There are several funding resources available to graduate students in Atmospheric and Climate Science, including research assistantships, teaching assistantships, fellowships, and other opportunities.

Fellowship Incentive Policy (Academic Year 2025–2026)

The department provides an annual $500 fellowship incentive to graduate students who are awarded an external fellowship with a duration of nine months or longer.

• Exclusions: Fellowships administered through UW entities (including the Provost, PCC, and CICOES) are not eligible.

• Distribution: Incentives will be disbursed to the student’s account via SDB no later than October 25 of each year.

Research Assistantships & Teaching Assistantships

Students who maintain satisfactory progress in the program are typically supported with a stipend or fellowship. The salary for beginning Research Assistants in the Dept. of Atmospheric and Climate Science in 2024-2025 is $41,688. Out-of-state tuition is waived and in-state tuition is paid for Research Assistants, as is medical, visual and dental insurance. Students are expected to work half-time, 20 hours per week, on research during the academic year and during the summer. RA and TA appointments are governed by a contract between the UW and the UAW – more info may be found here.

Health (medical/dental/vision) insurance is available to eligible students at no cost, and to their families at a modest cost. Details on the Graduate Appointee Insurance Plan are available via the UW Human Resources website. http://www.washington.edu/admin/hr/benefits/insure/gaip/contacts.html

Graduate students are required to serve as Teaching Assistants for one or two quarters. The first quarter in which a student serves as a TA usually occurs during their third graduate year. The TA stipend will be at the same rate as the student’s research assistantship. The current rates are below.

Academic Student Employee (ASE) Hourly Pay Rates

Fellowships and Other Funding Opportunities

Please refer to the fellowship website for the application deadline

There are a number of external funding opportunities available to graduate students in atmospheric and climate science. All potential and current graduate students are encouraged to apply.

American Meteorological Society (AMS) Fellowships – American Meteorological Society fellowships and scholarships help further the education of outstanding graduate and undergraduate students pursuing a career in the atmospheric and related oceanic or hydrologic sciences.

DoE Computational Science Graduate Fellowship – The Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship (DOE CSGF) program provides outstanding benefits and opportunities to students pursuing doctoral degrees in fields of study that use high-performance computing to solve complex science and engineering problems.

Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowships – The Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowships seek to increase the diversity of the nation’s college and university faculties by increasing their ethnic and racial diversity.

Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINESST) – The fellowship program sponsors fellowships for students pursuing MS or Doctoral degrees in Earth system science, space science, and related disciplines.

Hertz Foundation Graduate Fellowship – The Foundation provides Fellowships to exceptionally talented individuals studying in the applied physical, biological, and engineering sciences.

National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program – The Graduate Research Fellowship provides three years of support for graduate study leading to research-based master’s or doctoral degrees and is intended for students who are in the early stages of their graduate study.

National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship – NDSEG Fellowships are intended for students at or near the beginning of their graduate studies in science or engineering.

Pathways to Science – a helpful resource listing multiple funding opportunities

SMART Scholarship – The Science, Mathematics And Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship for Service Program has been established by the Department of Defense (DoD) to support undergraduate and graduate students pursuing degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines.