Graduate Student Employment

Get Paid to Study with a Graduate Assistantship

The Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design at Virginia Tech annually offers multiple graduate assistantships. These provide a $29,000-$31,000 annual stipend to the student, in addition to fully covering Virginia Tech's tuition. In exchange for having their tuition paid and receiving a stipend paycheck, the selected students will focus their research on specific topics and will be expected to work as a lab manager. 

Graduate students selected for these Assistantships will pursue their graduate degree through the Department of Sustainable Biomaterials at Virginia Tech. They will be expected to focus their research on one of many specific topics that have been requested by our industry members. In the past, topics selected for Assistantship research have been focused on how to improve the sustainability of the global supply chain through the better designing of pallets, unit loads, and distribution packaging. 

Students selected for these assistantships will have the opportunity to gain practical, industrial, and management experience by working for CPULD as a Graduate Laboratory Manager for at least 16 hours a week. Through this position, they will be responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of one of CPULD’s labs and for overseeing the work of the undergraduate student assistants.

More information about the currently available assistantships are available to download below: