • Optics
  • Physics

Each program is allowed to nominate one PhD student in their second or third year of graduate study.

All nominations are evaluated, and the awardees selected by the dean of graduate education. Evaluation is based on documented record of outstanding academic and research achievement as well as evidence of leadership; mentoring and teaching accomplishments; engagement with the field; and any outreach to the community.

Post-Field Research Dissertation Write-Up Fellowship

Many PhD candidates pursue field research in support of their dissertations. This extends their time-to-degree in some cases, beyond what the program normally covers for its PhD students. In order to support our top PhD candidates in this situation and to provide them with the necessary support to finish writing up their dissertation research, the University of Rochester Arts, Sciences and Engineering Office of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs offers the Dean’s Post-field Research Dissertation Write-up Fellowships to our strongest PhD candidates in economics and political science.

Students are nominated by their departments and the final decision is made by the AS&E dean of graduate education.

External Fellowships

The University of Rochester encourages all students to seek out external fellowships in addition to their consideration for internal opportunities. External fellowships are distributed by organizations, governments, or other entities that are not associated with the University of Rochester.

The University of Rochester maintains a fellowship database to assist students in their search for scholarships and fellowships that they qualify for. In addition to the database maintained by our institution, there are several other resources available to both incoming and matriculated students who wish to pursue external funding.

Funding for humanities:

Funding for STEM:

Diversity, equity, and identity based funding:

International student funding: