Scholarships:
Some sources of financial aid are the UNM Financial Aid Office , the UNM Scholarship Office , the Office of Graduate Studies, professional associations, employers, and scholarships offered by the department.

Our department has more funds for scholarships than any of the other engineering departments at UNM.  The eligibility requirements vary among the scholarships.  Some have very specific requirements; some are more general; some require that you have financial need which is determined by the FAFSA (Free Application for Student Aid) which is filed through the UNM Financial Aid Office. 

The amount of each scholarship award may vary every year.  All scholarships may not be given every year.  You can check the department list for the most updated information as to the status of a scholarship.

Scholarships will be announced through emails to all students in the department, postings in Centennial, and information on the departmental web site.

To apply for a scholarship, you must complete the departmental scholarship application and submit an unofficial transcript.  For scholarships based on financial need, a current FAFSA must be on file with the Financial Aid Office.  Some scholarships may require other documentation.  You must submit a separate application for each scholarship for which you are applying. 

The application deadline is approximately June 1 of each year.  The selection process will be done in June or July.  Notification will be in July.

Assistantships:

A number of exceptional graduate students within the department are supported by assistantships every year.  Research assistantships, one type of assistantship, provide an average stipend of at least $15,000 per year and can offer a full waiver of tuition and fees.  Other types of assistantships are teaching assistantships, graduate assistantships, and project assistantships.  Students who are employed on any type of assistantship receive student health insurance as part of their benefit. 

Research assistantships (RA), the most common type of assistantship, are administered by individual professors and are typically associated with specific research projects.  To receive consideration for an RA, you should identify a faculty member doing research in an area in which you are interested and contact that faculty member directly.  Because of the quality of our program, the demand for assistantships is competitive.  Therefore, when you contact one of our faculty, be prepared to provide your GPA, GRE scores, the university from which you received your BS degree (exceptional students from ABET-accredited engineering programs are preferred), and other indicators of your performance as well as a statement describing the similarities between your interests and the professor’s research area.

Most assistantship positions become available for the fall semester and continue through the year, but occasionally some are available starting in the spring semester.