PhD funding

[a1390]

Hey everybody, I recently received an offer for the PhD program at Osgoode (York university) which I am very thankful for but the funding doesn't mention anything about a tuition waiver. It only asks me to apply for teacher assistantships as soon as I accept the offer, with the minimum funding of about 21.5k. I was under the impression that the financial guarantee would be more guaranteed than what the official offer has implied and also that the tuition would be waived. Perhaps this is different for international students as opposed to Canadian? In that case is it worth the investment, particularly since the tuition fees for intl students is around 20.5k? I only have a few weeks to decide, so any help would be appreciated. THANKS.

[TakeruK]

Hi there,

 

In Canada, we normally do not get tuition waivers. Instead, we usually get paid some amount of money and then pay tuition out of that. For example, at my MSc program, the minimum stipend for PhD students is $25.5k but tuition is $7k so the take-home pay was $18.5k. Usually if a minimum funding amount is quoted, it is prior to paying tuition, unless otherwise stated. 

 

For international students, you normally get a tuition waiver (or an increased stipend) so that your take-home pay is the same as the Canadians. So you should definitely check and ask how much you would be expected to pay for tuition. If you need more help understanding your offer, feel free to send me the details in a PM and I can help you make sense of it and/or help you form useful questions to ask to your program.

[a1390]

Hi there,

 

In Canada, we normally do not get tuition waivers. Instead, we usually get paid some amount of money and then pay tuition out of that. For example, at my MSc program, the minimum stipend for PhD students is $25.5k but tuition is $7k so the take-home pay was $18.5k. Usually if a minimum funding amount is quoted, it is prior to paying tuition, unless otherwise stated. 

 

For international students, you normally get a tuition waiver (or an increased stipend) so that your take-home pay is the same as the Canadians. So you should definitely check and ask how much you would be expected to pay for tuition. If you need more help understanding your offer, feel free to send me the details in a PM and I can help you make sense of it and/or help you form useful questions to ask to your program.

 

Thank you takeruk.

 

I've just clarified with the department, and they replied it is my responsibility to pay the tuition and unfortunately at this late stage all the funds have already been distributed. And apparently some international applicants will not even be receiving the assistance I am. There is a way of having the tuition directly come off of my TA funding which is a minimum of $21.5k but still the take home pay for me would only be $1k. My question is how likely is it that I will be able to secure funding next year? How much more will I be able to make through the TA position or other jobs if you were to guess? There are a few scholarship opportunities but I am certain there are highly selective. Lastly, since I will be paying about $80k for the four years out of my pocket (if I am not able to secure other means) is a PhD in law really worth the financial/time investment? 

[TakeruK]

Thank you takeruk.

 

I've just clarified with the department, and they replied it is my responsibility to pay the tuition and unfortunately at this late stage all the funds have already been distributed. And apparently some international applicants will not even be receiving the assistance I am. There is a way of having the tuition directly come off of my TA funding which is a minimum of $21.5k but still the take home pay for me would only be $1k. My question is how likely is it that I will be able to secure funding next year? How much more will I be able to make through the TA position or other jobs if you were to guess? There are a few scholarship opportunities but I am certain there are highly selective. Lastly, since I will be paying about $80k for the four years out of my pocket (if I am not able to secure other means) is a PhD in law really worth the financial/time investment? 

 

A couple of separate things to respond to:

 

1. Yes, it's normal in Canada for us to sign onto monthly payment plans for tuition. Our income is split into two groups: awards/scholarships and employment (TA/RA). Normally, our awards are paid out by the Awards Office at the beginning of each semester. Our employment income (TA/RA) are paid by Human Resources every 2 weeks or every month, depending on the school. Technically, our tuition is due at the beginning of each semester but most schools allow grad students to enroll in automatic monthly deductions (either out of our TA pay or directly from a bank account).

 

2. It's unlikely your income from TAships will increase drastically in the coming years. You might get cost of living adjustments, but the only real way to earn more money through this is to gain more TA hours. However, in most departments, TA hours are a scarce commodity and you will not generally get more than whatever your offer letter states as a minimum. 

 

3. You may get more support in future years if you are eligible and win awards from the department or the school. You say that there are some tuition offset for international students but all funds have already been awarded this year. So, there may be a chance that you will get one of those next year (especially if the current international students graduate). But no way for us to guess at these chances. I would recommend you proceed as if you are only going to receive TA funding for the entire length of degree.

 

4. I'm not sure about other countries but in Canada, the field of Law is usually not a field that fully funds its graduate students. This is evidenced by the school's statement that other international students receive even less money. So a lot of what I said in my first post about getting the same take-home pay will not apply since that was more about fields that fully fund their PhD students as a norm.

 

5. I guess your TA income will just barely pay for your tuition costs. This means, you will have to support yourself through other work or your savings. I don't think I can answer for you whether or not a PhD in Law is worth it. Not only is it a very personal decision for you to make, I also know very little about job prospects in Law! But I wish you best of luck

[a1390]

A couple of separate things to respond to:

 

1. Yes, it's normal in Canada for us to sign onto monthly payment plans for tuition. Our income is split into two groups: awards/scholarships and employment (TA/RA). Normally, our awards are paid out by the Awards Office at the beginning of each semester. Our employment income (TA/RA) are paid by Human Resources every 2 weeks or every month, depending on the school. Technically, our tuition is due at the beginning of each semester but most schools allow grad students to enroll in automatic monthly deductions (either out of our TA pay or directly from a bank account).

 

2. It's unlikely your income from TAships will increase drastically in the coming years. You might get cost of living adjustments, but the only real way to earn more money through this is to gain more TA hours. However, in most departments, TA hours are a scarce commodity and you will not generally get more than whatever your offer letter states as a minimum. 

 

3. You may get more support in future years if you are eligible and win awards from the department or the school. You say that there are some tuition offset for international students but all funds have already been awarded this year. So, there may be a chance that you will get one of those next year (especially if the current international students graduate). But no way for us to guess at these chances. I would recommend you proceed as if you are only going to receive TA funding for the entire length of degree.

 

4. I'm not sure about other countries but in Canada, the field of Law is usually not a field that fully funds its graduate students. This is evidenced by the school's statement that other international students receive even less money. So a lot of what I said in my first post about getting the same take-home pay will not apply since that was more about fields that fully fund their PhD students as a norm.

 

5. I guess your TA income will just barely pay for your tuition costs. This means, you will have to support yourself through other work or your savings. I don't think I can answer for you whether or not a PhD in Law is worth it. Not only is it a very personal decision for you to make, I also know very little about job prospects in Law! But I wish you best of luck

 

Thank you so much for your quick and thorough response.

One last question before I can get out of your hair, is it usually possible to defer a PhD offer till next year? Or is the offer only valid for this academic year? No such option is mentioned as yet but I am just wondering whether it may make sense to take the year to save more money and apply to other funding opportunities.

[TakeruK]

Deferral options and policies vary a lot between programs so you would have to ask your specific program. When you ask about deferrals, you should also ask about what happens to your funding (TAship). Will it still be guaranteed at the minimum value next year? If the offer letter promises X years of TAships, does the deferred year count against this limit?