Guaranteed funding for only three years

[juiceboxrampage]

Hello all,

 

I was recently accepted to UC Santa Cruz's sociology department and I was offered a three year fellowship. Does anyone have any experience with such a short period of funding? I have a zillion questions, so if you can even just offer insights into one of them (or just give your personal opinion), that'd be great!

 

Is it unrealistic to hope that I can get some other sort of funding after three years?

 

How common is it that if I do well in the program, the school and/or department will give me extra funding or a tuition waiver down the line? Or will I only be able to find external funding?

 

Will I be considered an in-state student after three years, and thus be eligible for an in-state tuition waiver (or at least the lower cost of in-state tuition if I'm stuck footing the bill)?

 

I've heard of people asking departments for more money, but I haven't heard of anyone asking for more years of money. Is it possible to ask them to extend the fellowship to four or five years?

 

Thanks a ton!

Edited February 15, 2015 by juiceboxrampage

[ritapita]

Following this.  I would also like some insight from others, as I was offered the same (different field, different school)...3 yrs tuition waiver with TA stipend.  Wondering about summer funding as well.

[lxwllms]

These are things I think would be ok to ask a program coordinator! Fair questions. I can say that when I interviewed at UC Davis the program I applied for said their award letter would state guaranteed funding for either 4 or 5 years (I can't remember which), but that they've never had issues funding people for at least six years (this is because in this program you can technically TA for six years and be funded based on just that, worst come to worst.). They also said that people can get awarded fellowships, GSRs, etc.

 

To answer your other question: they also said that during your first year you need to be prepping to get CA residency (get a CA drivers license, etc) and after a year, you should be able to get CA residency, and that should get you in-state tuition.

[spellbanisher]

You should be able to establish residency in California after residing in the state for 366 days. There are a number of things you will want to do to make sure you are granted residency, including registering to vote and obtaining a California driver's license, but I'm sure if you go to UCSC they'll tell you all you need to know. As for your funding, the best person you can contact for information is the sociology grad coordinator. When I was an undergrad at Santa Cruz sociology was a very popular major, and all classes had discussion sections led by TAs (who get full tuition remission and about $2000 a month for about 20 hours a week). I'd imagine that after your fellowship runs out you'd be able to get work as a teaching assistant. They might also have research assistantships and dissertation year fellowships. 

[juiceboxrampage]

Thanks for your responses, everyone! I am definitely planning on contacting UCSC about this, I just wanted to get an outside perspective. I've seen posts in the past where folks were adamant about not accepting an unfunded offer. I wasn't sure if a partial funding offer was as taboo.

[juilletmercredi]

I was offered a 3-year funding offer at my PhD program.  I was skeptical because typically in my field, offers are for 5 years.  But I asked them and they said that typically students find external funding for the rest of the program.

 

This was my experience.  I got an NSF GRF that covered years 3-5, and then an NIH T32 that covered year 6.  (I took the NSF in year 3 instead of waiting until year 4 because if I hadn't, I would've had to work for someone who had a GRA position on a grant and my advisor did not have one at the time.)

 

Also, after you finish your coursework and become a doctoral candidate, you only have to pay for matriculation and facilities anyway.  That's significantly cheaper than regular tuition - at Columbia regular tuition was like $40,000, but M&F was only about $3,000 a year.

[juiceboxrampage]

I was offered a 3-year funding offer at my PhD program.  I was skeptical because typically in my field, offers are for 5 years.  But I asked them and they said that typically students find external funding for the rest of the program.

 

This was my experience.  I got an NSF GRF that covered years 3-5, and then an NIH T32 that covered year 6.  (I took the NSF in year 3 instead of waiting until year 4 because if I hadn't, I would've had to work for someone who had a GRA position on a grant and my advisor did not have one at the time.)

 

Also, after you finish your coursework and become a doctoral candidate, you only have to pay for matriculation and facilities anyway.  That's significantly cheaper than regular tuition - at Columbia regular tuition was like $40,000, but M&F was only about $3,000 a year.

 

Thank you so much for sharing! It's great to hear that it worked out for you.

 

May I ask when you started applying for external funding? Did you just apply the semester before you knew you'd need it? Was it stressful balancing coursework/research with applying to grants?

 

I had no idea that I wouldn't have to pay full tuition later on. That's very helpful to know -- I was freaking out a bit over the possibility of having to pay tens of thousands of dollars.

[thr0waway]

You should definitely ask people in your program, and also try to find numbers for how many people drop out after each year

[thr0waway]

At Stanford I have three years of guaranteed funding, which comes through fellowships, RAships, and TAships.  Generally you get an RAship if your advisor has money to fund you, and otherwise you need to apply for TAships on a quarter-by-quarter basis.

 

Years 4 and 5 are not guaranteed but I think most people don't have to worry, because their advisor has money to give them an RAship, or they can appoint them as a TA for their class.

Edited February 16, 2015 by thr0waway

[hyronomus4]

When I was talking to a mentor about applying originally she said they ensure all of their students are funded.  She said everyone gets their first three years funded by the university and then they determine if the university will fund the remaining time based on the likelihood of outside funding.  They help students work to get the outside funding and then supplement if necessary.  It's possible it's something like that.  

[CrownJules]

Whoops! Posted in wrong topic.

Edited February 17, 2015 by CrownJules

[rising_star]

Start applying for external funding as soon as you get there. Some programs are limited as to when you can apply (like NSF GRFP). 

 

As for the 3 years part, my guess is that they're expecting you to find TA or RA positions, or have external funding for the remaining years. Make sure that other students have been successful doing so before committing to anything.

[juiceboxrampage]

Start applying for external funding as soon as you get there. Some programs are limited as to when you can apply (like NSF GRFP). 

 

As for the 3 years part, my guess is that they're expecting you to find TA or RA positions, or have external funding for the remaining years. Make sure that other students have been successful doing so before committing to anything.

 

The thing is, according to this site's results page, other applicants got a three year grant AND two years of TAing. So I feel like if they wanted me to TA, they would have given me a TA position.

 

I did email the graduate coordinator, but she hasn't gotten back to me yet. I guess I'll find out soon what the deal is.

[Cpoco]

Get your Master and bail. Fire against fire.

[geographyrocks]

I did email the graduate coordinator, but she hasn't gotten back to me yet. I guess I'll find out soon what the deal is.

For future reference, it's always better to call because the graduate coordinator gets hundreds of emails. I send emails for committee meetings so there's a written reference and then I just hunt down all of the professors. My life got a lot easier when I realized how much more efficient this was!