Funding Opportunities

Students must be new Ph.D. students in the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering, and their time must be dedicated full-time towards pursuing their degree. Awards are made for one year only. Receipt of the fellowship is contingent upon admission by MSU’s Graduate School and a college Ph.D. program. Proof of enrollment is required prior to awarding of the fellowship. Students who receive a fellowship or scholarship of equal or greater value that can be used in their first year of doctoral studies will not be eligible to accept the Benjamin Fellowship.

Students are automatically considered for a Benjamin Fellowship when they submit their graduate school application for a PhD in the College of Engineering. To be considered for the Benjamin Fellowship, applicants are required to prepare and submit the following information as part of the graduate school application process:

Personal Statement

This should be no more than 2 pages and describe research interests, prior research activities (if applicable), and career goals. If the student has no direct research experience,he/she should describe the experiences and activities he/she has that they believe have prepared them to undertake research.

Résumé

A two page CV or résumé describing the student’s prior background and experience.

Letters of Recommendation

If a student has been communication with a College of Engineering faculty member about research projects and research interests then it is recommended that one of the letters of recommendation be from that faculty member.

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Graduate school applications must be completed by February 15 to be considered in the first selection round for the coming academic year.

Applications will be reviewed by a committee representing the Ph.D. programs within the college and prioritized based upon the material provided. This will take place within one month of the above deadline. Students selected will then be notified, and will have two weeks to accept or decline.

If all the available fellowships are not awarded then students who apply after the Feb 15th deadline will be considered in a later selection round that year.

Students must be new or continuing Ph.D. students within any discipline at MSU's College of Engineering, and their time must be dedicated full time towards pursuing their degree. Students will be required to assist with teaching activities equivalent to no more than 19 hours per week during the academic year and are expected to be pursuing their PhD studies for the remainder of each week and full-time during the summer.

Receipt of the assistantship is contingent upon admission by MSU’s Graduate School and a Ph.D. program. Proof of enrollment is required prior to awarding of the assistantship.

Students will automatically be considered for an assistantship when they submit their graduate school application.

Teaching assistantships can be awarded at any time of the year depending on available resources within the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering.