Call for Applications: Graduate Research Fellowships

The Department of Fire Protection Engineering (FPE) at the University of Maryland (UMD) is inviting applications to two Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI), part of UL Research Institutes Fellowships and one FM Fellowship. These fellowships provide support for three Graduate Research Assistantships (GRAs) with a start in Fall 2026. The Fellowships include standard tuition credits (up to 25/year), health benefits, and a stipend (approximately $42K/year). The duration of the support is up to 24 months.

The support is provided to outstanding, incoming Master of Science (M.S.) students, domestic or international, in the UMD FPE Department and is awarded on a competitive basis. The support goes to individuals who are applying to the FPE M.S. program (a complete application to the FPE M.S. program will be required at the time of evaluation by the Selection Committee, i.e. at the beginning of March. Note that scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) are required in the application to the FPE M.S. program).

Information on the University of Maryland M.S. degree program in FPE can be found in the FPE Graduate Guide.

Two fellowships are funded by the Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI), part of UL Research Institutes (FSRI). The FSRI Fellows are expected to complete their proposed research project under the supervision of FSRI research engineers with advising/support from a member of the Faculty of the FPE Department. The research work is typically performed off-campus, at the FSRI office located in Columbia, MD; some of the work could involve travel (which would be supported by UL).

The FM Fellowship is funded by FM. The FM Fellow is expected to complete his/her proposed research project under the supervision of FM research engineers with advising/support from a member of the Faculty of the FPE Department. The research work is typically performed on-campus, with possible summer internships at one of the FM Research Centers (located in Massachusetts).

Identification of a research project is welcome but is not required during the application process. The research project will be defined by engineers from FSRI (FSRI Fellowships) and from FM (FM Fellowship) in collaboration with members of the FPE Faculty.

Interested applicants should provide a one-page statement of purpose explaining their interest in the FPE M.S. degree program in general and in fire research in particular. Applicants should also provide a résumé and (official or unofficial) copies of transcripts. Applications to the UL and FM Fellowships should be submitted via email to Arnaud Trouvé, Professor and Chair in the FPE Department (atrouve@umd.edu).

The deadline for application is Friday February 27, 2026. Interested applicants should also submit a separate application to the FPE M.S. program. Decisions on applications to the UL and FM Fellowships will be made by Selection Committees composed of members of the FPE Faculty and engineers from FSRI (FSRI Fellowships) and from FM (FM Fellowship). Decisions will be made in early March.

Published January 15, 2026