Georgia Tech awards and coordinates numerous student fellowships varying in value from a few hundred dollars that may be awarded on top of other funding such as an assistantship, to full fellowships that cover tuition, fees and pay a stipend.

Institute-Coordinated vs Department-Coordinated

Institute-coordinated fellowships are those that are managed centrally by the graduate fellowships manager in the Office of Graduate Education. To be considered Institute-coordinated, the fellowship itself should be open to students from across the Institute, and students from multiple disciplines should be eligible. Examples of Institute-coordinated fellowships are President’s and Georgia Tech Institute Fellowships, NSF GRFP, DOE-Krell, NDSEG, ARCS, DZL, D’Onofrio, Chih, Hearst, Haley & Campbell. The graduate fellowships manager manages these fellowships and directly sets up the award and payment in coordination with the Office of Scholarships & Financial Aid and the Office of the Bursar

Most fellowships are department-coordinated and handled separately by individual academic departments. Department-coordinated fellowships are either fellowships that are either nominated and awarded at the school-level or "one-off" fellowships that the student receives externally and "brings with them" to Georgia Tech. Examples of department-coordinated fellowships are Dean’s Fellowships, NASA, Fulbright, Beyers BBISS, UCEM, Apple, Amazon, IBM, Microsoft, JP Morgan, Verizon, Graduate Fellowships for STEM Diversity, Quad, etc. NIH and Ford fellowships are department-coordinated but there are coordinating official(s) in the Office of Sponsored Programs.  

To best assist the student, the department should identify a single contact person who will assist in setting up the fellowship. Next, the departments should utilize the Fellowship Payment Request, in coordination with the Office of Scholarships & Financial Aid and the Office of the Bursar, to disburse funds to the student. The graduate fellowships manager can offer advice but stewardship and compliance with the terms of a department-coordinated fellowships rests at the individual academic department level.

Student-Facing Fellowships Information

For student-facing information, please see Paying for Grad School and Fellowships and Funding.

Fellowships Process

Here is a flow-chart that provides a brief overview of the fellowships process:

Fellowship Flowchart
  1. How does the money come to GT?
    • GT Foundation, or
    • Office of Sponsored Program; GTRC (if research gifts), or
    • All others - Georgia Tech Bursar
  2. How much money, and what will it fund?
    • X towards tuition, Y towards stipend, Z for fees;
    • Topper or 'full' fellowship;
    • Rare cases funds used for GRA
  3. Is the student eligible for an OOSW?
    • Brings tuition to in-state levels;
    • Not eligible if fellowship pays full tuition or student is in-state already
  4. How will the funds be disbursed? 
    • Via the Fellowship Payment Request form; submitted to FinAid & Bursar
    • Need worktag created first!
  5. How does student continue fellowship?
    • Student = full-time enrolled
    • No internship or GRA/GTA simultaneously
    • No hire, waiver in Banner

Award President's Fellowship and Nominate GT Institute Fellowship

Each winter, the VPGPE will allocate the number of President's Fellowship awards for the coming Fall to each college by notifying the associate deans. Awards for the President's Fellowship may be made on a rolling basis, but nominations for the Georgia Tech Institute Fellowship will have a specific deadline. For full details, graduate coordinators may utilize the How to Award President's Fellowship and Nominate GT Institute Fellowship in Slate document. For student-facing information, or to learn more about the awards, see President's Fellowship (PF) and Georgia Tech Institute Fellowship (GTIF)

Out-of-State Waiver

To request an Out-of-State Waiver (OOSW), historically referred to as a ‘Non-Resident Tuition Waiver’ or ‘NRTW," please refer to OOSW Requests. Requests must be done each term.

Fellowship Payment Requests

To coordinate a lump sum, tuition, fee and/or stipend payment to graduate-level fellowship students with the Office of Scholarships & Financial Aid and the Office of the Bursar please refer to Fellowship Payment Requests. Requests may be done each term, or annually.

Important Information for Processing and Maintaining Fellowship Students

  • Fellowship students must be enrolled full-time for funds to be disbursed. Full-time enrollment is 12 hours with at least nine of those hours taken on a letter-grade or pass/fail basis. 
  • Students cannot be a GRA/GTA and a ‘fully funded fellowship’ student at the same time. Please make sure that any hires are terminated and waivers are removed from Banner.
  • OOSWs must be requested each term, while Fellowship Payment Requests may be submitted either each term, or annually.

Fellowships Working Group

Launched in Fall 2022, the Fellowships Working Group is led by the graduate fellowships manager and focuses on the greater goal of collectively improving graduate-level fellowships processing and the experiences of fellowship holders at Georgia Tech. The Fellowships Working Group pulls together representatives from the offices of Graduate Education, Bursar, Scholarships & Financial Aid, Donor Relations, Corporate Relations, EVPR, Office of Sponsored Programs, and Legal Counsel to discuss challenges in administering fellowships, build consensus around shared obstacles, identify data needs, and make plans for training and outreach deliverables.   

As of Fall 2023, this group has created the following resources:  

  • Incoming Funds and Fellowships Ownership Flowchart. Use this resource to determine how, and through which channels, fellowships should be administered, including identifying how the funds are stewarded and which offices are involved in the processes.  
  • Fellowship Payment Request Bursar Flowchart. Use this resource to understand the steps taken by the Bursar Fellowships Team when processing the fellowship payment request and identify potential impediments.  
  • Fellowships & Funding Decision Makers. Use this resource if after the "Incoming Funds and Fellowships Ownership Flowchart" is utilized there are still questions about ownership and which office will own and process a fellowship.  
  • Fellowships & Funding Thresholds. Updated each academic year, use this resource to determine how your student's fellowship should be setup and what the fellowship can and cannot pay, based on specifics of the award.     

Need Assistance?

Faculty and staff who need assistance processing and setting up fellowship students should begin by viewing the 30-minute Graduate Fellowships Presentation and Q&A Meeting Recording. If you have specific questions, you may email the Graduate Fellowships Manager at fellowships@grad.gatech.edu.