9 month vs 12 months Funding

[Elephas]

So far I see the trend being 9 month funding but for those who are grad students what do you do for the other 3 months? Internships? Find a lab to do research in over the summer... etc?

If you were to be offered 12 month funding would you prefer that over the 9 month funding? Any experience or advice is appreciated.

[Emily Roberts]

I think for most STEM programs it's just that the stipend source will change after 9 months and the offer letter doesn't apply after that point. Yes, it's probably that you will join a lab and have an RA through that lab, so funding is contingent on that happening. However, that's not always the case, and some programs really do just pay stipends during the academic year (e.g., you are a TA and don't have a class over the summer). The typical funding path for PhD students should be discussed during your visit weekend, and if it's not you definitely need to inquire.

As a bit of an exception to the above, I think it is common in CS programs for students to do summer internships (which tend to pay more than RAs would).

[TakeruK]

Most STEM programs will have funding for 12 months. Like @Emily Roberts said, in some cases, the initial offer for the first year may only be 9 months because it might be a TA offer or a fellowship that only covers the school year. You should ask the department what happens in the first summer and also beyond that. Often, if the school has a model where the department provides funding for the first school year because you're mostly doing classes and then summer + future year funding comes from your future advisor, then the offer will just have the first 9 months and you need to secure a RAship for the summer and beyond. In this case, you should ask to find out how often students are able to be funded for the first summer. 

Some programs, in my field at least, don't require you to be an RA or even be on campus for that first summer. So sometimes people go home that summer, get another job, study for quals etc. Not sure how common this would be in your field.

If you're asking me, I greatly prefer 12 month funding because I don't want to have to go home or find something else for the summer. Internships aren't really a big thing in my field and I am coming to grad school to do research with the profs there, not to find internships. But this all depends on your field and your own goals of course! That said, I would be fine with an initial 9 month offer if all students who want a summer RAship get one (as the case with one of the schools I was considering). As an international student (although only from Canada), it would be more of a hassle to not have the final 3 months of funding secured (for foreign student status eligibility) and I would not want to have to give up my lease etc. and have to find another apartment again if I had to return home (similarly, my partner would have been settled in the new place by then and it would be tough for them to return home and leave their job etc.)

[Elephas]

Yeah I think it seems after reviewing to be more so of a contingent 9 months with the 3 other months tbd. I think I will be speaking more to the individual programs about what happens the other months and the grad students. I do think the 12 months is more favorable I just wasn't sure what the standard was as my "acceptance packages" have all said 9 months thus far. 

I would continue to appreciate any perspectives on how to approach the conversation/what you have done to secure funding in the past.

[Excelsior!]

Generally speaking, the offers are for 9 months or 12? My offers say x amount of money annually, but is it divided by 9 or 12?

[Elephas]

@Excelsior! You'd have to ask the department mine have all explicitly said the months.

[Excelsior!]

@balaenopter_a I will do that, thanks!

[GreenEyedTrombonist]

@Excelsior! Where is the funding coming from? TAship? RAship? Fellowship? This information would change the answer, though if it says "x amount annually" I'm inclined to assume it would be split over 12 months. 

The funding from my current offer is a TAship so it's dispersed over 9 months. There are TAships available for the summer, but they are competitive and hard to get (fewer classes in the summer so fewer TAs needed). Luckily, my stipend is good enough to be just below what the minimum living wage is in the area, so if I work even a minimum wage job 1 or 2 days a week in the summer I'll more than make up the difference. Thinking about it, I might talk with my current remote job about writing my articles in the summer and having them post throughout the rest of the year.

[Excelsior!]

@GreenEyedTrombonist both offers say ta,gra or a combination of both.