These scholarships are awarded by the university to incoming students (either transfer or freshman students).  Scholarships in this category include the Caldwell, Park and Merit Scholarships.  In some cases these awards are renewable based on satisfactory progress by a student in their program.

These scholarships are awarded by the NCSU College of Engineering (COE) to currently enrolled engineering students.  These awards are provided by companies, individuals and foundations.  Individual departments nominate eligible students for awards; some awards are restricted to certain departments.  In most cases these awards are made by a college-wide committee consisting of representatives from each department in COE.  In some cases these awards are renewable based on satisfactory progress by a student in their program; subject to approval by the COE Scholarship Committee.

The Chemical Engineering Department has a limited number of scholarships awarded in the following categories:

Endowed/Named Awards:

These scholarships are usually provided to the department by families or individuals and have specific requirements on the year and technical interest of the student.  The department identifies the recipients for the awards.

Industrial Awards:

These awards are provided by companies that support the department and recruit students for both permanent and summer/co-op jobs.  They may require students to provide references, fill out applications and in some instances be interviewed by representatives from the company.  The department identifies the recipients or recommends candidates to the companies.  An example is Eastman Chemical Scholarship.

Miscellaneous Awards:

These scholarships are awarded directly to the student by the sponsoring individual or organization.  The student is responsible for compiling the application, reference and other supporting materials to submit directly to the responsible agency or organization.  In some instances the department is made aware of these opportunities by memo or e-mail and passes this information on to the students.  In other cases students will find this information on the web, request the information and apply for the scholarships.

• By filing this form, you will be eligible for financial aid considerations at the university level.  Types of financial aid you may receive are need-based grants, academic enhancement grants, university level merit scholarships, educational loans, etc.  If you don't file this form, you will not be considered for the type of financial aid stated above!
• Requirement:  US Citizen, or permanent resident
• Filing deadline:   Starting January of each year to March 15 of each year.  Your need to file the form every year!
• Obtain forms from NCSU Financial Aid Office or FAFSA Online

• By filing this form, you will be eligible for financial aid considerations at the college and department level.  Types of financial aid you may receive are College of Engineering Foundation sponsored scholarships, personal endowment scholarships, corporate sponsored scholarships.If you don't file this form, you will not be considered for the type of financial aid stated above!
• Requirement:  Student of the College of Engineering
• Filing deadline:  March 15 of each year.  You need to file the form every year.
• Students with GPA >= 3.0 will receive the forms in January by mail.  If you do not receive the application form in mail, you are encouraged to pick up a copy at 120 Page Hall.

From time to time, there will be scholarships available for you to apply on short notice.  Watch for our updates.

• Demonstrate leadership
• Participate in professional / community activities
• Work experience either in academic or industry
• Good GPA
• Think about your career plans
• Cultivate and nurture good student/faculty relationships
• When asking faculty for reference, it will be very helpful to provide them with
• your resume
• unofficial transcript
• essay about your career plans

• NCSU Office of Financial Aid
• Fastweb - a free scholarship search engine
• FAFSA on the web - U.S. Department of Education. You may use this online form to file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
• Office of Postsecondary Education - U.S. Department of Education
• Financial Aid Resource Center
• Financial Aid Information Page
• NSF Grants and Awards

AIChE gratefully acknowledges the financial assistance of donor companies and individuals whose support has assured many a promising careers in the past and many more in the years to come.

Special thanks to Dr. Grant for helping to put this section together.

Chemical Engineering Department/Faculty Search

• What do I enjoy most about school? summer jobs? co-op experience(s)? work experience in research laboratories?
• What are my career plans?
• Is graduate school the path of least resistance?
• What is my personal situation?
• Master's or Ph.D.?
• What about other areas besides chemical engineering?
• Can I work first and go later?
• Can I work and go to graduate school at the same time?

• Talk with faculty
• Talk with faculty
• Talk with faculty

• Work in research lab
• Write (surf Web) for material from different graduate programs

• Talk with faculty
• Take GRE (October)
• Request and fill out applications
• Letters of recommendation
• Apply for external Fellowships (e.g., NSF, DOD)

• Hear back on admission and financial aid decisions
• Visit schools which have made offers
• Make decision by April 15!

• not need-based in most instances
• package includes tuition, fees, stipend ($16-17K/year in 1999)
• may get supplementary funds in certain cases
• comes in several basic forms:
• Research assistantship - paid from research grant/contract
• Teaching assistantship - paid from Department/College
• Research fellowship - paid from external (e.g., NSF, companies) or internal (endowment) resources
• differences in financial aid offers from school to school may not reflect cost-of-living variations

Admission is done by a committee of faculty and varies from school to school and year to year.  Below are some approximate guidelines

GPA	GRE	Acceptance
>3.75	Q > 700, A > 750, V > 600	Nearly all (if not all) schools
>3.50	Q > 700, A > 700, V > 600	Most Schools
>3.25	Q > 700, A > 650, V > 500	Some Schools
>3.00	Q > 650, A > 600, V > 500	Some schools possible; Consider coursework M.S. (typically no financial support)
<3.00	Q > 650, A > 600, V > 500	Will depend on test scores, recommendations and overall national interest in graduate school

• Arrive and get acquainted with location, department
• Research advisors usually assigned in Fall
• Typically take 6-8 graduate courses (mostly ChE)
• May serve as teaching assistant for 1-2 semesters
• Begin research in spring semester/summer
• Must make significant headway during first summer

• Research project progresses
• May need to take a few more courses
• Finish project/thesis/manuscripts from thesis
• Interview for positions and accept job

• Arrive and get acquainted with location, department
• Research advisors usually assigned in Fall
• Typically take 6-8 graduate courses (mostly ChE)
• May serve as teaching assistant for 1-2 semesters
• Qualifying exams/project taken by end of year
• Begin research in spring semester/summer

• Learn about fundamentals related to project
• Experimental/computational/theoretical concepts
• Take additional courses (1 or 2 per semester)

• Prepare and defend research proposal
• Coursework usually completed
• Start to make significant headway on project
• May begin preparing research papers
• Begin to take leadership position in lab
• Begin to take "ownership" of project

• Often most productive year of program
• Need to see project results (publishable)
• May orient newer student to project
• May supervise undergraduate student
• Begin considering career plans

• Finish project/thesis/manuscripts from thesis
• Interview for positions and accept job/postdoc

• Think long-term and not short-term
• Do not expect instant gratification in graduate research
• Being "over-qualified" with a graduate degree need not be a concern
• Do not go because you do not feel ready for a "real job"
• Academic "burn-out" may be only a temporary problem
• Work experience first is great but it can be difficult to return to school
• Make sure that commitments in your personal life are taken into account
• Be prepared to work hard and have a good attitude
• Talk to faculty and other graduate students about their experiences

• Talk with faculty for suggestions and honest assessment of your credentials
• Schools are looking for grades, GRE's, recommendations, experiences, mitigating factors (for or against your case) in that order
• Apply on time and take time to complete the application effectively
• Consider whatever limitations (personal, academic record) exist in choosing where to apply
• Impressions gathered from undergraduates about the graduate program at their institution may not be helpful

• Visit whichever schools that make you an offer that is appealing
• During your visit, represent yourself and NCSU in the best possible way
• When you decide to accept/reject a given offer, do so in a professional way