Funding Opportunities

The Graduate College is committed to facilitating funding and fellowships for the graduate student body. These opportunities, available through the University of Delaware, as well as through external foundations and institutions, provide students with vital sources of support in their master’s and doctoral programs. Moreover, fellowships and awards further professional development by funding conference presentations while expanding horizons through national and international research and travel. In recent years, our graduate students have been awarded a number of nationally and internationally prestigious fellowships. The Graduate College works to support and heighten the visibility of our graduate students’ world-class research and scholarship.

The University of Delaware may provide tuition scholarships to full-time graduate students who are awarded stipends for an entire semester/academic year as a research, teaching or graduate assistant or fellow. These scholarships are generally available in graduate programs that admit students with funding, regardless of funding source. Details of commitment and duration are provided in offer letters. Graduate departments and programs select the recipients of these awards, where available, based on students’ qualifications.

LEARN MORE ABOUT TUITION SCHOLARSHIPS

Of full-time graduate students, nearly 80% receive merit-based financial awards. Fellowships, tuition scholarships, assistantships and traineeships are awarded on the basis of merit from nominations by the department. Awards are granted to full-time students in good academic standing with regular status. Explore University of Delaware’s opportunities below:

The Graduate College coordinates a variety of funding opportunities that students can receive through both faculty nomination and direct application.

 

Nominations

Full-time graduate students are eligible to be nominated for the following competitive merit-based financial awards. If you have questions about these awards, please contact the appropriate person listed below:

Award

 

Applications

Current Students seeking additional funding support can directly apply to the following awards. If you have questions about these awards, please contact the appropriate person listed below:

Award

Special note for those on fellowship: While fellowships are not considered work and do not have taxes withheld from your stipend payments, they are considered taxable income and fellows need to report income received. These payments are issued under the Internal Revenue Service Code Section 117 and do not constitute wages. Therefore, no Social Security or Medicare deductions are required.

The Fellowship is only not taxable for qualified education expenses, anything that is not a qualified education expense would need to be reported as income on their Tax Return. 

Fellowship Worksheet

Qualified Education Expenses

  • Tuition and fees required to enroll at or attend an eligible educational institution
  • Course-related expenses, such as fees, books, supplies, and equipment that are required for the courses at the eligible educational institution
  • These items must be required of all students in your course of instruction

Expenses that do not qualify:

  • Room and board
  • Travel
  • Research
  • Clerical help
  • Equipment and other expenses that are not required for enrollment in or attendance at an eligible educational institution

Graduate students: Educational expenses incurred can be applied to reduce the federal and state taxable income. See IRS information at https://www.irs.gov/individuals/students.

Postdoctoral fellows: Total amount of fellowships are fully taxable for both federal and state income.

You may need to file estimated taxes for next year. See IRS Publication 505: Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax.

You are responsible for maintaining records to support your decision that certain awards or amounts received are not taxable. You will also need to have appropriate receipts to support your offset of your course-related expenses such as tuition, fees, books and supplies. For additional information see IRS Publication 970: Tax Benefits for Education.

Federal and State Tax Information

Internal Revenue Service

Delaware Division of Revenue

Tax Websites for other Common States where UD Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Researchers Live

Resources are available to assist graduate students who experience financial hardships or mental health issues. Learn more.

Other Opportunities for Graduate Students

Opportunities are brought to our attention throughout the year, so keep checking back if you are looking for additional funding opportunities.

The Council of Graduate Schools has compiled a sortable database of federally funded opportunities intended for graduate students and postdocs.

View the table here.

The Mangone Climate Change Science and Policy Hub at the University of Delaware is seeking applications from graduate students in all university disciplines for Graduate Research Enhancement Grants to enhance their climate change related research toward their thesis or dissertation that will occur in 2022-2023. Grants up to $10,000 can support travel, equipment, supplies, data collection, data processing, and publications, but may not be used for salary, indirect costs or tuition. All grant funding must be used explicitly for thesis/dissertation research expenses necessary towards degree completion. The duration of the award is 1 year. Graduate students are eligible to apply for this funding once they have completed a thesis or doctoral proposal. Graduate students who wish to apply for funding before their proposal defense must supply a letter of recommendation from their advisor that states they have a well-developed plan for their project and explains the need for the funding.

 

Learn more and APPLY