The Department of Chemistry provides year-round financial support to all full-time PhD students in good academic standing. This support includes a waiver of tuition and most fees, health insurance, and a generous salary that covers living and transportation expenses. In this way PhD students are free to concentrate on their education.
The main forms of this financial support are fellowships, research assistantships, and teaching assistantships.
Fellowships
Generally assigned on a competitive basis, there are several sources of fellowships: outside sources like the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and Department of Defense, University-wide fellowships, and departmental fellowships like the Illinois Chemistry Fellowship. We encourage all eligible undergraduate applicants to pursue these outside fellowships.
Departmental Awards
Graduate College Awards
Illinois Distinguished Fellowship
Students may search for additional internal and external fellowship and award opportunities at the Graduate College Fellowship Finder database.
Training Programs
Chemistry-Biology Interface Training Program - Please indicate interest in the CBITP in your personal statement.
Students need not apply to be part of the CBITP, but those offered admission will be considered and nominated at the department level.
Research and Teaching Assistantships
Research assistantships provide support for students who are actively engaged in their thesis research, and usually begin in the second or third year of graduate studies, after most coursework has been completed. Prior to this point, most students have teaching assistantships as they take classes and fulfill their teaching requirement. The duties of teaching assistants generally involve leading laboratory or discussion sections for undergraduate courses or working as a grader in more advanced courses. The assignments are made in accord with the student's background and interests insofar as possible.
Further information on both fellowships and assistantships can be obtained by contacting the Graduate Admissions Office.
If you have received an offer to enroll in our graduate program, then we encourage you to visit our department and campus to get a first-hand look at the outstanding opportunities here. Up to a limit, we will reimburse you for travel expenses associated with your visit. Please contact the Graduate Admissions Office for more details.