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 Financial Aid in Engineering
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Financial aid is the most important thing in a graduate student's life. Financial aid is offered in three forms; a scholarship, internship and an assistant for research or teaching. A scholarship for international graduate students is called Graduate Professional Scholarship (GPS). The information regarding the GPS is in the following link. Grad Scholarship.
The GPS waives off the difference between the non resident and resident fees per credit hour; so essentially, it is a 50% fee waiver. The chances of receiving this scholarship are better if the recommendation letters submitted to the school during admission speaks strongly and academics also play a major role in receiving this scholarship. All the information required for this scholarship is given in the link above.
The other type of financial aid available is a teaching assistantship (TA) or a research assistantship. A teaching assistantship is provided by the graduate school and there is one TA for every professor. TAs teach undergraduate students in subjects they are highly proficient in and in almost all cases, TAs are also actively engaged in some research under the guidance of the professor. Having a TA covers all fees, health insurance and also provides a stipend based on a 9 month contract. Research assistantship involves intense research and no teaching duties. The students work under the guidance of the professor in a field of their interest and typically take up a thesis option to publish their work for that period of research. This assistantship also covers the fees and health insurance with a stipend and this stipend is awarded by the funding source of the professor.
Typically, students try to call professors and ask for aid or funding. This is not the way to approach a professor. Remember, the professors have studied PhDs and are into teaching and are highly research oriented. Words like "aid" and "funding" are a big turn off to people who have dedicated themselves for research. When a professor listens to a student asking for aid and funding, it is very certain that the student is not interested in research and is only worried about money. This convinces the professor to deny the request to provide the student any opportunity for research. The way to get "aid" or "funding" is quite simple. First, visit the home page of the professor by looking it up on Wayne State See which professor deals with the subject of your interest and be extremely specific. For example, most of the mechanical engineering students are interested in automobile engineering. The first question that will be asked is which part of the automobile would interest you most? Brakes? Engine? Suspension? Handling? Manufacturing? Electronics? If say, engines is what interests most, what about the engine? Thermal design? Fluid design? Heat transfer? Lubrication? Friction? Dynamics? Mathematical modeling? Such are the questions that a professor should never ask; one should always be very specific about the topic of interest. Once you are firm on the topic that you are interested in, CALL the professors from India. Explain to them what you are interested in and what your plans for your MS degree are. Tell the professor that you are considering WSU and you would like to have an opportunity for research in the field of your interest. Sending e-mails may not work because the professors are very busy and will not find time to answer to the questions posed by a new graduate student. While speaking to a professor, speak clearly and be succinct; make sense in what you say. Typically, it takes a few phone calls for a professor to understand that you are actually interested in research and might grant an opportunity.
Third option, the internship. This is when you work for a company and you still take classes, since most of the gradate classes are in the evening and pay up all the fees. This ensures that you have enough money to pay of the fees and also counts towards a work experience. An internship can be taken up only after 9 months of residence in the USA. The internship can be either for one semester or for 11 months called CPT or curricular practical training. This duration depends on the employer and the student. Details about this can be obtained after you come here to the university and speak to the advisors in the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS).
About job opportunities, since we are all international students, the first preference obviously for a job is given to a student who is a permanent resident of USA or is a US citizen. Typically, how international students get jobs is by posting their resumes on websites and by contacting "recruiters" or "consultants". When companies browse for potential new job openings, they call and try to fix an interview. When it comes to recruiters, they read the resume, contact you and place you in a company of your choice.
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