The cost of higher education continues to increase. Simultaneously, due to global competition, there has never been a greater need for a highly educated and experienced workforce, especially in science and engineering.

Worldwide, teaching or research assistantships are typically offered to aid engineering graduate students in funding their education. While assistantships are available at GVSU, they are limited and often cannot fully support the financial needs of the student.

Likewise, most research-oriented schools offer students additional funding through research grants, which are primarily from government entities. Teaching and application-focused institutions, like GVSU, educate highly sought-after, practice-oriented, industry-ready engineers without the benefit of the financial support for graduate students provided by such research grants.

MASTER’S IN ENGINEERING WITH EXPERIENTIAL TRAINING IN THE REAL WORLD

The School of Engineering at GVSU meets the demand for educated and experienced engineers, while providing direct benefits to industry through an innovative approach to graduate student support— the Industry Sponsored Graduate Fellowship Program. Here’s how it works:

• Participating companies sponsor a GVSU MSE Industry Sponsored Graduate Fellow (IGF) by providing a paid internship position and covering the cost of the Fellow’s tuition.
• The IGF will perform supervised engineering assignments and applied research at the sponsoring company, typically for 20 hours/week in the fall and winter semesters, while taking a full-time graduate course load.
• In the summer, the IGF will be assigned 40 hours/week in their internship position and may enroll in 0-3 credit hours of course load.

This unique model establishes the MSE program at GVSU with a distinctive identity unlike any other graduate program in the country, and attracts high-caliber students. Moreover, the program will provide the essential funding to build a vibrant graduate school in engineering.

ESTIMATED YEAR 1 COST

The estimated cost to support an IGF during Year 1 is $37,000 - 41,000, which includes tuition fees for 17 - 23 credits at the current GVSU tuition rate, plus an additional stipend amount per semester, as agreed upon by the sponsor. Stipends are paid directly to the student by the sponsor.

ESTIMATED YEAR 2 COST

The Year 2 cost to support an IGF is usually less than Year 1 as students typically complete the majority of their coursework during their first year in the program.

BENEFITS FOR EMPLOYERS

• Leveraging GVSU’s ability to attract local, regional, national, and international connections in finding candidates with specialized skill sets
• Participation in community development efforts by contributing to education
• Possibility of generating Intellectual Property (IP) at no additional cost
• Benefit from the substantial contributions of a practicing professional IGF at 66% of the cost of a full-time engineer
• Ability to groom and nurture the engineering talent over the length of the program and observe the professional and academic growth without committing to permanent employment
• Benefit for multinational organizations seeking future employees with U.S. industry experience

BENEFITS FOR STUDENTS

• Unique opportunity to earn a graduate degree and gain work experience simultaneously
• Become expert practitioners in the field
• Fully funded graduate education
• Possibility to conduct the MS thesis/project on a challenging problem for the sponsor
• Advantageous position in the job market after completing the degree
• Ability to negotiate a better career entry position by earning trust and confidence of an employer
• International students make a smooth transition into US industry and potential job market entry

BENEFITS FOR GVSU

• Leader in innovative Graduate Engineering Education
• Recruiting high-caliber graduate students
• Building a diversified graduate school
• Economically sustainable graduate program
• Development towards a practice-oriented graduate program
• Direct contribution to the community by attracting talented engineers from all over the world and engaging them at local companies