so... are english stipends *actually* livable? or do people have to work second jobs?

[grace2137]

Now that I'm in the waiting phase I've been spending a lot of time thinking about the financial aspect of pursuing a PhD. I obviously went through the application process fully knowing what the situation entails and being okay with the financial opportunity cost in general. But I was hoping those with more firsthand knowledge can chime in with the real tea about the day to day. Does your stipend cover your basic needs (Rent, groceries, nominal wiggle room for emergencies, dare I say... going out and socializing sometimes?) Do you work another job part time/feel like you have to to make ends meet? Have you had to take out extra loans? What about in the summer - are there a lot of research-related obligations, or are students able to work then for extra income/experience in alt-ac fields, etc?

Because the application process is so exhausting and the competition is so intense, I can imagine it being easy to feel so validated receiving any offer of admission that one starts to overlook some of these factors, and want to mentally prepare as much as possible before decisions begin to roll out.

[politics 'n prose]

The pinned post at the top of this forum can give you a pretty good (albeit, general) sense of how a number of programs’ stipends correlate to the cost of living in their respective cities:

In my own experience, the stipend I received during my MFA was enough that I only had to find other work over the summers (summer funding wasn’t guaranteed unless you were on fellowship; many students did receive teaching assistantships over the summer, though). I also lucked into a relatively low-commitment but well-paying freelance gig in the final year of my MFA that allowed me to actually start saving money, which is obviously not typical of everyone’s experience (though I found the gig through the graduate program’s listserv, which was oftentimes a great resource for finding part-time/supplemental work at the university or in the surrounding community). 

Of course, I was 23 at the time: the $15K I made each year as a grad student was more money than I’d ever seen before in my life. I also was fortunate to have very few financial obligations (the biggest of which, my student loans, were able to be deferred during my MFA), and my school was located in an area with a low cost of living; I also lived with a roommate in my first and third years, which meant rent and utilities were split down the middle. I budgeted pretty comprehensively and always managed to have some money left over each month for social stuff, though I definitely didn’t have a ton in savings and was essentially living paycheck to paycheck.

So, in short, it’s definitely possible to live relatively comfortably on a grad school stipend: the biggest factors are going to be the cost of living relative to the stipend, and your own existing financial situation (are you supporting one or more dependents? Do you have a lot of personal debt that isn’t deferrable? Etc.). And it’s definitely worth noting that the majority of schools are still woefully lacking in support for lower-income or nontraditional students (e.g., parents), so that’s always something worth asking about if you fall into either of those categories. (Oh, and schools that allow their grad students to unionize—though few and far between—will probably offer more comprehensive or competitive benefits; I went to a school that was openly hostile to unionizing, though, so I can’t speak from experience there.)

[Cryss]

8 hours ago, grace2137 said:

Now that I'm in the waiting phase I've been spending a lot of time thinking about the financial aspect of pursuing a PhD. I obviously went through the application process fully knowing what the situation entails and being okay with the financial opportunity cost in general. But I was hoping those with more firsthand knowledge can chime in with the real tea about the day to day. Does your stipend cover your basic needs (Rent, groceries, nominal wiggle room for emergencies, dare I say... going out and socializing sometimes?) Do you work another job part time/feel like you have to to make ends meet? Have you had to take out extra loans? What about in the summer - are there a lot of research-related obligations, or are students able to work then for extra income/experience in alt-ac fields, etc?

Because the application process is so exhausting and the competition is so intense, I can imagine it being easy to feel so validated receiving any offer of admission that one starts to overlook some of these factors, and want to mentally prepare as much as possible before decisions begin to roll out.

I imagine answers will vary vastly based on certain factors, for example, where someone is attending school. 25k will go further in some places as opposed to say, New York, or California. Cost of living matters, and in the link @politics 'n prose provided above, there is even a column that gives the cost of living index for each school's stipend in the area the school is located.

Another factor would be what type of student you are. As an international student, I would be unable to work jobs outside the school during the semester, and unable to take loans (for the most part). Therefore, I would look for stipends that can cover my needs. If you have a spouse or family, your "basic" family needs look different from the needs of an individual. You might be able to share an apartment as a single person, but you would need your own space as a family. That's more money. For a PhD in general though, I think most schools try to give a stipend that is enough (barely) to cover basic needs for 1 person. I'm guessing the reason for this is that PhD programs aren't thrilled about you working another job while they are paying you, at least not full-time. Not too sure about part time. 

Finally, of course, comfort and expenses differ from person to person, making everyone's answers subjective to their own experiences, history and perception of their needs. For me, I looked at the stipend a school is offering (is it divided into 10 months or 12? Do they give you in a lump sum?) and researched the average rent, the cost of bills, groceries, fast internet, transportation, etc. in that particular area. Then repeated it for each school. 

