Funding Opportunities

Interested or current Nuclear Engineering students are encouraged to consider the following funding opportunities.

• Rickover Fellowship Program in Nuclear Engineering (RFP)

  

  This program is designed to meet the needs of the Naval Reactors Division of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for appropriately trained personnel for the maintenance and development of science and engineering technology as it pertains to naval nuclear propulsion. The program will assist in preparing students for roles in naval nuclear propulsion and will support the broader objective of advancing fission energy development through the research efforts of the fellows. The technical areas with greatest interest include reactor physics, nuclear materials science and engineering, radiation shielding technology, thermal hydraulics, and computational fluid dynamics. The principle emphasis is on students seeking Ph.D. degrees in nuclear engineering, or in closely related fields.

  Complete award documentation can be found here.

• Nuclear Nonproliferation International Safeguards Graduate Fellowship Program (NNIS)

  This program is designed to meet the needs of the Department of Energy's (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) for appropriately trained personnel in research and development in areas pertinent to Nuclear Nonproliferation and International Safeguards (NNIS). Increasing costs for graduate education and a high demand for nuclear-related scientists and engineers with a bachelor's degree have had a negative impact on the number of well-qualified students seeking advanced degrees in nuclear technologies and sciences. This problem has been particularly acute in programs in nuclear materials, engineering, nuclear science and engineering, radiochemistry and health physics, which has resulted in the closure of several programs and declining graduate school enrollments over the past two decades. This fellowship seeks to build collaboration between the leading nuclear technology programs and the schools studying the policy aspects of nuclear nonproliferation. The primary emphasis of this fellowship is to produce doctoral graduates who are familiar with both the technical and policy aspects of nonproliferation and international safeguards.

  Complete award documentation can be found here.

• Virginia Tech Fellowship

  The Graduate School accepts department nominations for several fellowships for outstanding students: the Powell Fellowship, the Cunningham Fellowship, and the Congressional Fellowship.

  There are other fellowships available through colleges and departments. Students are encouraged to contact their academic departments for information.
  The Graduate School also posts information about current funding opportunities. The Virginia Tech Research Division publishes a weekly Opportunity Update that includes notices of selected graduate and postdoctoral research opportunities and fellowships that are funded outside of the university. The Opportunity Update can be sent to you by email. Students can also conduct their own comprehensive search with COS Alert Service and have results emailed to them each week. Many other alert services, such as Grants Net, are also available.

  Fellowship students are expected to be enrolled for a minimum of 12 credit hours each for the Fall and Spring semesters. Virginia Tech does not require fellowship students to be enrolled during the summer terms, though this may be a requirement of the funding agency.

• Virginia Tech Scholarships

  Many departments award scholarships specific to their programs. A description of the available scholarships is generally listed on the departments' web pages. Eligible students are offered these scholarships at the discretion of the department. Other internal scholarships may be available through the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid. External scholarships may also be available to graduate students and can be accessed by Internet search.

• Virginia Tech Nuclear Engineering Fellowship Program

  NRC Nuclear Engineering Fellowship at Virginia Tech, granted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in 2016 - The objective of this proposal is to offer graduate fellowships to students who are enrolled in the Virginia Tech (VT) Nuclear Engineering Program (NEP), and are pursuing graduate education in Nuclear Engineering with focus areas of nuclear power, nuclear security, nonproliferation and safeguards.

  Virginia Tech Multi-campus Nuclear Engineering Fellowship Program, granted by NRC in 2018- The objective of this proposal is to offer graduate fellowships to students who are enrolled in the Virginia Tech Nuclear Engineering Program (VT-NEP) at Blacksburg and National Capital Region campuses. These fellows will pursue graduate education in Nuclear Engineering with focus areas of nuclear power, nuclear security, nonproliferation and safeguards.

  For further informationcontact Prof. Haghighat at haghighat@vt.edu.

  About the NRC The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was created as an independent agency by Congress in 1974 to enable the nation to safely use radioactive materials for beneficial civilian purposes while ensuring that people and the environment are protected. The NRC regulates commercial nuclear power plants and other uses of nuclear materials, such as in nuclear medicine, through licensing, inspection and enforcement of its requirements. More information can be found here.

• IAEA Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship Program

  Up to 100 female students per year will be selected, subject to availability of funding. Consideration is given to geographic and field of study diversity. Scholarships will be awarded once a year. Selected students are awarded up to 20k euro for tuition costs and up to 20k euro for living costs for the duration of their Master’s program. For further information click here