Home : Volume 31 : Spring 2005 :
GIFT REPORT 2005: Graduate student fellowships

Nonresident engineering graduate students who carry a full credit load at UW-Madison pay nearly $12,000 in tuition — per semester. And few students, says Industrial and Systems Engineering Professor Stephen Robinson, can afford to pay the entire bill without additional funding. "We get many of our best graduate students from outside Wisconsin — and indeed, from outside the United States — because many able U.S. students don't choose to do graduate work in science and engineering, particularly at the PhD level," he says. "Therefore, in order to attract excellent graduate students, especially for PhD study, we must find ways to support them."

While experienced students can contribute to research programs as paid research assistants, such positions generally aren’t appropriate for new graduate students, says Robinson. "That leaves fellowships and scholarships as the best solution to funding students at the beginning of their studies," he says.

Because Robinson has seen firsthand that investing in the best graduate students raises the bar for an entire academic program, he has donated $25,000 to start a fund that would enable the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering to recruit and support top-notch grad students.

Robinson hopes his "starter" gift will motivate faculty, alumni or friends of the college to build on the fund. "What I gave isn't enough to do anything substantial. If others chip in, we might be able to put together a fund of a size that would make a difference."

Content by perspective@engr.wisc.edu

Date last modified: Wednesday, 25-May-2005 10:30:05 CDT
Date created: 25-May-2005

Thank you for visiting!