Fellowships

Many graduate departments offer fellowships to Georgia Tech graduate students. You must be nominated for these awards by your academic department.

President's Fellowships

President's Fellowships were established in 1973 to enhance the scope and quality of Georgia Tech's PhD programs. Through the continued support of the Georgia Tech Foundation, President's Fellowships are offered annually to a select number of highly qualified U.S. citizens or permanent residents who intend to pursue doctoral degrees. Fellowship recipients bring exemplary levels of scholarship and innovation to the academic departments who host their study and research. In turn, the fellowship program assists these students in preparing themselves with minimum delay for outstanding careers in the discipline of their choice.

Competition is keen for these awards. Selections are based on each student's application, transcripts, biographical sketch, letters of recommendation, standardized test scores, and educational goals. Awards are usually made for Fall entry, but may be made throughout the year.

President's Fellowships are supplements to other assistantship or fellowship awards. The award provides an additional stipend of $5,500 per academic year of full-time enrollment paid in two installments for the Fall and Spring terms. Recipients of national fellowships may be offered President's Fellowships if allowed by the national fellowship. The first year award is renewable for three additional academic years, based upon the major school's evaluation of the student's academic performance, research potential, and progress toward the doctoral degree.

Georgia Tech Institute Fellowship (GTIF)

The Georgia Tech Institute Fellowship is Georgia Tech's most prestigious fellowship for graduate students. It is intended to aid departments in making competitive offers to the most highly sought U.S. or permanent resident doctoral applicants.

The GTIF provides

•  A supplement to an assistantship or other major fellowship already held by the student.

•  A stipend of $11,000 per year.

•  A travel/professional development fund of up to $1,000 per award year which must be used in the award year or forfeited.

The GTIF is renewable for up to three additional years based upon the major school's evaluation of the student's academic performance, research potential, and progress toward the doctoral degree.

Administration

GTIF recipients are selected and renewals are approved by the College(s)/Schools/Departments and disbursements are administered by the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid (OSFA). The program is coordinated in the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Faculty Affairs.

Eligibility

Students offered GTIFs must meet the following criteria:

•  be applicants for a Georgia Tech doctoral program (not applicants for a master's program who declare doctoral intentions unless that is the only way a student without a master's degree may be admitted to that program);

•  be U.S. citizens or permanent residents;

•  have a major fellowship or the offer of an assistantship competitive with other students in the program;

•  be at the top 10 percent of the applicant pool.

Applicants who will study at Georgia Tech-Lorraine and are otherwise eligible may be awarded a GTIF.

The recipient must enroll as a full-time student to be eligible for disbursement each semester.

Note that a student may not have both a President's Fellowship and GTIF.

Travel/Professional Development Awards

The Georgia Tech Institute Fellowship includes up to $2,000 per year in reimbursement for travel or other professional development expenses. Unused annual funds do not roll over to the next year (accumulate). Fellows should submit documents for reimbursement within 30 days of travel, as per Institute policy. The last date for processing reimbursements for each award year will be August 1 unless otherwise stated. This means that the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid must receive all final documents and receipts, as explained below, no later than August 1.

The process of requesting and receiving the professional development allowance is intended to be a part of the student's professional development. Students must provide detailed and specific requests for the use of such funds and follow all Institute policy and applicable state laws to be eligible for reimbursement.

Travel: Travel might include attendance at a meeting or conference, visiting a laboratory or another university to learn experimental techniques relevant to the student's research, visiting a library or other repository of information to do research, visiting a field station where research is being conducted, or any other purpose for travel authorized by the student's major department.

Students should familiarize themselves with Georgia Tech's travel regulations before finalizing travel plans. There is no provision for cash advances, pre-payments, or charging airline tickets or registration fees directly to the fellowship: funds are available for reimbursement only.

Prior to travel, the student should submit a Georgia Tech Travel Authorization Request (TAR) form approved by the graduate coordinator of the student's major School to the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid to verify that there are sufficient funds remaining in the student's account to cover the proposed travel. This should be done no less than five business days before travel begins. In signing the TAR, the graduate coordinator signifies that the trip will contribute to the student's professional development and that the student has received guidance regarding relevant Institute travel rules and regulations.

Upon return, the student must submit a Travel Expense Statement, accompanied by any required receipts, to his or her department for approval. The major department will check that all expenses are within Institute guidelines and that all necessary receipts are attached. The Travel Expense form and receipts will then go to the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid for reimbursement. If expenses appear to differ appreciably from those approved on the TAR, the financial aid office will refer the Travel Expense Statement back to the Graduate Coordinator for review.

Non-travel Expenditures: The fellow may request permission to use the professional development funds for purposes other than travel, which might include training, membership in relevant professional organizations, or other non-tangibles. The purchase of materials or objects, whether physical or electronic, is not allowed.

The fellow should present an explanation and itemized request to his or her School's graduate coordinator for approval and forward the approved request to the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid before the event, course, etc. Afterwards, the student should submit a summary of expenditures and receipts to the Offic of Scholarships and Financial Aid for reimbursement within 30 days but no later than August 1 each award year. If expenditures appear to differ appreciably from the approved request, the financial aid office will refer the reimbursement request to the graduate coordinator for review.

Fellowships with recipients selected by the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid

Domenica Rea D'Onofrio Fellowship
Eligibility: Native and Italian citizen; graduate of an accredited Italian undergraduate institution of higher learning; preference to students from Pomigliano D'Arco, Naples Italy; the University of Naples, Italy; or the region of Campania, Italy.

If you have questions about these procedures, please contact Darissa Monroe, Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid (darissa.monroe@finaid.gatech.edu).

This website last reviewed/updated on 02/18/2013