Distinguished Graduate Fellowship

The UTK–ORNL Distinguished Graduate Fellowship Program was established as a joint graduate program to create future national leaders in science and engineering from a select group of candidates. Successful graduate applicants will gain simultaneous experience in both academic and national lab settings while pursuing engineering and scientific research related to national energy priorities. As students take classes and pursue research projects, they will work with both faculty members at UTK and research scientists at ORNL. This highly competitive program offers an annual stipend of either $28,000 or $30,000 (up to five years) for top-ranked highly motivated graduate students who progress successfully through the PhD program.

Successful applicants can expect immersion in ORNL research projects as well as involvement in academic activities at the UTK campus. The fellowship leads to a degree awarded by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, research supervision by both UTK and ORNL personnel, strong involvement in research projects at ORNL, and access to intradisciplinary and interdisciplinary seminars and specialty courses that draw on both UTK and ORNL personnel.

Graduate students in the Distinguished Graduate Fellowship program will receive up to five years of financial support. During the first two years of a fellowship, a successful applicant receives three semesters of financial support from UTK, one semester of support from ORNL, and two summer assistantships at ORNL. ORNL provides support for up to three years as part of the student's research program.

Students will have the opportunity to pursue research in three areas: