Financing Your Education
Monthly Stipend & Living Expenses
ALL students admitted into the PhD graduate program in the Department of Chemistry are AUTOMATICALLY given a full-time teaching assistantship. As a teaching assistant (TA), the student will be responsible for duties assigned to him or her relating to the teaching of UH undergraduates. Typically, TA duties involve supervising undergraduate laboratories, grading, proctoring, and similar assignments. After a graduate student joins a research group (usually by January of the 1st year in residence), he or she will typically be supported as a full-time TA or research assistant (RA), or a combination of the two. The monthly stipend for RA’s is normally the same as for TA’s. The job duties of RA’s are determined solely by the student’s research advisor. TA and RA assignments are usually given all year round (including summer) to students with good academic standing.
Tuition & Fees
With few exceptions, Chemistry graduate students in good academic standing with full-time assistantships (TA, RA, or a combination of TA and RA) qualify for a nine (9) credit hour tuition fellowship (Graduate Tuition Fellowship, GTF). The normal load for a full-time graduate student in Chemistry is nine (9) credit hours for the fall and spring semesters and six (6) credit hours for the summer.
Special Fellowships
Presidential Fellowships
Presidential Fellowships are available for outstanding graduate applicants to the Department of Chemistry. These highly competitive fellowships provide a generous stipend for up to two years that supplements the normal graduate student monthly stipend and the University's eligible full tuition remission. Fellowship recipients are required to provide service to the Department as research or teaching assistants and to demonstrate progress towards their PhD. Chemistry applicants whose application files are complete by January 31 may be considered for a Fellowship. A nominee for a Fellowship will be chosen by the Department of Chemistry Graduate Committee based on the applicant's academic record, especially in chemistry, physics, and mathematics, letters of recommendation from academic and/or industrial scientists, undergraduate research experience, including publication record, and GRE scores. The Graduate Committee will forward the departmental nominees to the NSM Presidential Fellowship Committee, which will make the final decision on who receives the award.