Funded versus Unfunded PhDs

[echob]

Hi all,

 

I've been lurking on this site for about a year now, and had a question regarding unfunded PhD programs.

 

When using the term "unfunded", does that typically mean you receive $0 from your university?

 

The reason I am unsure is that my program guarantees each student at least $18,000 per year.  It's the only grad school I applied to, so I'm not sure if that is the same across most (Canadian) universities, or if some grad schools really don't give any money at all.

 

OR does "unfunded" typically refer to your research project, not to you as a graduate student..

Edited March 30, 2014 by echob

[Munashi]

A "fully funded" program generally refers to the program providing you with a tuition waiver (meaning you pay no tuition for yourself) plus some kind of livable stipend through either part time TA work, RA (research assistant) work, or a fellowship.

[the_sheath]

I thought unfunded meant no money at all. No TAship, no fellowship, no tuition waivers, no health insurance, no passing GO, and no colecting $200.

 

And while I can imagine individual projects getting funded, I always thought "funding" on this forum referred to funding that went directly to the students.

[padthai234]

No - unfunded (for a phd program at least) means no fellowship or guarantee of teaching so that you have money to live. It doesn't have to do with your project, which usually a dept requires you to find outside funding. So funding = covered for 3yrs of coursework, find grants for research, come back and have 2 or so more years guaranteed teaching. You need to know whether that 18,000 is your living stipend ie income or goes toward tuition

[echob]

Interesting...the $18,000 is supposed to cover my living expenses and tuition.

 

Do other universities typically offer that or is it usually tied to teaching? I think only 2k of that comes from TA position, the rest is "free".

[Eigen]

If you're looking in Canada vs the US, the two systems are very different. I'm sure our native experienced Canadian (TakeruK) will come in at some point to answer more fully. 

 

In the US, it's a complete range- from no funding at all, to partial funding (tuition waiver but no stipend, for instance) to fully funded (tuition waiver + fees + a generous living stipend). In the US, such support is usually either a fellowship, and not tied to teaching/research, or a teaching/research assistantship, in which case it is tied to teaching or research, usually ~ 20 hours per week. 

 

In the US, in the sciences, it's rare for any research money to be funded by the student or by grants the student writes. 

 

This isn't the case (as mentioned above) for social sciences, or humanities. 

 

I think you're looking for specific answers to a very broad question- it's different country to country, school to school, and discipline to discipline. 

[echob]

Interesting, thanks.

[shimul]

how can I post my query about bank statement?