Graduate Funding
Several teaching and research assistantships are available for highly qualified M.S. and Ph.D. applicants to the graduate programs in the College of Engineering.
» Graduate Research Assistantships
» Graduate Teaching Assistantships
» Doctoral Funding
Graduate Research Assistantships
Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA) are typically awarded annually and are renewable based on performance and availability of funds. Research assistantships for externally funded grants are specific to the project needs and are determined by academic programs and/or principal investigators.
In addition to individual faculty researchers in our academic programs, the College of Engineering has three Centers of Excellence which also provide GRA positions: Cybersecurity Education, Research and Outreach Center (CEROC); Center for Energy Systems Research (CESR); and Center for Manufacturing Research (CMR).
Students interested in GRA positions should contact the academic departments housing their individual programs, principal investigators associated with our Centers of Excellence, or individual faculty researchers.
» View a full list of researchers
Graduate Teaching Assistantships
Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA) are based on the instructional needs and are determined by academic departments. All assistantship awards are competitive and require admission on a full standing. Continuation and renewal of assistantships are based on students maintaining good academic standing, satisfactory performance and availability of funds. To learn about GTA positions available, applicants can contact the heads of academic departments listed below.
Chemical Engineering (ChE) »
Contact Robby Sanders, Ph.D., for GTA positions rsanders@tntech.edu.
Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) »
Contact Benjamin Mohr, Ph.D., P.E. for GTA positions bmohr@tntech.edu.
Computer Science (CSC) »
Contact Gerald Gannod for GTA positions jgannod@tntech.edu.
Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) »
Contact Allen MacKenzie, Ph.D. for available GTA positions amackenzie@tntech.edu.
Mechanical Engineering (ME) »
Contact Mohan Rao, Ph.D. for GTA positions mrao@tntech.edu.
Center for Energy Systems Research (CESR) »
Contact Satish M. Mahajan, Ph.D. for available GRA positions smahajan@tntech.edu.
Center for Manufacturing Research (CMR) »
Contact Ying Zhang, Ph.D. for available GRA positions yzhang@tntech.edu.
Cybersecurity Education, Research & Outreach Center (CEROC) »
Contact Doug Talbert, Ph.D. for available GRA positions dtalbert@tntech.edu.
Doctoral Funding
College of Engineering Distinguished Fellowship
A select group of 12 doctoral students from the College of Engineering receive special assistantships that allow them to better focus on research. The College of Engineering Distinguished Fellowship funds students conducting a diverse scope of research, ranging from electrokinetic drug delivery to high-performance financial computing, and cybersecurity. Some of the students already have patents pending for their innovative work.
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellows
Tech engineering Ph.D. students have successfully navigated the rigorous application process to obtain National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships. Faculty and students have partnered together to generate high level research proposals that have been granted fellowship awards by the NSF.
