<p>Hi, I will be graduating with a Engineering Physics degree this December and was planning to apply for a Phd program in electrical engineering / Robotics. My question is about the availability and competitiveness of financial aid if I apply for the spring term. Is it much harder than applying for the fall term?</p>
<p>PhD programs are fully funded. PhD students have their tuition covered and receive a stipend for living expenses. Admission to a PhD program is based on the needs of specific professors (ie, whether or not they need and can support an additional PhD student in their lab), and for the most part this doesn’t really have much to do with when you enroll in the program.</p>
<p>Most PhD programs admit for the fall term only, so you should first check to see even if they will take you for the spring term!</p>
<p>If they do allow it, then you would likely be out of the running for fellowships and probably for teaching assistantships as well, but as AuraObscura noted, research assistantships are not really influenced by when you start and would still be available.</p>
<p>I would be very, very surprised if you were able to find a reputable full-time PhD program that will admit you in the spring.</p>
<p>We have occasionally admitted for the Spring with assistantship but we don’t like to do it because there is a sequence of required courses that begins in the Fall and starting in the Spring causes some timing problems. You might do better to find an internship and apply for the following fall.</p>