Almost all CAAM PhD graduate students receive stipends and tuition, either from the university or from an external research grant awarded to a CAAM faculty member; this is also true for foreign students. As a result, the chief business of graduate school, for most of our students, is preparing for and learning to carry out research in Computational and Applied Mathematics.
As a matter of University policy, Rice does not offer financial support to non-thesis (“professional” or MCAM) students.
A limited number of teaching assistantships are available to those who wish to acquire teaching experience. Since some evidence of teaching competence is a prerequisite for entry-level academic positions, CAAM graduate students who wish to eventually become professors should take advantage of this opportunity to enhance their vitae in this important way.
The teaching assistantship (TA) program has grown considerably in the last few years. Under the NSF VIGRE Program, each year several graduate students serve as classroom instructors for small sections of introductory courses.
The Office of Graduate Studies supports most incoming PhD students during the first year of studies and a few individuals in later years. This support includes a stipend and tuition. At the beginning of each year additional payments for fees, health insurance, and parking to name a few are required; it usually amounts to around $475.00.
In return for university support, the department asks the student to perform some service, usually in the form of grading homework and exams for courses. It is to be noted, that this extra workload is normally much lighter compared to the ones at required at many other universities.
Stipends for first year students cover their entire first year. However, in general, after the first year, students in the CAAM department obtain their support from research grants. The opportunity to do research is an integral part of graduate training. Each student is responsible for identifying this opportunity, deciding which of the faculty to work with, and approaching him/her about a project and support.
While the department is not in a position to guarantee a research assistantship with one of the faculty, CAAM has been very successful in placing students with professors throughout its decades-long history. The professors always have projects under way; therefore, more often than not, they are looking for research assistants. Since our faculty has been vastly more successful than the average math department in raising research money, very few students have had any trouble finding an intellectual berth with a stipend. The course work over the first two or three years will help familiarize the students with the professors and viceversa.
For more information, please read the CAAM Graduate Handbook (pdf).