MSE Scholarships and Awards

The continued involvement and support of our large alumni community is a huge factor in the success of the MSE Programs.We're so grateful when a contribution is made because your generosity allows us to do more for MSE students. There are many ways to support MSE students, from mock interviews to recruitment, but one of the most rewarding ways to help is by endowing a scholarship. It need not be a large amount of money or awarded yearly. When you support a scholarship, you determine the amount, the criteria, and the frequency. 

But don't take our word for it. In a 2017 interview, MSE alumnus Eduardo Frias said: "[It] is not that big of a financial commitment. I used to think of scholarships and assumed that I couldn’t afford to give enough money for a scholarship. And even what I donated is not that much money in the context of how much it costs to attend CMU full-time. But...it really doesn't take that much. You could give a few thousand dollars, and the difference [to a student] would be huge." 

All current scholarships are awarded by faculty nomination during the admission process or in their last semester of the program. Students do not apply directly for scholarships. 

James E. Tomayko Graduate Scholarship in Software Engineering

The James E. Tomayko Scholarship is awarded to one or more students who demonstrate academic excellence, leadership potential, strong communication skills, exceptional personal initiative, and demonstrated financial need. 

The scholarship is made possible through the generous contribution of a benefactor and serves as a means to carry forward Dr. Tomayko’s vision and commitment to academic excellence. A teaching professor in Carnegie Mellon’s School of Computer Science and Director Emeritus of the Master of Software Engineering Program, Dr. Tomayko was a key contributor to software engineering education throughout his 16-year tenure with the university.

Recipients

2006  Yaron Roni Burd
2007  Uma Menon and Ankit Sengar
2008  Akeel Laila, Jonathan Graines Hartje and Harrison Stowd
2009  Mohinder Dick and Gloria Santin
2010  Jack Chen
2011  Jorge Eduardo Ruiz Diaz
2013  Sammy Mudede
2014  Ying Gao
2015  Wenxin Peng
2016  Swati Dhawan
2017  Kenji Yonkekawa
2019  Yinuo Zhang and Tim Mon
2020  Daniel Biales and Vivek Gupta
2021  Jinglun Ding
2022  Rashmi K A and Vandit Jain
2023  Saloni Sinha

Eduardo & Norma Frias Scholarship

Eduardo Frias established the Eduardo and Norma Frias Scholarship in honor of his parents, Eduardo and Norma Frias, who made it possible for him to attend CMU.

In a 2017 interview, Eduardo explained what motivated him to endow a scholarship. "When Coach [James Tomayko] visited Buenos Aires and turned me onto the MSE, it was somewhat bittersweet. I really didn’t have the money to drop everything and go to Carnegie Mellon. I didn’t think it would ever happen. And while Jim did everything he could to find financial aid for me, it just wasn’t in the cards.

"But then my parents stepped up and paid my way. They made it happen for me. I know that the decision to attend CMU was the most important decision of my life. From a personal and professional perspective, it changed everything. Besides paying them back, I wanted to do something that would help others in the same way that they helped me."

The Frias scholarship was awarded to students who demonstrated a commitment to academic excellence and leadership potential and had financial need. The scholarship was applied toward one semester of tuition offset.

Recipients

2017  Nicholas Jurgens
2018  Abdulwahab M. Almorebah
2020  Vaithyanathan Narayanan
2022  Sukanya Gupta

Coach Award

The Coach Award was established by the MSE Professional Programs in recognition of James E. “Coach” Tomayko and is awarded to a community member who has contributed significantly to the student experience. Such an individual exhibits outstanding leadership traits, volunteering for and taking on duties beyond that which is expected. He or she is the consummate team player, exhibiting and promoting a positive attitude.  

When the honor is awarded to a student, it is to one who demonstrates the above-listed traits, excels academically, and serves as a role model for other MSE students. In these instances, the student is awarded a scholarship to be applied to the last semester of study. Financial need is not a factor.

Recipients

2007  Matthew Weyant (Outstanding Citizenship & Leadership)
2008  Cliff Huff (Outstanding Teaching & Mentorship)
2009  Ryan Miller (Outstanding Citizenship & Leadership)
2010  Grace Lewis (Outstanding Teaching & Mentorship)
2011  Studio Team YALA: Yousef AlSaeed, Ashwini Bijwe, Wenjiao Wang, Lyle Holsinger (Team Excellence)
2012  Tony Lattanze (Outstanding Teaching & Mentorship)
2013  Tharanga Gamaethige (Outstanding Citizenship & Leadership)
2014  Eduardo Miranda (Outstanding Teaching & Mentorship)
2015  Jeffrey Genary (Outstanding Teaching & Mentorship)
2016  David Garlan (Outstanding Teaching & Mentorship)
2020  Daniel Myers (Outstanding Citizenship & Leadership)
2023  Yazid Hamdi (Outstanding Citizenship & Leadership)

Director's Scholarship

The Director’s Scholarship recognizes top students of the current class who demonstrate academic excellence, leadership potential, strong communication skills, and exceptional personal initiative. In addition to strong academic performance, these students are outstanding departmental citizens. This may include leading activities that achieve program goals, strengthen our program community, and increase our external visibility.

Recipients

2020  Aishwarya Jaiswal
2021  Ka (Edmond) Tsoi and Yao (Paul) Wei
2022  Sukanya Gupta and Aswin Saval
2023  Eshita Agarwal, Gaurav Agerwala, Kunal Jain, and Anshul Modh