Funding and Financial Information#
Students enrolled in the MS in Computer Science Machine Learning or Systems options are not eligible to apply for teaching assistantships (TA) through the department. These positions are reserved for PhD students only. Research assistantships (RA) are in rare cases awarded to MS students at the discretion of faculty advisors, but most positions are reserved for PhD students. All students are eligible to apply for scholarships, external funding, and financial aid.
Students in the MS Research option and PhD degree programs are eligible for financial support through Loyola, including fellowships and assistantships (RAs and TAs). Students who have accepted a TA appointment are not allowed to switch to an RA appointment within four weeks of the start date of the upcoming term.
The CS department admits all PhD students with a funding plan, either TA, RA, or funded through an external fellowship or program. New PhD students who already have earned a Master’s degree are admitted with guaranteed funding for at least three years. Students without a Master’s degree are guaranteed funding for at least four years.
Funding for Interdepartmental Collaboration#
The Computer Science Department encourages interdepartmental collaborations. Research groups within the department may wish to collaborate with outside faculty, occasionally sharing graduate research assistants. Students who participate in these collaborations must be funded by an accounting unit controlled by a CS department faculty member. Research assistantships for Computer Science PhD students can never be funded by funds from other departments.
We strongly prefer that funds paying for CS PhD RAs come from accounting units tied to grants made to CS faculty members. In some limited cases, there may be grants managed by other departments that wish to hire a CS PhD student. This is permissible with approval from the PhD program director and the department chair under the following conditions:
There must be a formal written agreement in place that specifies:
The nature of the work to be performed.
The people involved in the collaboration, including faculty and graduate students.
The amount of time each person will devote to the project.
A planned meeting schedule.
The amount of funds allocated for the project, including funds to pay for graduate research assistants and supplies.
A funds transfer must be made to the CS department that covers at least four years of the research assistant’s stipend and fringe costs.
An academic advisor will be primarily responsible for that PhD student, including funding and progress management.