The Robotics program is an interdisciplinary collaboration between the Departments of Mechanical Engineering, Electrical & Computer Engineering, and the Kahlert School of Computing. All Robotics faculty have their primary appointment in one of those 3 departments and any funding offered to you will come from the faculty and hence, those departments. The Graduate School at the University of Utah may also have funding available.
Financial support comes in three basic forms:
- Department fellowship: If you are admitted with a fellowship, you are supported by the department during your first semester.
- Research assistantship (RA): You are paid to work for a faculty member in a research lab.
- Teaching assistantship (TA): You are paid in order to help support a course, for example running lab sections, grading homework, and doing office hours.
- Electrical & Computer Engineering TA Application
- Kahlert School of Computing TA Application
- Mechanical Engineering TA Application
- International TA Training Program (required for non-native English speaking students hired as TAs)
PhD students in the Robotics PhD program receive financial support while they are in the program, conditional on good progress.
MS students have the opportunity to apply for teaching assistantships with the departments, or approach individual faculty members about research assistantships. Typically a thesis master’s student will receive some type of funding from their faculty supervisor. Funding is typically not available for students completing a non-thesis master’s, but they can still apply for TA positions and approach faculty about RA positions and some may be available.
If you receive a fellowship or work as a teaching or research assistant you will also receive a health insurance benefit covered at 100%.
Full RA or TA support requires 20 hours a week of effort. Full RA and TA students are eligible for a tuition waiver called Tuition Benefit.
The Tuition Benefit will cover your full tuition & mandatory fees, which can be as much as $32k per year, assuming 12 credits per semester at the non-resident rate, if you receive a fellowship, work as a teaching assistant, or a research assistant.