Support for Under-Represented Groups in Engineering (SURGE) Fellowship

The Support for Under-Represented Groups in Engineering (SURGE) Fellowship Program is provided by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the College of Engineering. It aims to increase the number of persons qualified for engineering faculty and research positions from underrepresented groups in engineering.

A SURGE Fellow draws support from the College of Engineering through its fellowship funds and the home department through assistantship funds for five years. In the first year, the college must provide a tuition and fee waiver and a fellowship stipend, currently $34,000, paid over 11 months. In the succeeding four years, the department provides the Fellow with the tuition and fee waiver, plus half-time assistantship funds for 11 months, and the college provides a supplementary $4,000 fellowship each year. Support will continue for five years maximum if satisfactory progress is maintained toward the doctoral degree.

Applicants must be United States citizens or have permanent resident status; must be entering a graduate engineering program and be interested in pursuing a doctoral degree full-time at Illinois. To increase the diversity of the engineering student body, preference will be given to members of one of the following groups underrepresented in engineering: women, persons with disabilities, African Americans, Latino/as, Native Americans, Alaskan Natives, or Native Pacific Islanders.

Recipients