Gertrude

Is anyone in the midst of evaluating funding options? Does anyone know what the standard funding offers are at top PhD programs? I'm trying to get an idea for what is available and what is affordable given my present loan status. I'm also trying to decide whether or not I should negotiate.

I like the don't go into debt more than you earn rule of thumb. I'm not sure what is considered "normal" for International PhD admits, but I received an offer from a humanities department at the University of Toronto. They offered five years of tuition, healthcare, a 15k stipend, an assistantship, and entry into a competitive scholarship that would be worth an additional 4-5k per year. I don't think that you should have to pay tuition for a PhD program, but it probably depends on what offers you get. If you hear from other universities, you may want to try and negotiate.