Edited January 6, 2020 by Cryss

[politics 'n prose]

1 hour ago, Cryss said:

I’m guessing the reason for this is that PhD programs aren't thrilled about you working another job while they are paying you, at least not full-time. Not too sure about part time. 

Ooo, yes, this is a good point: at my institution, those on fellowship were explicitly forbidden from working an outside job without written permission; I’m pretty sure teaching assistants were similarly discouraged from holding a second job, but I don’t think it was actually written into the contract that this was a no-no. 

With that said, my sense was that the rules governing outside employment for fellows and TAs were set by the graduate school itself, not by the English department; in my program, at least, I don’t think anyone was actively discouraged from making extra money on the side. Obviously the goal is for the stipend to be livable enough to preclude a second source of income, so students can focus entirely on coursework, exams, and dissertating, but of course that is frequently not the reality. 

[Cryss]

1 hour ago, politics 'n prose said:

Ooo, yes, this is a good point: at my institution, those on fellowship were explicitly forbidden from working an outside job without written permission; I’m pretty sure teaching assistants were similarly discouraged from holding a second job, but I don’t think it was actually written into the contract that this was a no-no. 

With that said, my sense was that the rules governing outside employment for fellows and TAs were set by the graduate school itself, not by the English department; in my program, at least, I don’t think anyone was actively discouraged from making extra money on the side. Obviously the goal is for the stipend to be livable enough to preclude a second source of income, so students can focus entirely on coursework, exams, and dissertating, but of course that is frequently not the reality. 

This is true! In my MA program, since most adjuncts weren't making much, it was common to find additional part-time adjunct positions at other Universities. However, my MA was not funded, so this is probably where the difference lies. PhD programs that are fully funded seem to be stricter with prohibiting outside work. 

Another option for supplementing the stipend may be on-campus jobs that orbit English, like Writing Center work, etc. There might be less of a stigma/prohibition because it's related.

Bottom line for us is to definitely do the research and read the fine print.

12 hours ago, grace2137 said:

Do you work another job part time/feel like you have to to make ends meet? Have you had to take out extra loans? What about in the summer - are there a lot of research-related obligations, or are students able to work then for extra income/experience in alt-ac fields, etc?

It is also important to understand the expected responsibilities for that program. If you are required to teach 2 classes per semester in years 2-4 on top of your own seminars/research/exams, a part-time job may not be a viable option at all, even if it is allowed.  

[Bopie5]

4 hours ago, politics 'n prose said:

Ooo, yes, this is a good point: at my institution, those on fellowship were explicitly forbidden from working an outside job without written permission; I’m pretty sure teaching assistants were similarly discouraged from holding a second job, but I don’t think it was actually written into the contract that this was a no-no. 

I'm in Villanova's MA program in Philly; my living stipend is $17,000 for 9 months, with no pay during the summer. I've found it to be livable so far; I found a place with really low rent, and have been able to live comfortably on my stipend and have extra money for going to conferences, being social, and flying home for the holidays. However, I haven't been able to add anything more than about $50-100/month to my savings at this point, so I'm surviving, but not accumulating, and I don't have much of a safety net.

For my level of assistantship, we work 20 hours/week, and we are prohibited from taking another official job unless we've petitioned for permission from the department. I do some nannying/babysitting on the side to supplement, which helps me a lot but may not be workable for everyone.

Basically, TLDR, my stipend does cover my basic needs, and I would still survive comfortably if I didn't do nannying work on the side. It's very livable, imho, and the only worry is that I don't have much financial wiggle room if I were to have some unexpected expense like a medical bill or vehicle problems.

[Cryss]

18 minutes ago, Bopie5 said:

I'm in Villanova's MA program in Philly; my living stipend is $17,000 for 9 months, with no pay during the summer. I've found it to be livable so far; I found a place with really low rent, and have been able to live comfortably on my stipend and have extra money for going to conferences, being social, and flying home for the holidays. However, I haven't been able to add anything more than about $50-100/month to my savings at this point, so I'm surviving, but not accumulating, and I don't have much of a safety net.

For my level of assistantship, we work 20 hours/week, and we are prohibited from taking another official job unless we've petitioned for permission from the department. I do some nannying/babysitting on the side to supplement, which helps me a lot but may not be workable for everyone.

Basically, TLDR, my stipend does cover my basic needs, and I would still survive comfortably if I didn't do nannying work on the side. It's very livable, imho, and the only worry is that I don't have much financial wiggle room if I were to have some unexpected expense like a medical bill or vehicle problems.

