Stipend for Ph.D Programs

[acher]

Hi all,

I've been accepted into a program at one of the big ten schools. I received a phone call from my POI two weeks ago and she said that I would be receiving a departmental fellowship as part of my award and would receive a letter from the graduate school with more information (I'm still waiting on this information-hoping to get it this week). I was wondering what the average stipend would be?

[anthropologygeek]

It will be between 9k-24k from what I've seen.

[newleaf]

If a private top ten is giving you less than 20k you should push for more...

[CarlieE]

Do you mean Big Ten as in the sports league? Or Big Ten as in Tier 1/highly ranked school?

If the former, then you might get a stipend around 20k since cost of living is pretty low. ie. at Madison you can get a decent 1 bedroom for $400-600 a month. But Northwestern near Chicago is a totally different story.. Generally speaking the Midwest cost of living IS doable on $20k or less (it's NOT a fabulous lifestyle by any stretch of the imagination, but doable)

Edited March 5, 2012 by anthroDork

[acher]

Thanks for your help. It is actually public, both a big ten as in the sports teams and top ten in graduate rankings. I wasn't sure what to expect as I have heard that it is considerably less than the biology programs. I will let you know when I receive an offer letter.

Edited March 5, 2012 by acher

[CoffeeStainedMemos]

Does anyone know whether a stipend can only be used for study/research related expenses, or can it also be used for basic expenses that are not directly related to study/research?

[far_to_go]

A stipend can be used for anything- most people end up using the bulk of their stipends to cover basic living expenses.