Cunningham Doctoral Assistantships
Cunningham Doctoral Assistantships cover new students’ tuition and stipends for up to two years with funding from the Graduate School and a matching commitment from the department. The department selects the pay step and offers a one- or two-year assistantship for the academic or calendar year.
Eligibility Requirements
- Must be planning to enter a doctoral program at Virginia Tech (preferably from a master's or bachelor's program outside of Virginia Tech)
- Have an outstanding academic record and strong potential for completing a doctoral degree
- Nomination from an academic department
- Financial need
- U.S. citizenship
Funding
- Competitive assistantship stipend for graduate research assistantship or graduate teaching assistantship position
- Stipend is determined by a candidate’s qualifications and academic discipline
- Work responsibilities are defined by the department
- 9- or 12-month appointments are available
- Tuition scholarship
Nominations
- Academic departments may submit a Fellowship Nomination Form beginning November 1 which includes the following information:
- Applicant’s name
- Virginia Tech degree the applicant is seeking
- Previous university
- Recommendation letter from the department addressing eligibility requirements
- Decisions will be made by February 1 for 50 percent of the available assistantships and by March 1 for the remaining assistantships.
- Students can be re-nominated if they were not selected for a previous academic year.