How Much Does a TA pay?

[coffee_keeps_me_awake]

I was informed by a professor that I'd be receiving a TA job. I am yet to receive any exact figures. I need some help with my financial planning.

The fees they have listed are $ 26,000 tuitions and fees

$ 14,000 other expenses

Is the following true:

1. TA's get tuition waiver so $26000 is taken care of?

2. TA's get a stipend of atleast $1000?

3. TA's get health coverage ?

4. TA's get housing?

Thank you .. If all of the above are true , I am one rich Kid :D

[WornOutGrad]

Unfortunlately, it could be all of those, or none of those. You will most likely get a stipend, and probably some kind of tuition waiver, but it seriously varies from school to school and department to department.

I also hate to break it to you, but I've never heard of a student who got rich while in Grad school, so it isn't likely.

Best wishes to you my friend

[Amalia222]

In every school it's different. Schools have been hit hard by the bad economy, and cutbacks are everywhere. When I started my MA in 2002, I was a TA (9 hours a week), and it paid for everything---I lived in graduate student housing (so it was paid for), my tuition was waived, and my stipend was enough to cover basic living expenses. I broke even every year.

This time around, I will be paying a LOT more, and have had to take out student loans. You had better contact your department and ask about these things.

[robot_hamster]

From my own personal experience:

Tuition is waived for up to 12 credits

It depends on the position, but my stipend last semester was a little under $900 a month

Yes, I got reduced cost health "insurance" (it's what they call a health plan)

Nope, housing isn't free

Edited May 9, 2011 by robot_hamster

[far_to_go]

As the others have said, it varies hugely by school.

Here's the basic package in my dept for TAs (which is pretty much everyone, because the dept only accepts people they can give TA jobs to unless the person has some outside grant funding):

- Tuition and fees are waived.

- $14k per year stipend.

- We get health insurance (not the best, but it's something).

- Housing is not provided.

[hejduk]

• $16,524 for 9-months of work teaching 1 class per semester
• 9 hours of tuition fees waived (but have to pay other fees and books)
• $600/semester towards mandatory health insurance plan
• Housing not included (nor would I want to live in university housing anyways!)

Edited May 9, 2011 by hejduk

[lewin]

TA's at my university are $5000 each term for 10 hrs/week, or $2500 for 5 hrs/week/term. No tuition waiver, but here in Canada tuition is like $7000/year and TA's aren't the only funding; they're part of a more complete funding package provided by the university.

But that's just for comparison. In 100 different schools, you'll find 100 different TA systems.

Edit: And our group health plan is extra but is < $300/year.

Edited May 12, 2011 by lewin00