About duration of the GRA offer

[slaugh]

I have received a research assistantship offer from Georgia Tech. The letter States that the offer covers the first year (fall 18, spring 19, summer 19). 

My question is whether it is common practice for offers to cover only the first year. Do they usually renew the offer each year? Or should I be worried that they might require me to pay tuition in the subsequent years.

Thanks 

[rising_star]

You'll need to ask the department if the funding is renewable for subsequent years and, if so, what the process for that is and how many renewals are allowed. No one here is going to be able to answer that for you, especially without knowing the department in question.

[Emily Roberts]

This is field- and program-dependent. Only mentioning funding for the first year is not necessarily a bad sign because it is common for funding to continue and it may not be 100% known right now where that funding will come from in the 2nd year and beyond (e.g., it might depend on you being accepted into an advisor's group). But it's something you definitely need to inquire about if you are seriously considering the offer. If you have a visit weekend scheduled they will probably talk about funding for the rest of the PhD at that time (at least what is typical) or you can ask the question. If you aren't getting a visit weekend, ask the admin assistant/person coordinating the admissions process.

[slaugh]

Thank you for the responses. Sorry I forgot to mention, the department is Electrical and Computer engineering.

Graduate student handbook says that renewal of GRA positions depends on the academic success of the student and availability of funds. I will be working in the lab of my POI as a research assistant. I won't be able to continue my studies without funding therefore I got worried when I saw that this offer covers only the first year. I agree it is best to ask the graduate program coordinator about this renewal process. Thanks again! 

[TakeruK]

The standard in STEM fields is to offer something like,

"Funding is available for the first year and up to 5 (or some number) years, subject to satisfactory performance and availability of funds."  Other similar alternative wording might say "duration of studies" instead of setting a strict limit. Usually the wording is clear or at least implies you'll be funded at the same level throughout your degree.

However, pointing out that almost no school will actually promise more than 1 year of funding at a time, unless you have a special fellowship or something. They need to reserve the option to withdraw funding if you fail, or in the rare case the department goes bankrupt or gets defunded, they don't want to be legally liable to pay you. If you get something like this, just a quick check with your POI or other grad students on visits is a good practice, especially to ensure that the funding is indeed on the same level each year.

Another common offer, that is slightly less good, is:

"Funding of X dollars is available for the first year. Funding for subsequent years is subject to....[same as before]". This is similar to the above but it might mean you won't get the same amount of funding each year. It might also mean you may have to re-compete for funding each year. Definitely worth a check. Ask questions like "how many students get the same funding for  whole degree" or something. If the answer is over 95% then you're good, but if it's a competitive funding environment every year then you might want to consider that when making your final decisions.