Funding Opportunities

Research associate positions and graduate assistantship positions are often project dependent so we recommend you review the individual faculty websites. You are also encouraged to contact individual faculty members to let them know you are interested in their program. They would have the most up to date information regarding financial assistance for their projects. 


Biological Systems Engineering Scholarships

Biological Systems Engineering Department offers the following scholarships thanks to a wonderful generosity of our Alumni and Friends. These scholarships make a huge difference to our graduate students. The application process for spring 2024 awards will be announced in September 2023. Please contact Joanna Dreger if you have any questions about BSE scholarships.

Arnie and Marta Kegel Fellowship

The Kegel’s interest in the WSU Biological Systems Engineering Graduate Fellowship is in recognition that there has been too much hasty development ignoring the long-range impacts and consequences to the planet’s environment. The BSE Research Program offers a promising vehicle with potential to explore avenues that will result in new techniques to restore past damages and protect our future environment. Arnie and Marta (Fagnastol) were married in 1954, two years after they met. Despite working full-time, Arnie couldn’t graduate until 1959 because he had to take time off to make enough money for tuition. Although school was a struggle for him at times, academically and financially, Arnie has never regretted that wise decision to be trained as an Agricultural Engineer, he has always valued the solid education he received at WSC. Two of Arnie’s three daughters even graduated from WSU. Arnie feels that the Agricultural Engineering program proved to be a perfect background for land use design; The combination mixed elements of civil, structural, electrical, mechanical, hydraulics, survey engineering with the agricultural aspects of the soils, waste management, sanitation, cropping, animal husbandry and related natural sciences. Arnie decided to pursue this career path after being assigned to a job operating a product “receiving station,” on Bainbridge Island. Here he met with suppliers, growers, and consultants and was introduced to scheduling during a summer job at NW Berry Packers in 1951. One of the people he met was a USDA-SCS “Agricultural” Engineer from WSC who consulted growers on design and building of dams, ponds, irrigation systems, wildlife vegetation strips, crop rotations, storm drainage, and erosion control.  The Kegels know firsthand how hard it is to go to school and work. Through their experiences of struggle and later through their successful engineering business, the Kegels learned the true value of a college education. Accordingly, they are returning a bit of their good fortune to those students in need who have the potential to succeed. By establishing this fellowship, Arnie (now deceased) and Marta will help students in need attain their goals and they encourage others to become active physically and financially in supporting higher education and experiencing the joy of impacting students’ lives.

Walter and Vinnie Hinz Endowed Scholarship

Walter W. Hinz graduated from WSU in 1938 with a B.A. in Agricultural Engineering. Walt took many Civil Engineering courses as part of his professional preparation; however, he chose to give back to both areas in establishing this scholarship. As a student, Walt was active in many campus organizations: Associated Engineers, American Society of Agricultural Engineers, Sigma Tau, and College Club of the Student Cooperative Association. Vinnie Hinz (nee Butherus) and Walt met as WSU students and were married in 1940. Walt’s brother, Earl F. Hinz earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from WSU in 1943. Walt’s nephews, Mike, Marvin and David Hinz, as well as Vinnie’s brother, Edward, are also alumni.  Walter and Vinnie are deceased.

Alfred D. and Genevieve E. Gallucci Scholarship

A scholarship will be given to a student with a GPA of at least 3.0 out of a 4.0 scale. He/she must have a definite financial need and have declared a major in Agricultural Engineering.


USDA National Needs Graduate Fellowship

with a competitive stipend for Ph.D. studies in Food Engineering.

Educating Food Engineers to Develop High-Performance Integrated Processing and Packaging Technologies that Enhance Food Safety and Quality

The global food industry is challenged to supply an adequate quantity of safe and nutritious food while meeting new societal, environmental and energy requirements. Food processing and packaging technologies are vital to meeting the food security and food safety challenges.

The overall education al goal of this project is to develop a graduate program that will prepare a diverse workforce that is highly competent and innovative in developing integrated food processing and packaging technologies that markedly advance the USDA mission sciences.

In this project, we are providing training to a cohort of three Fellows in an innovative outcomes-driven program that integrates research and professional experiences with coursework in engineering, applied sciences, and professional development. The Fellows are being trained in interdisciplinary, team-centered classroom and research environments that emphasize critical thinking and problem-solving skills without compromising individual originality. The Fellows are expanding their perspectives through industrial internships at a food product, processing, and package development facilities. The program is training the Fellows to be future leaders in food sterilization and packaging technologies. The project is also intended to facilitate diversity in student participation and preparation and to contribute to a world-class, broadly inclusive, and globally engaged workforce in the food industry. Our project is directly relevant to several USDA/NIFA priorities: promotion of a safe, sufficient, and nutritious food supply for all people around the world, and building a modern workplace with a modern workforce.

Lead Faculty: 
  • Juming Tang (Project Director) is a Regents Professor and Distinguished Chair of Food Engineering in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering 509 335 2140: jtang@wsu.edu
  • Gustavo Barbosa-Cánovas (Project Co-Director) is a Professor of Food Engineering in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering 509 335 6188: barbosa@wsu.edu
  • Shyam S. Sablani (Project Co-Director) is an Associate Professor of Food Engineering in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering 509 335 7745: ssablani@wsu.edu
Past Fellows:
Other Funding Opportunities and Scholarships provided by WSU, CAHNRS and Graduate School

(The application process for the Graduate School’s scholarships is coordinated by our department every January)