This is really good info! May I ask if you live alone or share an apartment?

[Bopie5]

1 hour ago, Cryss said:

This is really good info! May I ask if you live alone or share an apartment?

Of course! I share a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath house with three other grad students. Our rent is $1900/month total, so split by four, it’s very reasonable. We got very lucky in finding such an affordable place where we all have our own rooms! Sharing a house was significantly more affordable than finding an apartment in my area.

Edited January 6, 2020 by Bopie5

[Cryss]

2 hours ago, Bopie5 said:

Of course! I share a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath house with three other grad students. Our rent is $1900/month total, so split by four, it’s very reasonable. We got very lucky in finding such an affordable place where we all have our own rooms! Sharing a house was significantly more affordable than finding an apartment in my area.

Oh wow. That's not bad at all! 

Thanks for sharing!

[WildeThing]

My stipend is very livable for one person. I’m not saving and living month to month but my stipend covers my partner and I and move-in costs have been high because I came from overseas. If I were a single American (unopposed to living with roommates), I’d say it’s decently comfortable. Of course, context, CoL, etc. matter.

[grace2137]

Thank you all for your helpful responses - a lot of this has confirmed what prior understanding I had, which is reassuring! I just started to worry I might be naive or not having the full picture. I did factor in the living wage index when choosing my list of schools and so forth, and I'm certainly not used to living extravagantly or anything - I would be coming straight from stretching meager FWS earnings to get by while doing my undergrad in NYC, and almost anything is a step up from that, haha. 

[ArcaMajora]

Reporting from California here. The stipend is fairly livable. I'm currently on fellowship for $21,000 over a 9-month payment schedule, with a $3,000 summer stipend to come. On a month-to-month basis, that's about $2,300/month during the academic year give or take.

I do have to preface that I am both single and my hometown isn't too far from Irvine, so the move-in costs were not nearly as large versus needing to move from someplace else that's much farther. As far as rent... I'm currently paying about $800/month for my 2 bed 1 bath unit in one of the on-campus apartments, with our own rooms as well. There's cheaper units for on-campus housing, but those are the much higher demand units. The unit itself is pretty good. I haven't had any utility costs spring up at me plus internet access is also provided straight from the university.

Day to day, I'm doing good so far on needing enough to cover the essentials (rent + groceries), being able to pull off out-of-state conferences with the help of conference grants, and the occasional night out to dinner/social events. I'm currently living on campus without a car, which definitely helps ease how much I use my stipend (a car would invoke not just insurance, but the breathtakingly expensive parking permit). Any money I save now is part-emergency fund and part-money I'll use for summer rent.

The drawback though is definitely the summer months. The school year has largely been fine, but the summer months is where we have to produce our own income. After the first year summer stipend, I've seen people either take up summer session teaching for UCI or be exam prep tutors/instructors over the summer. Watch the space for how this one goes.

Work on the side is tempting, but the amount of work and the time-intensive nature of grad seminars usually dissuades me from that haha. My first quarter as a grad student was immensely challenging and pushed me a lot harder than undergrad did. It was incredible, but also immensely stressful. And there were parts during that quarter where I couldn't think of anything but 'how am I doing right now as a grad student/am I any good?' For the first quarter at least, I just couldn't see myself taking on part-time work without breaking my personal work/life balance line. Let's see how this quarter goes. For summer months, I would definitely work over the summer unless a research fellowship that takes me far from California happens.

In short, it's livable, but it depends on a whole bunch of factors that are context-sensitive to the area, your needs, your financial situation, etc. and how those factors intersect. My stipend is comfortable for me now because my hometown is close to the area, have family nearby, and have an increased safety net that takes pressure off my stipend (plus cohort friends that are willing to drive me around for hangouts/dinners). I have no doubt that if I was writing this from somewhere like Buffalo or Seattle, I'd def be having a much different experience and a double adjustment to grad school plus entirely new states.

Edited January 7, 2020 by ArcaMajora

[Cryss]

11 hours ago, WildeThing said:

My stipend is very livable for one person. I’m not saving and living month to month but my stipend covers my partner and I and move-in costs have been high because I came from overseas. If I were a single American (unopposed to living with roommates), I’d say it’s decently comfortable. Of course, context, CoL, etc. matter.

This would be my predicament if I get accepted anywhere. I'd be coming from abroad with my husband. There were schools I flat out could not apply to because it would be a struggle for even just 1 person to survive on their stipend, much less 2.

