Being a graduate TA in the first year of graduate school?

[anon88]

Hi everyone,

I've been accepted to a few schools for direct entry PhD programs for American and Middle Eastern history and am now trying to decide between them. One of my main issues is funding. The schools that are offering funding are all doing so in the form of graduate TAships. Is it possible to succeed in the first years of a doctoral program while working as a TA?

From reading posts, it seems like most schools offer packages that include tuition waivers and stipends of 20K with no requirement to teach in the first few years. However, the packages I've been offered have no stipend and all require working as a Graduate TA, where I would make on average 13-15K. Is this doable and is it standard for schools to offer some students lower amounts of funding?

Advice appreciated. Thanks.

[PhD or Bust]

Hi everyone,

I've been accepted to a few schools for direct entry PhD programs for American and Middle Eastern history and am now trying to decide between them. One of my main issues is funding. The schools that are offering funding are all doing so in the form of graduate TAships. Is it possible to succeed in the first years of a doctoral program while working as a TA?

From reading posts, it seems like most schools offer packages that include tuition waivers and stipends of 20K with no requirement to teach in the first few years. However, the packages I've been offered have no stipend and all require working as a Graduate TA, where I would make on average 13-15K. Is this doable and is it standard for schools to offer some students lower amounts of funding?

Advice appreciated. Thanks.

in for answer

[borderlands]

Funding varies from one institution to another, largely private vs. public state school, also how well the history department is funded and established, in general. For example Berkeley's history department is better funded than other UC's history department.

If a school accepts you with more funding than another and they really want you they will offer more funding and perks like not teaching first and second years. A lot of in state schools also require that graduate students do readerships/ teaching assistant to get tuition exceptions.

I was originally offered minimal financial support at Davis that included one readership for three quarters about 5k and 10k of additional support. When I told them about another institution's offer they raised their offer 7k and included no teaching for first year, also added summer funding of 2.5k for three years. Funding varies all across the board but it really depends on the resources it has at its disposal.

[TMP]

Each department varies because not everyone has the same budget or number of graduate students. The best you can do is tell other schools about other offers and see who can raise their offers and cut back on the TA-ships for the first year.

If you are really stuck, then just choose which best fits you. It's challenging to teach in your first year but it's doable. In fact, you may not even have to do it! There was a poster on here who went to a program that required teaching in her first semester but just the day before school started, she found out that she didn't even need to because they had found money. But that's a chance that you can't count on.

[breakfast]

Most funded grad students in my department TA every semester they are funded (minority fellowships work a bit different). It has been challenging at times, but not as bad as some people might make it out to be. Plus, it really all depends on what your exact TA duties will be? Grading, leading discussions, or teaching an entire course on your own? The grading is easy, and leading discussions isn't bad, but I couldn't imagine any program would expect you to design and teach an entire course on your own your first semester. It just requires good time management, which is something you need to succeed in grad school anyway. If you don't have them, teaching your first year really forces you to get time management skills quickly.

[amberanna]

My MA program (not even the PhD!) offers funded GAships in the first year. You grade for an auditorium class for the two years of your MA, with a stipend of around 9,000 total (lucky thing Memphis has a low cost of living!!!). Then, if you stay for your PhD, you can start teaching then.

I don't find it to be very hard, or unmanageable at all.

[Henry Hudson]

most Canadian universities have people TAing in their 1st years. It's manageable, but it can mean an incomplete or two in your own coursework.