October 27, 2021

Students explore research opportunities at Graduate Research Open House.

Graduate students at Mizzou Engineering conduct their own research, collaborate with peers across campus and develop skills for high-level jobs. Even better? The College helps cover the cost. Those were some of the take-aways from a Graduate Research Open House held Tuesday, Oct. 26.

“Graduate school will help you prepare for a rewarding career in academia or an industrial research lab,” Roger Fales, associate dean of student services and academic programs, told students at the event.

Students learned about the unique research taking place at Mizzou Engineering, including interdepartmental research within the College and research that involves other colleges across campus. Associate Dean for Research Giovanna Guidoboni spoke about her research with the NextGen Precision Health Initiative that uses mathematical models to study organ function.

“With the research I do on cardiovascular physiology, our group has PhDs in electrical and computer engineering, a post-doc in mathematics, two high school students and surgical interns, and we all work together,” Guidoboni said. “At Mizzou, you have the opportunity to work on your own research and collaborate with others from different disciplines.”

Doctoral students from each department also presented their research at the poster session. Undergraduate students learned about their work and spoke with the directors of graduate studies about the graduate programs in each department.

Mizzou Engineering offers nine master’s degree programs and seven doctoral degree programs, as well as six accelerated master’s degree programs in biological engineering, civil engineering, computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering and industrial engineering.

Students learned about the funding options available to them for their graduate studies, including graduate research assistantships, graduate teaching assistantships and departmental fellowships and scholarships.

Mizzou Engineering also offers a doctoral fellowship for students interested in pursuing their PhD. For each year in the doctoral program, this fellowship covers tuition and course fees and provides a stipend of $30,000 and nearly $3,000 worth of benefits, such as health insurance.

“There are a lot of opportunities for both PhD and master’s degrees,” Fales said. “The transition to graduate school is made easier by the funding and stipends available.”