Texas Tech University

Healthcare Engineering Scholarships

                 

Scholarship opportunities are available through the Graduate School and the Whitacre College of Engineering. Additional scholarships particularly for students in the Healthcare Engineering Option are the following:

VA Healthcare Systems Engineering Postgraduate Fellowship

The VA Healthcare Systems Engineering Postgraduate Fellowship Program introduces recent engineering graduates to the growing field of Healthcare Engineering. The fellowship is based at New England Veterans Engineering Resource Center (VERC), which uses a systems based engineering approach to support the VA to efficiently, effectively, and reliably provide exceptional health care to veterans. VERC is a dynamic group of engineers and process improvement specialists working on regional and national projects to enable VA healthcare to efficiently, effectively, and reliably provide exceptional care.

Engineering graduate students from Texas Tech University are sought to apply their expert skills (e.g., operations research, modeling and simulation, scheduling, data mining, human factors, risk analysis) in the development and application of innovative engineering solutions. New England VERC has a project portfolio with work in primary and specialty care models, inpatient medicine, surgical safety, and streamlining administrative processes. Multiple learning opportunities for VERC fellows exist in areas such as project management, facilitation, mentorship, and lean. The fellowship curriculum is taught by healthcare practitioners and systems engineering experts. 

Fellows will 1) learn to apply industrial and systems engineering techniques to the improvement of health systems; 2) become immersed in clinical processes and procedures and will have the opportunity to pilot tests of change; 3) use advanced engineering methods — such as modeling or simulation — and apply your other expert skills (e.g. operations research, scheduling, data mining, human factors, risk analysis) in the development and application of innovative engineering solutions; 4) work in primary and specialty care, inpatient medicine, surgical safety, and streamline administrative processes; 5) submit a manuscript to a medical quality or systems engineering journal and/or present work as a conference poster or presentation; 6) take advantage of multiple learning opportunities in areas such as project management, facilitation, mentorship, lean, and a specially designed biweekly fellowship seminars taught by healthcare practitioners and systems engineering experts.

Graduates of this fellowship will have experience and qualifications to obtain employment in healthcare settings or pursue further training in healthcare systems engineering.

Fellowship requirements include a master's degree or a PhD in an engineering field as well, as U.S. citizenship.   Candidates with industrial or systems engineering backgrounds are given preference. Start dates other than July 2015 will be considered. The VA Office of Academic Affiliations provides an annual stipend; fellows with a master's degree earn approximately $32,500 and fellows with a PhD earn approximately $46,000. Benefits such as leave and health insurance are also offered to fellows. 

For more information, visit http://www.newengland.va.gov/verc/fellowships.asp or contact NEVERC.Fellowship@va.gov.  To apply for the fellowship, email a cover letter and your CV/resume to NEVERC.Fellowship@va.gov. Selected candidates will be contacted for a phone interview and will be asked for three recommendation letters. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.