Financing after first year

[dagkoc]

Hi Guys, How to understand info as this one:

"If you are accepted into the program you will receive a scholarship for the first year and in future years you will either apply for your own independent scholarships or you will be paid as a research associate from research grants of your future advisor olr you will work part-time as a teaching assistant.:

Is it possible that i may be without the funding after first year? i am international, cannot work outside.

Cheers

[biisis]

It's a maybe. You would need to find external funding or internal work after the first year. Both options exist, but aren't guaranteed from the outset. Most students in this position get through, but not without stress and a fair amount of poverty. I would contact your program to research the availability of internal work opportunities & their rate of pay, and try to chat with a current International Student in the program to get their perspective.

[TakeruK]

This is a common thing that we see in our offer letters.

 

What I would do is ask how often students get the RA and TA ships and whether or not it will be the same level as funding as in first year. If it's like 100% of students who want a RA/TA ship get one and they pay the same as the first year fellowship, then all is good. If RA/TA ship funding is rare then I would be worried. 

[juilletmercredi]

^What TakeruK said.  If you are offered a funding package that is less than the amount of time it commonly takes to complete a particular program, then you should ask how often it is that people do get the funding that they need to continue and ask what funding sources they typically obtain.  Also be aware that as an international student, you're not eligible for a lot of the most popular federally-funded external fellowships like NSFs, NRSAs, NDSEGs, Hertz, Ford, etc.

 

Basically, it sounds like most students probably get on a grant with their advisor, so you would need to find a well-funded advisor in your first year who has a grant with a GRA that you could hop on.  Relying on TAing part-time during a doctoral program is not ideal, because it's very time-consuming and doesn't really further your degree - so you want to get some TA experience but hopefully not have to rely solely on that for your funding.