4-Year Funding for Ph.D. Candidates

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has as its mission the accumulation, generation, and dissemination of knowledge in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Central to the mission is a high quality research and educational program that benefits our students, the State of North Carolina, the nation and the world.

Our Ph.D. students are critical to this mission, pushing the envelope of technologies that shape the future and inspiring the next generation of engineers. We believe in supporting these leaders and providing them the support to ensure that they can learn, discover, and invent without constraint.

Beginning in Fall 2020, ECE Ph.D. students in their first four years of enrollment are guaranteed a funded appointment for fall and spring that includes a full tuition waiver and a stipend.  Students are also eligible for summer support. Students must remain in good academic standing, be making good progress to your degree and successfully performing the duties of their assistantships.

Terms of the Guarantee

During your first four years of Ph.D. enrollment, you are guaranteed funding in the form of a tuition-waiver-generating appointment in the Fall and Spring semesters, provided that the following conditions hold:

  • you are in your original degree program of study,
  • you make satisfactory academic progress and maintain Good Academic Standing,
  • you perform satisfactorily and meet the obligations of any assistantships that you hold,
  • and if your native language is not English, you must receive a passing score on the oral English proficiency test (IELTS, TOEFL, SPEAK Exam). Failure to obtain a passing score automatically disqualifies students from this guaranteed funding offer until the semester after a passing score has been obtained.

The guaranteed funding will be in the form of some combination of an assistantship (e.g., a research, teaching, or other appointment) and/or a fellowship and will include a full tuition waiver.  You are responsible for paying student fees.

Students must remain in good academic standing, be making good academic and research progress toward their Ph.D. degree, and successfully perform the duties of their assistantships under a committed advisor.