Financial Support
Financial support for graduate students in the Department of Chemical Engineering is available from two primary sources. These include research assistantships and teaching assistantships. It is departmental policy 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. Following passage of the qualifying examination, the doctoral student receives a stipend consistent with that of a research or teaching associate.
Teaching Assistantships
Some teaching assistantships may be available to qualified individuals. All teaching assistants whose native language is not English must achieve a Test of Spoken English (TSE) score of 230 or better before they are allowed primary teaching responsibilities. Once students take the TSE test, they must have the scores sent to the Graduate Coordinator in the Department of Chemical Engineering. Students unable to take the TSE exam in their home countries can instead take the SPEAK Test—the SPEAK Test, offered on campus at ASU, 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). Registration for the SPEAK test begins one week before each testing date. Results are sent to the academic department within five working days after the test date. You must register for the ASU SPEAK Test in person at the American Language and Culture Program, (Mariposa Hall Wing A, Room 158, (480) 965-2161). 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 often are also available in other departments at the university, such as Chemistry, Mathematics and Computer Science. Teaching assistantships generally include an out-of-state tuition waiver and a stipend. However, only full tuition waivers are given to those students who hold half-time (50%) teaching assistantships. Quarter-time (25%) assistantship holders receive only a half tuition waiver. In addition to the stipend and full tuition waiver, 50% time TA’s also receive health insurance benefits.
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. In addition to a stipend, students receiving a research assistantship are generally given an out-of-state 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.
For more information regarding Teaching/Research Assistantship policies, please view the following link: http://www.asu.edu/graduate/tara/index.html.
A first-year Ph.D. student receiving a half-time (50%) teaching or research assistantship generally receives a starting stipend amount of $20,000 (for 12 months), in addition to the full tuition waiver and health insurance benefits.
Policies Related to Financial Support of Graduate Students
It is the desire of the department to provide financial support for as many students as possible. Financial resources, however, are limited. For this reason, only 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 (4 courses) during each semester of residence, which includes research hours. Any suspension from the Graduate Program results in the loss of financial support.
Please note that the Department of Chemical Engineering rarely provides funding to students seeking only the Master of Science degree. Students seeking funding, therefore, should apply directly to the Ph.D. program.