Fellowships, Scholarships, and Other Awards

With so many fellowships/scholarships offering money from both Purdue and from outside organizations (companies, governments, non-profit organizations), it can be a little overwhelming to find fellowship opportunities that are right for you. There are three main places you can look to find these awards:

  • Below you'll find a list of ME-specific fellowships, scholarships, and awards.
  • The Purdue Fellowship Office provides resources on fellowship opportunities, teaching writing skills, and guiding you through the fellowship application process.  Many outside fellowships opportunities, along with helpful online Fellowship Resources like webinar recordings, writing guides, etc., can be found on their website.  Workshops covering general writing strategies and specific fellowship programs are also offered.
  • The College of Engineering's Office of Graduate Education also provides additional fellowship/scholarship opportunities.

ME Fellowships, Scholarships, and Awards

ME Grad Office will post award announcements on the ME grad blog. All eligible ME grad students are encouraged to apply. Application documents need to be submitted in one PDF file, and named ‘Award Name – Student Name’.

Some scholarships may not be offered every year depending on funds available on the account.  See award details and how to apply, by clicking on each award link below.   Watch the ME Grad Blog for announcements and deadlines!

Please note: Step 1 for any of these awards is to download and fill out the application cover sheet.

ME Fellowships/Scholarships

  • Bilsland Fellowship – Provides tuition, salary, and health insurance support for outstanding PhD candidates in their final year of doctoral degree completion. The goal of the fellowship is to allow exceptional candidates to focus on finishing their dissertation.  Usually announced in November.
  • Dr. Anil Bajaj Outstanding Service Scholarship – All ME graduate students are eligible to apply.  Usually call for submissions announced in October.
  • Harnek and Malkit Gill Graduate Scholarship – MS students have spent at least 24 months in India are eligible to apply. The Scholarship provides one-year support of $4,000, paid in two semesters.   Usually call for submissions announced in October.
  • Hillberry Scholarship - Graduate students pursuing research in the area of biomechanics or materials are eligible to apply. The scholarship provides one-year support of $4,000, paid in two semesters.   Usually call for submissions announced in October.
  • Hommert Engineering Excellence Fellowship – ME female graduate students are eligible to apply. This is a one-time award of $2,500.  Usually call for submissions announced in October.
  • Lambert Graduate Teaching Fellowship – Graduate students interested in pursuing a career in academia are eligible to apply. Fellowships are a 2-semester commitment.  International students must have passed OEPT or have a TOEFL Speaking score of 27 or higher.  Students must have passed prelim in semester of application, or have it scheduled to be taken in semester of application.   Two application periods—one fall, one spring, effective for the following semester.
  • Raymond Viskanta Graduate Student Support Fund – Graduate students are U.S. citizens and doing graduate studies related to thermal sciences are eligible to apply. The scholarship provides one-year support of $4,000, paid in two semesters.
  • R. H. Kohr Graduate Fellowship – Graduate students teaching or pursuing research within the general areas of simulation. The fellowship provides one-year support of $4,800, paid in two semesters.  Usually call for submissions announced in October.
  • Richard Chu Memorial Scholarship – Graduate students from Taiwan are eligible to apply. Preference given to those who completed an undergraduate degree from National Cheng Kung University. This scholarship provides one-year support of $4,000, paid in two semesters.   Usually call for submissions announced in October.
  • Warren and Judy Stevenson Graduate Scholarship – Graduate students pursuing research in area of applied optics are eligible to apply. The Scholarship provides one-year support of $4,000, paid in two semesters.  Usually call for submissions announced in October.
  • Herrick Fellowship - For Herrick Labs graduate students only. Administrated by Herrick Labs.
  • William E. Fontaine Memorial Fellowship – For Herrick Labs graduate students only.  Administrated by Herrick Labs.
  • William Uffman Graduate Student Fellowship - For Herrick Labs graduate students only.  Administrated by Herrick Labs.
  • Dan Suciu Student Support Fund – To support graduate TAs, provide supplement to various teaching fellowships.  Students do not directly apply for this award.
  • Donald English Fund – To provide summer support to TAs. Will select recipients from the same application pool as the Summer Research Grant.  Students do not directly apply for this award.
  • Summer Research Award—Students who have been a TA in previous two semesters are eligible for this award and chosen from a list provided by the College.   Students must be doing research during the summer, and their research professor must agree to subsidize the award, since this doesn’t cover all of summer.  Number of students awarded is very limited and set by the College.   Students do not directly apply for this award.

ME Awards

These awards usually call for submissions around late January/early February, with submissions to ME due early February.  ME will select our nominees and those are submitted to COE in early March.  Notifications to winners takes place late April/early May, by the College:

  • Estus H. & Vashit L. Magoon Excellence in Teaching Award—awarded to outstanding teaching assistants and instructors in memory of Estus H. and Vashti L. Magoon.   ME has been allowed in the past to nominate 6 graduate students, but that can change as the limit is set by the College.  Each recipient receives a $2000 award, certificate, and recognition at the awards luncheon.
  • Outstanding Grad Student Researcher Award—awarded to recognize excellence in graduate student research.  ME has been allowed in the past to nominate 2 PhD graduate students, but that can change as the limit is set by the College.  Each recipient receives a $2000 award, certificate, and recognition in a video.
  • Outstanding Service Scholarship Award—awarded to recognize engineering graduate students who provide outstanding service to the graduate student community, ME, COE, and/or Purdue.  ME is allowed in the past to nominate 1 graduate student.  Each recipient receives a $2000 award, certificate, and recognition in a video.
  • Outstanding Dissertation/Thesis Award—awarded to recognize original work that makes an unusually significant contribution to their disciplines.    ME is allowed to nominate 1 dissertation and 1 thesis nominee.  Each recipient receives a $2000 award, certificate, and recognition at the awards luncheon, and in a video specifically produced for the luncheon event.
  • CIE Excellence in Teaching Award—ME selects our nominees from all the teaching award applications submitted for the semester.  In the past, ME has been allowed to nominate 2 students, but that can change as the limit is set by CIE. Students do not directly apply for this award.

College/Grad School Fellowship/Awards

  • Dean’s Teaching Fellowship-- Graduate students interested in pursuing a career in academia are eligible to apply. 2-semester commitment.  International students must have passed OEPT or have a TOEFL Speaking score of 27 or higher.  Students must have passed prelim in semester of application, or have it scheduled to be taken in semester of application.   One application period in the fall; applications will be submitted directly to the College of Engineering.
  • Graduate School Excellence in Teaching Award—The COE selects this winner from the College to submit to the Grad School for their selection of one winner.  They’ll pull from the already submitted MAGS teaching and Dean’s teaching fellowship submissions to select the COE nominee.   Students do not directly apply for this award.
  • Graduate School Mentoring Award for Graduate Students— The Graduate School wants to acknowledge graduate students' essential role in our research, teaching, and engagement missions at Purdue through their mentoring work.   Call for nominations released from COE in late Jan/early Feb timeframe with due date around early March.
  • Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) Excellence in Teaching Award Competition---ME gets to nominate one Master’s and one PhD student for the award to COE.  This award requires substantial preparation by the student, including the creation of a short teaching video, so the time to complete should be planned.  COE will select the COE winners and forward to the Graduate School, who will in turn select the university-level winners to move on for the national competition.   Call for submissions usually released in October and due early November.  (FERPA forms required for all students on video.)