When ask for funding?

[EvelynD]

I'm sorry if this is in the wrong sub-forum.

I am in my orientation process and just began looking at different schools and what they have to offer. I'm also taking some time to figure out what exactly it is I want to do for my PhD. The very early stages I guess!

One thing that worries me is that I néed a scholarship (tuitionfee, healthcare, and a stipend, but then again, who doesn't). Websites aren't always super clear about this subject; they will link you to another page, then another page, then a reader, then a pdf file..pffff. It just isn't always clear for me, especially being an international student and not always understanding the american system.

So my question is; who can you contact about funding-related questions, and when do you do it? Can your POI answer this, or is that inappropriate? Or is there a department secretary you need to contact?

[fernandes]

Hey @EvelynD, welcome to the forum!

I also felt the same way when I was looking into schools and figuring out where I would be applying to. What I found out was that most private Universities in the US fund their PhD students throughout the entire program and require them to work for the department in a Teaching or Research Assistantship position. For international students like you and I, we are allowed to work on campus for 20 hours per week. The majority of private Universities I have looked into would support me as a PhD student with a tuition waiver, a stipend and a health insurance financial assistance (ranging from 50 to 100% of the health insurance fees). For example, I was admitted to a private University this month and they provided me with a tuition waiver, a stipend for 10 hours/week of departmental work/professor assistance and they will be paying for 70% of my health insurance. 

I was also accepted to two public universities without funding. At the first contact (via email) I did not ask about funding at all, I only presented myself and asked if the professors would be taking any PhD/MS students on that particular term. The majority of the professors still did not know if they would have a budget for a new student on the following term, so they told me to apply and contact them on the Spring semester (I applied to the Fall semester of 2016). At a second contact I also did not ask specifically about funding options, but about TA/RA opportunities, which is basically the same thing as funding but a little more subtle in my opinion. Again, most of the professors were not sure about the funding possibilities.

I feel like you should not ask about the funding possibilities at a first contact, especially since there's usually a lot of information on the Universities' websites. Sometimes it's a little difficult to find all the information you want on the website, so you could also email/call the department. I would like to hear from other users about their point of view on this. Maybe there's a better way to ask about funding comparing to what I did. Anyways, I hope I could be somewhat helpful.