2018-2019 | Illinois Computer Science Student Awards

CS at Illinois students are changing the world through their contributions to the computing industry and to research. This page is going to be the most up-to-date resource for all things awards (scholarships, fellowships, grants, etc.). As you will see below, there are two main types of awards - Department Action Needed and External, which is then divided into five sections based on your status as a student. We encourage you to check back often to see what opportunities are available. If you have questions and/or are experiencing difficulties with the page, please email Samantha Hendon or call 217-300-6331.

To see details about each opportunity, click below to expand. 

 Awards Which Require Department of Computer Science Action/Selection
Title (Link)Department DeadlineExternal DeadlineWhoAward





 External Awards
 High School Seniors
Title (Link)Institution/SponsorDeadlineWhoAward

ESA Foundation Scholarships

ESA

TBA
(Most recent 4/26/18)

US Citizens. High school seniors and undergraduates continuing studies. Female and minority students pursuing degrees leading to careers in computer and video game arts.  GPA of 2.75 or above on a 4.0 scale 

Up to 30 scholarships of $3,000 each.

Microsoft Imagine CupMicrosoftTBA

If you’re a student at a university, community college, vocational or trade school, or a high school, you are eligible to participate in Microsoft Imagine. All students at accredited schools around the world are eligible.Win up to $100,000.
 Undergraduate Students
Title (Link)Institution/SponsorDeadlineWhoAward

ISPE Foundation Scholarships

Illinois Society of Professional Engineers (ISPE)

TBA
(Most recent 3/31/18)

Varies, see ISPE website.

$1000-$1500

Tau Beta Pi ScholarshipTau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society

TBA
(Most recent, 4/1/18, Opens 1/15/18)

The program is designed for members of Tau Beta Pi who will be returning to college for the next academic year for full time undergraduate study.Over 200 scholarships valued at $1,000 to $2,000.

AFCEA STEM Majors Scholarship for Undergraduate Students

AFCEA International

4/12/19
(Opens 1/2019)

Applications will be accepted from current eligible undergraduate level students majoring in STEM fields that meet the mission of AFCEA (listed below), to include Cyber Security, Intelligence and Homeland Security-related disciplines. 

Undergraduate candidates must be at least second-year college students enrolled as sophomores or juniors full-time in a four-year college or university at the time of application.

Online programs are eligible. A current overall GPA of 3.0 or higher in their current program at an accredited U.S. college or university required at the time of application.

Scholarship amounts are subject to availability of funding.

DaRin Butz Foundation Research Scholars - NEW!DaRin Butz Foundation4/15/2019
  • Must be a University of Illinois woman undergraduate student in the College of Engineering
  • U.S. citizen or permanent resident
  • Sophomore, junior, or senior
  • Majoring in computer science, computer engineering, physics, or astronomy
  • University of Illinois GPA of 3.2 or higher
Stipend of $5000 over 10 weeks in the summer to do research at Illinois

ESA Foundation Scholarships

ESA

TBA
(Most recent 4/26/18)

US Citizens. High school seniors and undergraduates continuing studies. Female and minority students pursuing degrees leading to careers in computer and video game arts.  GPA of 2.75 or above on a 4.0 scale 

Up to 30 scholarships of $3,000 each.

 Undergraduate and Graduate Students
Title (Link)Institution/SponsorDeadlineWhoAward
Richard E. Merwin Student ScholarshipIEEE Computer Society9/30/2018 and 04/30/2019

Graduate students, and those in the final two years of an undergraduate program in electrical or computer engineering, computer science, or a well-defined computer related field of engineering.  IEEE Computer Society Membership required.

12+ scholarships of $1,000+.
HSF / General College ScholarshipsHispanic Scholarship Fund

TBA

(Most recent 4/2/2018)

Hispanic heritage, U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents, GPA 3.0+, be enrolled full-time during the 2016-2017 academic year, must apply for federal financial aid by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), must be pursuing first undergraduate or graduate degree.

$1,000-$5,000 scholarships.
ExxonMobil LOFT FellowshipExxonMobil4/12/2019
  • Hispanic Students
  • Fellowship applicants with the following majors will be given priority:  Mechanical Engineering; Chemical Engineering; Civil Engineering; Electrical Engineering; Computer Engineering; Geoscience
  • Must plan to pursue a career in the fields/majors listed above
  • Have a GPA of 3.5 or higher
  • Be a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident of the United States with a valid Social Security Number at the time of application. All legal permanent residents must submit a copy of their valid permanent resident card or passport stamped I-551 (not expired).

The Fellowship consists of five 1-hour meetings with a mentor (virtual or in person), participation in the Harvard-certified ExxonMobil mentee program (on-line), an exclusive curriculum to introduce Fellows to the organization and company career opportunities, and a $1,000 educational grant. In addition, there exists the possibility to interview for ExxonMobil positions (internships/full-time) upon successful completion of the Fellowship.

 Graduate Students
Title (Link)InstitutionDeadlineWho?Award
Microsoft Research Dissertation GrantMicrosoft Research3/31/2019This grant program is open to doctoral students in their fourth year or beyond, studying computing topics at universities in the United States and Canada, who are from under-represented groups (women, African-American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and/or people with disabilities).The program allows students to apply for a research grant of up to $20,000 to support their dissertation research; grant recipients will also get to take part in a two-day career workshop at Microsoft Research Redmond this fall.
CSE FellowCSE Program

4/11/2019

Graduate students are invited to submit proposals for support of interdisciplinary research in Computational Science and Engineering (CSE). Eight awards are expected to be given for the 2017-2018 academic year.Stipend corresponding to a 25% research assistantship in their home department.  Tuition Waiver.
CompGen Fellowship

Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research

Carl Woese Institute for Genomic Biology

Coordinated Science Laboratory

TBA

(Most recent 4/20/2018)


Pre-doctoral program aimed at promoting interdisciplinary research in computational genomics. Fellows can be either computationally focused doctoral students with a biology co-advisor, or biologically focused doctoral students with a computational co-advisor. 

Fellowship recipients should propose projects that plan to leverage and help to advance the CompGen group of researchers and / or currently funded CompGen grants such as the NIH BD2K KnowENG project or the NSF-funded CompGen instrumentation award. For project examples, click here.

These fellowships are awarded for a one-year period, with the option of either a summer internship over Summer 2019, or summer fellowship support. 



 Post-doctoral Opportunities
Title (Link)Institution/SponsorDeadlineWho?Award






Additional information and resources:

Prestigious Graduate Fellowship InformationAdvice for NSF GRFP, NDSEG, and similar programs. (Information Sessions, Local Resources, and External Resources)