How upset would you be? (Inequality in grad student stipends)

[OneiricOcelot]

(I'm actually a GradCafe regular, posting under a new name for super-anonymity.)

 

I'm currently getting an MS in a STEM field, and started under my advisor at the same time as another student. We're nearly perfectly equivalent in terms of our backgrounds, and we both started without any guaranteed funding from the university. We had both discussed with our advisor the fact that we would likely be funded from one of his grants, but he wasn't able to be certain at the time of our applications. 

 

Fall term, the other student immediately started receiving a stipend of $x with tuition covered. I, on the other hand, paid for my tuition for nine months, then my stipend of $x/2 (and tuition) began. We're working on different projects, and mine has less funding, so I guess there is some reason for the discrepancy. But I can't get over the fact that, given my paying for tuition, and our timelines for finishing, he'll end up about $40k ahead of me. 

 

Has anyone out there had experience with something like this? Would you be super-upset??

Edited March 4, 2013 by OneiricOcelot

[zapster]

I would not blame you for being upset - I guess most of us would - but the reality is that this does happen.

 

This may be circumstantial or connived, but the fact is that there is not much you can do except work hard towards seeing how your own stipend can be increased, if possible. So as hard as it is, try not to be upset and speak with your advisor to see what can be done (I would advise against "comparing" when you speak to him/her, rather try to speak on the basis of your own individual circumstances and absolute stipend, whether there is any additional or different but related research you can get involved in etc.).

 

p.s. this happens not just in grad school but even in large corporates - people with similar academic and professional backgrounds, similar job profiles and similar experience can often be paid very differently.

[wabisabi]

I would be irate if someone got paid twice as much as me for the same work! Zapster, do you really think this happens frequently? Granted, I don't know how this specific situation (Masters, and this type of funding) plays out, but in my experience, departments generally just have standard stipends that they provide to students, I imagine in part to avoid things like this.

 

If the type of work is really equivalent, then why would one student get double the stipend? OO, are you sure there's not some difference?

 

 

Edited March 4, 2013 by wabisabi

[zapster]

wabisabi...IMHO:

 

Not specific to the OP's situation, but generically:

 

If the source of stipend in both cases is a TA, then it is unlikely there will be significant differences, or any differences at all, since these are standardized rates depending on the actual workload put in.

 

Differences in tuition remission vs having to pay one's own tuition might often be on account of some fellowship awarded. Alternatively, it is possible that a TA was not guaranteed, and one student is awarded a TA earlier than the other depending on availability of TA slots etc. each quarter. Not very likely but always possible.

 

The most likely scenario wrt differences in stipend etc. is usually when the funding comes from research grants etc. Different advisors may have very different funding sources, and in case of the same advisor - he or she may have multiple grants from different projects, in which case it may simply be a function of which project you are working on vs another student and the comparative funding that each project has. At the end of the day, funding sources for specific projects that are assigned by the specific advisor are not fungible.

[TeaGirl]

I wouldn't be upset. It's the nature of the thing, especially since you're talking about funding for an MS in engineering which is never guaranteed. I had to pay out of state tuition for my first semester because the professor I wanted to work with didn't have enough funding. I had to wait until he got a grant for a project and took me on, and even then it was only with a 1/4RA which I had to supplement by a 1/4TA to get a full tuition waiver. This was even though some other students were fully funded just because they happened to be there at the right time for the right project.

 

Call it luck.

[OneiricOcelot]

Thanks for the replies! TeaGirl, hearing about your situation especially makes me feel better. I managed to leverage this degree into some pretty sweet PhD admissions, which wasn't even my goal upon entering this program, so I guess it was worth it. The amount of the disparity still irks me, but if you can manage to just attribute your situation to luck and not be upset, I should also!

 

To wabisabi and zapster, there was really no structural difference in the funding (i.e., no fellowship or anything), it was just that our RA's are on different projects. 

[wabisabi]

I guess I'm in the minority, but I'd still be pissed. Maybe I'm naive (and honestly I don't know a lot about how academic funding works), but if I were a professor I think I would take great pains to prevent something like this from happening!

[Tuck]

The most likely scenario wrt differences in stipend etc. is usually when the funding comes from research grants etc. Different advisors may have very different funding sources, and in case of the same advisor - he or she may have multiple grants from different projects, in which case it may simply be a function of which project you are working on vs another student and the comparative funding that each project has. At the end of the day, funding sources for specific projects that are assigned by the specific advisor are not fungible.

 

I think this is the right answer - you said you're working on different projects. One grant just comes with more funding for stipends. It sucks, but I doubt it's the PI's fault. I would follow zapster's advice and talk to the PI about ways you could get more funding without complaining or bringing up the other student's funding.

[TakeruK]

I guess I'm in the minority, but I'd still be pissed. Maybe I'm naive (and honestly I don't know a lot about how academic funding works), but if I were a professor I think I would take great pains to prevent something like this from happening!

 

I agree with you that professors/departments should take great pains to prevent this kind of inequality. However, I think the OP is in kind of special case where funding is not guaranteed for everyone (i.e. Masters programs). 

 

In a situation where funding is guaranteed for everyone, then there really should be standardised funding level. Some schools have a standard stipend that everyone gets. Others have tiered funding for different situations (i.e. external fellowships) but I think it's important that the process be transparent (i.e. publish these levels on the website). Students should not have to worry about losing funding (or getting less funding) because the grant for their project runs out / does not get renewed / offers less money than other grants. The way I've seen this rectified in other departments is to have standard funding rates and every prof who agrees to take on a student have to pay a set fraction out of their grants/their own funding while the department covers the rest (e.g. through TAships or department fellowships). There is usually a slush fund by the department that covers any unforeseen circumstances like a prof losing their funding unexpectedly. Of course, in order to pay for all of this, usually the department would have to take some overhead from the grants / sources of funding from each prof. So, in essence, every student is indirectly funded in part by every other prof in the department so then it doesn't matter if your supervisor has a really great grant or not! A grad student stipend (in a program where all students are guaranteed funding) should not be dependent on what grants fund the project -- if a grant has more funding for stipends, then this should enable the prof to hire more students!

[OneiricOcelot]

This is some great info, thank you all.

 

One notable thing is that I didn't get the impression that it was actually out of my advisor's power to give us equal stipends. I'm trying to decide about the prudence of sharing more details. I need to sleep on it.

[selecttext]

never discuss funding people

[new_to_kin]

I'm pretty sure all of the PhDs in my lab get different amounts of funding. I think my PI bases it in personal need plus how much our research coincides with his. But then my uni has a good funding package for all PhDs ($19k- need to pay $7k of tuition from this). My PI also tops me up over the summer. Not sure what the others have but everyone has different circumstances.

I guess what I am saying is that I don't feel bitter that my colleagues have a different deal. You're different people. Hopefully you PI recognizes this

[Neuro_Dave]

Get a fellowship, or scholarship...there are tons of private funding available everywhere.  My school lets you win a fellowship, and then continue doing a teaching assistanceship on top of it if you wish to.  All added to the monthly stipend.  Which is already generous.

[ShiningInShadows]

I would certainly be upset. I would suggest handling this Highlander style, there can be only one!

 

All kidding aside, though, I don't know a lot about stipends yet but what I have been keeping in the back of my head is to focus on getting a grant after my first year to free up some more funds and to possibly relieve some of the expectations of work.