Stipends?

[mechengr2000]

What is norm for Phd Stipends in Engineering? I have an offer for 24K, but the cost of living in that area is high. (Rent will be 1000/month, utilities included)

[Eigen]

Sounds about identical to the stipends/cost of living at my school, or any of the ones I got offers from.

[mechengr2000]

Sounds about identical to the stipends/cost of living at my school, or any of the ones I got offers from.

Should I be expecting more if the school's name is prestigious? It is one of the top 5 in the field. They did give free health and dental insurance.

Now that I have accepted their offer, have I lost the chance to negotiate something higher?

[husky]

Should I be expecting more if the school's name is prestigious? It is one of the top 5 in the field. They did give free health and dental insurance.

Now that I have accepted their offer, have I lost the chance to negotiate something higher?

That sounds like a reasonable offer. If you're wondering if it is equivalent to what other students in your school are getting, or if it's enough to live on in that area, you should probably ask around? Students in the department would have the 411.

Stipend information is actually available online at my university; it might be the same at yours. Maybe you can check online. But it still sounds like a good offer.

[emandar]

24k - 12k(rent) - 3.6k(food) - 1k (books/school expenses/parking) - 1k(new clothes) - 1k(new laptop) = 5.4k to do other things like travel home/explore a city/save. You need more?

[Eigen]

I was going to say you left out health insurance, but in this case the school is providing that.

Yeah, I'd say that is a very livable salary with the information you've given us. I was able to support both myself and my wife on a 30k stipend in a city with a very similar cost of living... And no free health insurance.

[Bukharan]

24k - 12k(rent) - 3.6k(food) - 1k (books/school expenses/parking) - 1k(new clothes) - 1k(new laptop) = 5.4k to do other things like travel home/explore a city/save. You need more?

Ok. What about tax? Am I wrong in thinking that 2-3k of that remaining sum will be given away at the end of the year?

[Usmivka]

Ok. What about tax? Am I wrong in thinking that 2-3k of that remaining sum will be given away at the end of the year?

Assuming all of your income is stipend, you nominally will owe ~$3200 in US taxes at that income bracket. You can check by going to http://www.irs.gov/p...df/i1040tt.pdf. Big caveat here though: You will very likely owe much less than this because of deductions. At a minimum you will get one $400 deduction, and if you are a US citizen another $600 deduction ("making work pay"), and most likely one or two education credits (~$500-2000 depending on which you qualify for). So a US student will only pay ~$200-$1700 (generally weighted towards the low end), an international student will pay ~$2800 (minus yet another chunk having to do with reciprocal tax treaties with most countries, no idea how much this is).

I should add that this also assumes that your entire stipend is taxable, which it isn't, but I don't want to fill out a tax return just to see how the numbers work out.

Edited April 14, 2011 by Usmivka

[emandar]

In addition to what Usmivka said, I found this site helpful for learning about the tax benefits for graduate students:

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=213044,00.html

[starmaker]

24k - 12k(rent) - 3.6k(food) - 1k (books/school expenses/parking) - 1k(new clothes) - 1k(new laptop) = 5.4k to do other things like travel home/explore a city/save. You need more?

Let's see...phone bill, Internet access (unless you plan to go to campus every time you need to look something up online), gasoline if you live in a place that requires a car, car maintenance, car insurance, taxes, utilities, heat, medical expenses (copays, any deductible that your insurance carries, etc). Plus, there may be some first year setup costs for someone who lived in a typical undergrad dorm and doesn't already own things like pots and dishes and a bed for the new apartment.

That said, 24K is pretty standard in engineering. Possibly a little on the high side, depending on your discipline. I've certainly known a number of people around here who were able to live on that.

You can also bring some of those numbers down - I don't think I've ever spent 1k on clothes in a year, not even the year that I got married. You can probably get enough food on $50/week (I live in a high cost-of-living area, so I have some idea what you can expect). You can buy used textbooks online. Unless you're in Manhattan or something, you can probably find a place for under 1k/month if you share the cost with others - even around here, which is one of the most expensive areas in the country housing-wise, it is possible to get a room for under $500 if you go with the right neighborhoods and are willing to live with a whole bunch of people. If you just need a laptop, and it doesn't need to be a good one, you can get it for under 1k.

[Golden Monkey]

I found this for 2008-2009

http://chronicle.com/stats/stipends/

[rising_star]

I would love to make $24K. If I did, I could totally eat out at least eight times a month, and not just at fast food joints or taco stands.

Also, is it just me, or is $3600 on food a lot? I spend like $150/month on groceries for myself, which is under $2K/year.

[Tybalt]

I would love to make $24K. If I did, I could totally eat out at least eight times a month, and not just at fast food joints or taco stands.

Also, is it just me, or is $3600 on food a lot? I spend like $150/month on groceries for myself, which is under $2K/year.

I spend about $250 per month, but I tend to buy a lot of expensive organic food (and at least $75/month of that is coffee and assorted coffee supplies!)