PhD Funding Packages

[bootstrapbill2]

Hey guys,

 

I am a noob and don't understand what types of funding packages are out there. I have a few top tier acceptances, but don't know what funding I should be expecting, and I haven't gotten official letters yet. Is this different than at state schools? What amounts are out there?

 

Also apologies if this (salaries, I guess) is a sensitive subject. Feel free to respond on behalf of your friend or with hearsay or whatever!

[newenglandshawn]

Hey guys,

 

I am a noob and don't understand what types of funding packages are out there. I have a few top tier acceptances, but don't know what funding I should be expecting, and I haven't gotten official letters yet. Is this different than at state schools? What amounts are out there?

 

Also apologies if this (salaries, I guess) is a sensitive subject. Feel free to respond on behalf of your friend or with hearsay or whatever!

 

It would be helpful if we knew which schools you've been accepted by! I have a general idea of the schools to which I've applied, but don't know if those are the same schools. I'd say, generally speaking, though, you'll usually get tuition waived, and then a stipend that is anywhere from $15k to $25k/year - with places like Harvard and Yale on the higher end (in past years, Harvard was about $27k, from what I understand).

[ritapita]

I think you will find that the general, basic funding for most of us is going to be along the lines of a tuition waiver with a  9 month stipend that semi-represents cost of living. Also, not all the people accepted to the same program will get the same funding.  The top choices might get some giant fellowship, and the last couple might get super basic TA and tuition waiver....or everyone might get the same package.  Some programs and some schools have better stipends. A top tier school doesn't always mean a larger stipend. Some small state schools/programs are rolling in the money and can fund their PhDs really well.  Some schools will give you a summer stipend as well. Some schools might give you a fellowship instead of a stipend and that is very dependent upon the program and school and your qualifications.  

 

I guess what I am trying to say, is that we could all tell you what we received but it would do you no good at all in helping you figure out what you might receive.  We are all super mega individualized in this process.  

[colormelovely]

How many years of funding is normal for a PhD in religious studies, theology, etc.? 5-ish?

Edited February 18, 2015 by colormelovely

[marXian]

The best packages are going to be something along the lines of 5 years full tuition plus a stipend that is dependent upon the region of the country and health insurance. If you're in Bloomington, IN or Milwaukee, etc., your stipend is not going to be as hefty as those who are in New Haven or NYC. But since it's far more expensive to live in those latter places, the amount of the stipend isn't always the best indicator. You want to look at the other particulars.

 

- Do they fund summers? If so, how many? This can be huge down the road of your program. Some schools offer 3 summers, some 4, some zero.

 

- What's the breakdown of the funding (i.e. the split between university fellowship and TA/GAship)? Some schools afford their first year students the tremendous luxury of not having to teach (and being on fellowship) while other schools have their students TAing right away. Some schools are flexible about how that breakdown is divvied up. For example, say you have two years of fellowship (no teaching) and three of TA. Following the first year (usually fellowship in this scenario), a program might allow a student to teach just one term per year for the next two years, "banking" terms of TAship, while spreading out the remaining year of fellowship over those two "half" teaching years. If you're the sort of person who might want to focus all of your energy on your exams (for example) then the ability to take off the term you'll be studying for those might be attractive. Some schools may not allow students to do that until the third year. Other schools may not allow that at all, setting the whole schedule in stone from the beginning (e.g. year 1 fellowship, years 2 & 3 TAship, year 4 fellowship, year 5 TAship.)

 

- You're also going to want to know what the policy is if you win an external fellowship/grant to go do research for a year somewhere later in your program. In some situations (I think most), if a student wins external funding, that award defers the normal funding to the 6th year. So, for example, if I'm planning on using my second fellowship year (in which I wouldn't be teaching) in my 4th year, but instead I win a Fulbright grant to go abroad for that year, that fellowship year gets pushed back, and (assuming the program is flexible) I get to decide if I want to use the last fellowship year for my fifth or sixth year (and the other would be TAship.) That's crucial, because there may be some funding situations where that doesn't happen (though I'd honestly be pretty surprised). In addition to the deferral of funding, some universities offer students additional money on top of what the grant pays because, depending on your school's location, the monthly grant payment may be less than what your stipend would have normally been. So the school "tops off" your grant so that you're still making what you would if you stayed (in order to incentivize applying for these sorts of awards.)

 

I know that's a lot to take in and it might be hard to give it that much forethought, but these are definitely important things to know about the packages you've been offered and the policies of the schools that offered them.