Financial Assistance

Financial Assistance

Reliability engineers are generally in great demand and have many opportunities for employment. The Reliability Engineering Program maintains a list of potential employers that may be helpful students who are citizens of the U.S.A. or have permanent resident visas.

The Reliability Engineering Program provides a range of opportunities for financial assistance for its students. These opportunities are all competitive in nature, and are offered according to the needs or desires of the sponsor.

The majority of the full-time reliability engineering students occupy positions as Research Assistants. The assistantship provides an opportunity for students to be employed 20 hours per week to do important research activities. In many circumstances, the paid research work can also be part of the thesis or dissertation work of the student. For the 1999 - 2000 school year, research assistants are paid between $14,204 to $18,675 for 12 months plus they are provided the cost of tuition (for up to 10 credits per semester) as part of the fringe benefits of their position.

Financial help is also available in the form of teaching assistants for a number of students. These students are supported at a rate between $11,246 to $12,238 for the 9 1/2 month academic year and receive free tuition for their courses during that period. The teaching assistants support the teaching of courses and the grading of homework at a level that requires an average of 20 hours of work per week.

The University of Maryland provides a number of Black Graduate Student Fellowships to help recruit, retrain, and graduate black students into the reliability engineering community in which they are currently under-represented.

Students with an excellent record of academic accomplishment are eligible to compete for a number of special scholarships and fellowships. Fellowships are available from the Graduate School of the University of Maryland. Special scholarship opportunities also are offered by the Reliability Division of the ASQC professional society.

The Director of the Reliability Engineering Program will work with such applicants to enhance their chances in the competitions.