UT and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory announced in December 2009 the establishment of a new Distinguished Fellowship program providing students with an opportunity to take part in research activities at both institutions as part of the work toward their degree. The fellowships, funded jointly by UT and ORNL and renewable for up to five years, included paid tuition and a $30,000 annual stipend. Fellowships were available in materials science, computational science, nuclear science, and neutron science, with coursework in the College of Engineering or the College of Arts and Sciences. The inaugural class was admitted for fall 2010, with students selected serving a summer internship at ORNL prior to beginning their program.