Overview
The Department of Chemistry offers teaching assistantships, research assistantships, fellowships, or a combination of these to all qualified graduate students for their full tenure in the program. Teaching opportunities for first-year students include classroom or laboratory instruction, which usually requires about 20 hours per week.
Teaching assistantships
The Department of Chemistry employs approximately 80 graduate teaching assistants (TAs) each semester. Graduate students entering our program typically hold TA positions for at least one year.
TAs are given the opportunity to teach chemistry to undergraduate students in classrooms, laboratories, and office hours. This is an important aspect of the graduate program and essential to the teaching mission of the University of Iowa.
Graduate teaching assistants are professional instructors at the University of Iowa. Teaching assistants are held to high standards of ethical behavior, technical expertise, and integrative communication. They learn the challenges and rewards of teaching along with developing skills in problem solving, leadership and organization. The expectations for this role are documented in the teaching assistant handbook for the Department of Chemistry.
The Department of Chemistry is proud to be a part of the professional development of our TAs by providing regular training, feedback, and coaching.
A number of our graduate students also participate in the College of Education's Certificate in College Teaching. This program offers coursework and supervised experiences designed to prepare PhD students for careers in post-secondary education.
Fellowships
- Graduate College Fellowships and Travel Awards, University of Iowa
- Ballard and Seashore Dissertation Fellowship, University of Iowa
- Graduate College Post-Comprehensive Research Fellowship, University of Iowa
- CLAS Dissertation Writing Fellowships, University of Iowa
- Graduate Research Fellowship Program, National Science Foundation
- NASA Fellowships and Scholarships, NASA
- Jacob K. Javits Fellowships, U.S. Department of Education
- Science Graduate Research Program Award, Department of Energy
- Graduate Fellowship Awards, Hertz Foundation
- Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowships, The National Academies (underrepresented minorities are especially encouraged to apply)
- Fellowships from the American Association of University Women
- Analytical Chemistry Graduate Fellowship, American Chemical Society
Fellowship Incentive Program
Additionally, the University of Iowa Graduate College offers a $250 incentive to any graduate student who submits a proposal for a nationally-competitive fellowship under the guidance of a fellowship advisor. The student does not have to receive the fellowship to receive the incentive. The fellowship advisor for graduate students in chemistry is Amy Charles. Full details are available online.
The Graduate College
The Graduate College offers a wealth of information about funding for graduate students through additional methods. You can learn more about funding your education on their site: