Scholarships
The College offers students an opportunity to apply for scholarships on an annual basis.
- Northrop Grumman Scholarship – Typical award is 1 – $2500 and 2 – $1000 Scholarships, based on funding availability. Targets Juniors and Seniors who have completed at least OSE 3052
- Soileau Family – SPIE Optics and Photonics Undergraduate Scholarship – up to 4 scholarships with a maximum funding of $2500 spread over 4 semesters. Targets students just beginning the PSE program.
- Lumentum Endowed Scholarship – Typical award of 1 – $1000 scholarship, based on funding availability. Targets CREOL students who are in the doctoral, master’s or PSE programs with preference for those involved in a student organization whose mission is to advance the needs of underrepresented and/or marginalized groups.
- The Ge and Wu Scholarship – Typical award of $2000. Targets students who have completed OSE 3200 or OSE 3052 and preference for first-generation college students.
- Hispanic Endowed Scholarship – Typical award of $2000. Targets students who are undergraduate or graduate students in CREOL.
Applications are submitted through the UCF Access 2 Opportunities website.
Other Scholarships
UCF and other organizations offer scholarships.
Internal Fellowships
Nationally competitive Graduate Fellowships are available at CREOL, The College of Optics & Photonics for qualified Ph.D. students.
CREOL Fellowship
This fellowship allows outstanding students to start their Ph.D. studies in the College and find a research advisor after they arrive. Most of our incoming Ph.D. students are recruited on this type of fellowship.
All Ph.D. applicants will automatically be considered for the ORC fellowship. Stipend: Minimum $25,000 annually, health insurance, tuition and fees included.
CREOL Foundation Fellowships
- Northrop Grumman
- Schwartz Fellowships
- Suchoski Fellowships
- Glebov Family-SPIE Fellowships
These additional resources are privately endowed fellowship awards for outstanding U.S. citizens and permanent residents. There is no separate application for these fellowships. They are selected by the admissions committee from among optics graduate applicants.
CREOL Founding Faculty Graduate Fellowship Fund
- Soileau Family Graduate Endowed Fund
- Dr. Peter Delfyett Graduate Endowed Fund
- Jannick Rolland Endowed Graduate Fund for Women
- Wu Family Graduate Endowed Fund
- David and Monica Hagan Graduate Endowed Fellowship
These endowed fellowships will support students who commit to pursuing advanced degrees in optics and photonics. They are named after CREOL founding faculty members who pledged grants that were matched 4:1 by Eric and Barbara Van Stryland.
Frances Townes Endowed Fellowship for Women
Established in 2007, the fellowship honors Mrs. Frances Townes, a life-long advocate for individuals in underserved and underrepresented communities. The fellowship covers tuition and living expenses and priority is given to graduate students who are admitted and plan to enroll during a fall semester. The deadline for consideration is January 15. Fellowships are occasionally given with spring admission for extraordinary circumstances. For more, visit the Townes Laser Institute webpage.
External Fellowships
| Name | Details and Eligibility | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| American Association for the Advancement of Science Science and Technology Policy Fellowships | AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowships help to stablish and nurture critical links between federal decision-makers and scientific professionals to support public policy that benefits the wellbeing of the nation and the planet. | December |
| American Association of University Women Fellowships and Grants | The AAUW has a long and distinguished history of advancing educational and professional opportunities for women in the United States and around the globe. | Fall |
| DEPS Scholarships | The Directed Energy Professional Society is the premier rganization for the exchange of information on the development and application of directed energy, which includes both high energy lasers and high power microwaves. | April |
| Ford Foundation Fellowship Program | The Ford Foundation seeks to increase the diversity of the ation’s college and university faculties to maximize the educational benefits of diversity and to increase the number of professors who can and will use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students. They offer fellowships at the predoctoral, dissertation and postdoctoral levels. | November |
| Michael Pate Optical Sciences Memorial Scholarship | This scholarship was set up in memory of Michael Pate, an optical engineer passionate about teaching and learning throughout his career. | June 30 |
| NASA Aeronautics Scholarship Program | Fostering new generations of highly skilled scientists and engineers is critically important to the aeronautics community. The ASP offers our nation's research leaders of tomorrow exceptional funding as undergraduate and graduate students. | January |
| NASA Space Technology Research Grants | This program aims to accelerate the development of "push" technologies to support the future space science and exploration needs of NASA, other government agencies and the commercial space sector. Innovative efforts with high risk and high payoff will be encouraged. | January |
| National GEM Consortium Fellowship | The National GEM Consortium enables outstanding minority students to obtain master's degrees in engineering and doctorates in engineering and the natural and physical sciences. | November |
| National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering | Part of the National Institutes of Health, the NIBIB supports basic research and research training through investigator-initiated grants, contracts, program project and center grants, and career development and training awards. | Varies |
| National Physical Science Consortium | The National Physical Science Consortium, a partnership between government agencies and laboratories, industry and higher education, offers a unique graduate fellowship in the physical sciences and related engineering fields. | November 30 |
| National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program | The National Science Foundation aims to ensure the vitality of he human resource base of science, technology, engineering and mathematics in the United States and to reinforce its diversity by offering Graduate Research Fellowships, which provide three years of support for graduate study. | November |
| OSA Foundation Harvey M. Pollicove Memorial Scholarship | The OSA Foundation offers the Harvey M. Pollicove Memorial scholarship each year to a student pursuing a degree in the field of precision optics manufacturing. The award rotates among four universities: the University of Arizona, the University of Central Florida, the University of Rochester and Monroe Community College. | August |
| Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans | The Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans, which supports graduate study for immigrants or children of immigrants who possess at least a green card, was established in recognition of the contributions that new Americans have made and in gratitude for the opportunities the United States has afforded the donors and their family. | November |
| Semiconductor Research Corporation Global Research Collaboration Graduate Fellowship Program | The GRC Graduate Fellowship Program addresses the issues of improving educational opportunities at the doctoral level and supplying a relevantly educated workforce for the semiconductor industry. | November (Application Available) |
| SPIE Scholarships | As a student, you represent the future of optics, photonics and imaging, as well as the future of SPIE. The Society has distributed more than $3 million through its scholarship program. | February |
| SMART Scholarship | A U.S. citizen at time of application,18 years of age or older as of August 1, 2014, able to participate in summer internships at DoD laboratories, willing to accept post-graduate employment with the DoD, a student in good standing with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale and, pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in one of the disciplines listed on the About SMART page. | December |