Departmental Prizes for Graduate Students

Outstanding Doctoral Research Prize

The Outstanding Doctoral Research Prize is awarded annually to PhD candidates whose research exhibits a great degree of originality and impact to the research community. Eligible students must have a main advisor or PI who is a core faculty in the Department of Chemical Engineering. The students' research is judged by their published and accepted publications in peer-reviewed journals, accounting for impact and student contribution. Students in their last year of PhD studies are considered. Selections will be made each year close to commencement time.

Past Outstanding Doctoral Research Prize Recipients
2023Mitch Juneau (Porosoff Group)
Ryland Forsythe (Müller Group)
Renjie Liu (Porosoff Group)
Outstanding MS in Chemical Engineering Prize

The Outstanding MS in Chemical Engineering Prize recognizes outstanding chemical engineering MS students at the time of degree conferral. It is awarded annually close to commencement time. Plan A and Plan B MS students in the chemical engineering program will be considered. Students will be judged by overall grades received in their graduate courses.

Past Outstanding MS in Chemical Engineering Prize Recipients
2023Kendra Watson (Müller Group)

Departmental Fellowships for Chemical Engineering PhD Students

Earl W. Costich Graduate Fellowship

The Earl W. Costich Graduate Fellowship supports PhD students in chemical engineering with a one-year stipend that can supplement a student’s existing stipend.

Kwang-Yu and Lee-Chien Wang Graduate Fellowship

The Kwang-Yu and Lee-Chien Wang Graduate Fellowship supports PhD students in chemical engineering who have passed the proposal exam. The fellowship augments the department’s annual academic stipend. Beyond the stipend, the fellowship provides additional research funds to be spent in consultation with the fellow’s PhD advisor.

University of Rochester Fellowships for PhD Students

Andrew P. Barowsky Fellowship

The Andrew P. Barowsky Fellowship is for graduates of Dominican University pursuing a graduate education in Arts, Sciences & Engineering programs at Rochester.

Elon Huntington Hooker Fellowship

The Elon Huntington Hooker Fellowship is a one-year dissertation fellowship for students from various fields of science whose work is primarily and clearly concerned with chemistry. Appropriate candidates are full-time students who have passed their qualifying exams and are engaged in full-time research toward the dissertation.

Donald M. and Janet C. Barnard Fellowship

The Donald M. and Janet C. Barnard Fellowship is for second or third-year PhD students in the sciences or engineering. This fellowship provides a one-year stipend fellowship for the awardee, plus a tuition award. Three of these fellowships are awarded each year.

Provost Fellowship

The Provost Fellowship supports promising students from backgrounds that have been historically underrepresented in a particular discipline. Between the fellowship and supplemental department funds, students will receive a full tuition scholarship and stipend support for five years. Funding is contingent on the student’s satisfactory progress.

Provost Promise Fellowship

The Provost Promise Fellowship recognizes exceptionally worthy PhD applicants who come from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds in higher education, who are intellectually curious and fiercely persistent, possess attributes which may fall outside of more traditional admissions criteria, and who may be perfectly situated to contribute to the rich learning environments we wish to cultivate and sustain at the University of Rochester. The fellowship provides up to two consecutive years of University stipend support. A second year of University funding is contingent on satisfactory performance in the first year.

Robert L. and Mary L. Sproull University Fellowship

The Robert L. and Mary L. Sproull University Fellowship is for outstanding applicants to PhD programs. A Sproull Fellowship consists of a total of $50,000 to be awarded over two to five years, with a maximum of $25,000 in any one year.

External Fellowships for PhD Students

For a complete list of external fellowships that applicants are encouraged to apply for in support of their graduate education, please visit the University’s fellowships database.

DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellowship

The Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship (CSGF) provides benefits and opportunities to students pursuing doctoral degrees in fields that use high-performance computing to solve complex science and engineering problems. First-year graduate students are eligible.

DOD NDSEG Fellowship Program

The Department of Defense National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship Program is for students at an accredited U.S. institution of higher education enrolled in full-time programs leading to graduate degrees in fields specified in the DoD services Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs) research and development discipline. Must be a U.S. Citizen, U.S. Dual Citizen, or U.S. National.

DOD SMART Scholarship for Service Program

The Department of Defense Science, Mathematics And Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship for Service Program provides STEM students the opportunity to receive a full scholarship and be gainfully employed by the Department of Defense (DoD) upon degree completion. Available for graduate students.

Ford Foundation Fellowship

The Ford Foundation Fellowship Program awards predoctoral, dissertation, and postdoctoral fellowships in a national competition administered by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on behalf of the Ford Foundation.

Fulbright Scholarship Program

The Fulbright U.S. Student Grant competition is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and designed to promote mutual understanding and peace between the United States and other nations through educational and cultural exchange. It offers college graduates opportunities for career-launching study, teaching, and research abroad. Currently enrolled graduate students who wish to compete for a Fulbright grant must be endorsed by their home institution.

Link Foundation Fellowships

Link Foundation Fellowships foster education and innovation in the area of societal production and utilization of energy. The Link Foundation provides two-year fellowships for students working toward a PhD degree in an energy-related field.

Link Foundation Modeling, Simulation, and Training Program

The Link Foundation Modeling, Simulation, and Training Program enables PhD students the freedom to work on their research full time. It offers one-year renewable fellowships for PhD students in areas of Modeling, Simulation, and Training.

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions. First-year graduate students are eligible.

Financial Aid

Graduate programs in Arts, Sciences & Engineering (AS&E) offer many types of financial support. Each academic department reviews applications for grant and scholarship assistance. Amounts are awarded by the specific department and are incorporated into your admissions offer.

PhD applicants offered admission to the University of Rochester are eligible for a full tuition scholarship. Various stipends are also available to supplement the cost of graduate education.

Master’s applicants offered admission to the University are eligible for tuition scholarships contingent on academic merit.