8 hours ago, ArcaMajora said:

In short, it's livable, but it depends on a whole bunch of factors that are context-sensitive to the area, your needs, your financial situation, etc. and how those factors intersect. My stipend is comfortable for me now because my hometown is close to the area, have family nearby, and have an increased safety net that takes pressure off my stipend (plus cohort friends that are willing to drive me around for hangouts/dinners). I have no doubt that if I was writing this from somewhere like Buffalo or Seattle, I'd def be having a much different experience and a double adjustment to grad school plus entirely new states.

I didn't apply to anywhere in California, but I love love these detailed stipend breakdowns because they're just so helpful for applicants to know. Thank you for sharing. 

Edited January 7, 2020 by Cryss

[Warelin]

I think it's also a good idea to consider how or if stipends increase on a yearly basis to account for cost of living adjustments. Some departments do adjust for these; others might not have revised stipends in a while. Some cities (Nashville and Austin come to mind) used to be cheap to live in but in recent years have faced increased demand and decreased vacancy rates which have caused prices to skyrocket. Depending on when you move might also be the difference of several hundred dollars of what rent will be.

I'm currently on a stipend which pays ~$26,000 over 11 months. The University provides free transportation passes which gives you unlimited use of the buses and city trains which also give you access to other parts of the county. The University also pays for about 90 percent of health insurance and dental insurance costs. The overall cost of living here is very affordable. Due to some city initiatives, there are a lot of startups here. There are also a lot of nonprofits that call this home.

My current stipend is enough to afford me to live in a ~1700 sqft house with my partner and a pet. We live about 1.5 miles away from the university. My stipend changes every year to adjust for cost of living which in the past has generally meant an increase of 3 percent or so per year.  It was also enough to support us to pay all our expenses while my partner job searched. ( If I were living alone, I would still be able to afford the house here and be able to afford going out with my cohort twice a month or so. I do hangout with my cohort twice a month currently as our schedule allows; often we take turns between hosting and going out to eat elsewhere. I think everyone has had the cohort and their partners over at their house at least once. Most people live by themselves; some people in cohorts above us have chosen to live with each other by choice.I don't know anybody here who is struggling for money; but there are additional opportunities to teach both in other departments and at other colleges during the summer or school year if one wanted to.

The first two years here require no teaching and the last year also doesn't require any service. Otherwise, the teaching load is 1-1 which means you either help with a course or teach a course per semester. Additional teaching opportunities also become available after year 3/4. Some people have taught at different departments; others have taught at nearby universities or have worked as tutors after they have completed their coursework.

[WildeThing]

6 hours ago, Cryss said:

This would be my predicament if I get accepted anywhere. I'd be coming from abroad with my husband. There were schools I flat out could not apply to because it would be a struggle for even just 1 person to survive on their stipend, much less 2.

I didn't apply to anywhere in California, but I love love these detailed stipend breakdowns because they're just so helpful for applicants to know. Thank you for sharing. 

If you’re in the same situation then you should make sure to have several thousands of buffer money to bring with you. The first stipend might take a while and you need to be able to live that first few days/weeks/month. Not to mention deposits for housing, health insurance for your partner, and VISA costs. Everyone needs a buffer but as an international student it is even more true.

[Regimentations]

As a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, I never had to work an additional job in order to afford rent, food or utilities. I found the stipend to be enough to afford monthly costs while also being able to spend money hanging out with my cohort and enjoying many things St. Louis has to offer. One of the nicest things about St. Louis is that many of its attractions are free and many of the free things are located near Forest Park which is near the university.

[Indecisive Poet]

On 1/7/2020 at 6:11 PM, Warelin said:

The University provides free transportation passes which gives you unlimited use of the buses and city trains which also give you access to other parts of the county.

So nice!

[basicallybelle]

I think they are liveable, but you have to live like a student. I have friends at Columbia PhD programs (although not in English) and they all seem to be doing fine, despite the costs of NYC, because Columbia grad housing rent is like $1100. Perks like that and having health insurance alleviate a lot of cost burden. 

[trytostay]

On 4/18/2020 at 6:18 AM, basicallybelle said:

I think they are liveable, but you have to live like a student. I have friends at Columbia PhD programs (although not in English) and they all seem to be doing fine, despite the costs of NYC, because Columbia grad housing rent is like $1100. Perks like that and having health insurance alleviate a lot of cost burden. 

Currently at Columbia. Can confirm: very livable.

I'm not living in luxury or anything, but a few days out of the month spent babysitting for some side cash and I'd say I'm perfectly comfortable. 

[Warelin]

I think it is important to note that different colleges have different expectations when it comes to graduate/faculty housing. Some graduate housing does not allow pets to live there. As a result, one may or may not qualify for living in graduate housing.

Some units owned by colleges might also require you to have roommates. This might work well for some and might be a deal-breaker for others.

Some housing might be assigned by lottery. This is just luck.