Summer Funding?

[Rutabaga]

I am admittedly a bit clueless about the whole funding process, but I keep seeing summer funding mentioned. I was sort of working under the assumption that I would just have to make the 20K (or whatever I get) last the entire year. Do people sometimes get additional funds on top of that amount? Is this associated with an RAship usually, or can this also be being a TA for a summer class or something?

Obviously more money is better than less money, but I just wondered if someone could give me the basics of summer funding and what funding cycle looks like? (I mean I assumed you'd have insurance all year, do some schools really not cover you over the summer?)

[belowthree]

Well in engineering it's not uncommon to do internships at companies over the summer your first few years. (Until you can't leave your research during the summer anymore) This provides a nice income for those months and allows you to pay off debt and put some money in a sock for next term.

[mia11]

Thanks for posting this Rutabaga, I had wondered about this myself and would also appreciate any info covering the basics of summer funding.

I am similarly under-informed, and hold many of the same assumptions as you.

I had also assumed that since my letter says: "Your fellowship includes $x per year in stipend"... and there is nothing at all mentioned in the letter about the summer months, that maybe there is no additional funding up for the asking?... But maybe I'm wrong about this?

Incidentally, who would be the appropriate person in the department to talk to about these funding issues? -- The secretary/admin person responsible for sending out all letters, or the Chair of the Graduate Committee? Surely not the Prof we have been corresponding with right!!!?

Hope these aren't obvious questions to be asking, but I'm a foreigner to the US system!

Many thanks for any enlightenment anyone

[Dreams]

These policies vary per school. In many cases, the fellowship is for the academic year. But in others it is for the astronomical year. If it is not spelled out, it would be worth it to clarify that with the department.

Summer funding would then be used to cover the "gap" period that you have without the academic year fellowship. Some departments fund students directly in exchange for research or such, and in other cases students must make a separate application to the university and compete with all grad students.

In the cases I know of, you would apply for it in the Spring semester preceding the summer you need the funding.

[rising_star]

I never got offered a funding package that included summer. Why? Because departments don't know what their teaching/TA situation for summer will be until the spring beforehand. Some departments on my campus that plan on teaching summer classes have posted the classes online (to see how many students enroll) but haven't assigned instructors/TAs yet.

Not to mention there's an expectation that, depending on your research, you'll be engaged in pre-dissertation and dissertation research during the summers, for which you should be actively seeking funding.

[kdilks]

I think every school I'm looking into has either mentioned summer funding in their acceptance e-mail or on their website. They can't guarantee anything this far ahead, but either they'll mention how likely it is that you'll be able to get it or you can ask a graduate student when you visit.

[plisar]

Some schools will pay out fellowship during the summer...

[liszt85]

The funding offer from NU includes summer funding and makes it $20.5 per year including summer funding and they also say that they guarantee four funded summers. Its best to ask your program what it is and its always okay to ask them about issues that you aren't clear about.

[physics]

So if the letter of acceptance says:

"The combined financial package will be at least $xx,000 per year for two years. Each academic year you will receive:

[belowthree]

Probably included. The funding offer I got broke it all down for me so I could see... but if it doesn't you have to assume it's included, they won't miss an opportunity to make the number appear bigger.

Hell the offer I got included the tuition waiver as part of the number at the top of the page in terms of how much support they were offering...

[hepkath]

My fellowship (for a program in the humanities at a state school) comes packaged as a $20,000 stipend for the academic year plus a $4,000 stipend for the summer. It's a two-year fellowship, followed by TA-ships and dissertation-year fellowships (both of which are paid in terms of academic year and are accompanied by additional summer stipends). Not sure how it's disbursed, but I do know that this sort of patch-work funding is typical of state schools, and that I am encouraged to apply for supplemental funding both through internal competition (department and university-wide) and through external organizations. Many private universities (like Yale) have done away with stipends designated separately for academic year and summer (as well as separate budgeting for TA-ships). Instead, they provide all-inclusive five or six-year fellowships wherein the amount stated is expected to cover 12-month periods and account for shifts toward teaching and research down the line.

No mention of summer funding suggests that your package works according to the all-inclusive model, so you should think about budgeting your stipend over 12 months. Similarly, an amount listed as the total of a 'combined package' (as in the above sample break-down) should be read as all-inclusive. Although you can expect to receive funding in a variety of categories (which they helpfully list in an effort to make it all seem bigger and more impressive), the sum total of those awards will more or less amount to what they've quoted. However, there will likely be a variety of more specific summer grants you can apply for once you've arrived on campus that will provide you will additional funding.

(Of course, I claim no actual knowledge of any package but the one I've been offered; I'd check with the fellowship/financial aid office at your school or with the Director of Graduate Studies in your department for the real specifics.)

[Carolina08]

My offer includes 5 years of funding plus 3 years of summer support (no work load required) that can be taken at any point in time in my graduate career. According to my advisors, most grad students use this money during their first few summers to bridge the gap. After that funding typically comes in the form of outside fellowships for research or summer teaching opportunities. That said this is coming from a top tier Ivy so I'm not sure if this offer is standard practice.