Assistantships, Fellowships & Financial Aid
Financial aid is available in the form of Teaching Assistantships (TAs), Research Assistantships (RAs), and Fellowships. There are no forms to fill out to request financial aid from the department. The majority of admitted doctoral students are offered either RAs or TAs. Admitted MS students are automatically considered for merit-based TAs and will be notified by the graduate program director if they receive one. Other sources of support, such as RAs, are available as individual faculty's funding permits. Students need to contact individual faculty for RA openings.
The vast majority of our master's students are successful in obtaining on-campus employment to pay for their studies during their first year in the program. Some are also supported by department funds. It is worth noting that Birmingham’s cost of living is lower than other comparable cities.
Tuition and fees information can be found on the UAB Students webpage. To learn more about on-campus living options, please visit the UAB Students Housing and Residence Life website.
Department Resources
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Fellowships
Highly qualified first-year doctoral candidates who are engaged in full-time research are eligible to receive UAB Graduate Blazer Fellowship. Blazer Fellows will receive financial support for stipend ($23,000/12 months), tuition, and health insurance for four consecutive academic terms.
Information about fellowships offered through the university and other external sources may be found on the UAB Graduate School website.
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Teaching Assistantships (TAs)
Teaching Assistantships are financial aid positions for M.S. and Ph.D. students, and are primarily for instruction in undergraduate laboratories. The workload is typically 20 hours per week.
Some other employment opportunities are available for work sponsored by local companies and for work in the CS computer laboratories. We have found that all M.S. students have been able to find employment on campus or off campus through internships.
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Research Assistantships (RAs)
Research Assistantships are full financial aid positions for Ph.D. students. They support faculty research grant and contract activities. The workload does not exceed 20 hours per week. These awards are for a calendar year (three academic terms). An RA position is rarely available to entering students who have not begun research with a specific faculty member. The number of RA positions varies from year to year.
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NSF SFS (Cyber Security Meets AI)
The National Science Foundation has recently (2023) provided UAB with a grant totaling US $4.6 million to train the next generation of cyber-security professionals with the state of the art knowledge and skills in applying machine learning and artificial intelligence to solve real world cyber-security problems. Interested students should visit https://sites.uab.edu/cybercorps/ for more information regarding eligibility, support level, and curricular.
Other Resources and Internships
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UAB ASBA program
UAB ASBA program provides students with workforce knowledge and experience through internships with approved small business owners. Both student interns and business owners undergo an extensive interview process to successfully pair each group based on needs and experience.
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Scholarships for International Students
UAB offers several scholarships specifically for international students. All incoming freshman (first-year) international students are automatically considered for the UAB International Scholarship, which is based on Grade Point Average (GPA), upon application to UAB. The ISSS office conducts interviews for the following scholarship opportunities in February each year. Learn more about Scholarships for International Students.
