funding for graduate school.......

[thirtythree]

I was talking to my sister about this today and she says she didn't have to pay for anything in graduate school. she worked for the university (research?) 15-20 hours a week and they paid for her tuition and gave her enough each month to cover housing and such. she says that everything is paid for by the university for most biostatistics graduates as far as she knows. is this the case with other areas of study too? that is, is it realistic to expect to go through graduate school without using savings or taking out loans?

 

Originally posted by: thirtythree
I was talking to my sister about this today and she says she didn't have to pay for anything in graduate school. she worked for the university (research?) 15-20 hours a week and they paid for her tuition and gave her enough each month to cover housing and such. she says that everything is paid for by the university for most biostatistics graduates as far as she knows. is this the case with other areas of study too? that is, is it realistic to expect to go through graduate school without using savings or taking out loans?

At Michigan, the Graduate Student Instructors get their tuition paid and a small stipend. They also get really good health coverage. They go to class as a grad student but they also teach 2-3 discussion sections a week for a class. It's extremely competitive - thousands of PoliSci grad students applied last year, and the department took less than 50.

 

[CanOWorms]

It depends on whether you're on what degree track you're on (MS or PhD), your field, where you go, state of economy, etc.

 

[thirtythree]

Originally posted by: jumpr

Originally posted by: thirtythree
I was talking to my sister about this today and she says she didn't have to pay for anything in graduate school. she worked for the university (research?) 15-20 hours a week and they paid for her tuition and gave her enough each month to cover housing and such. she says that everything is paid for by the university for most biostatistics graduates as far as she knows. is this the case with other areas of study too? that is, is it realistic to expect to go through graduate school without using savings or taking out loans?

At Michigan, the Graduate Student Instructors get their tuition paid and a small stipend. They also get really good health coverage. They go to class as a grad student but they also teach 2-3 discussion sections a week for a class. It's extremely competitive - thousands of PoliSci grad students applied last year, and the department took less than 50.

interesting. she went to the university of michigan too actually :s maybe most universities don't offer something like this?

Originally posted by: CanOWorms
It depends on whether you're on what degree track you're on (MS or PhD), your field, where you go, state of economy, etc.

phd, clinical psychology, not certain, and, obviously, not certain.

 

[thirtythree]

boomp.

 

[digitalsm]

Its called,

1. Scholarships
2. Research Fellowships
3. Teaching Fellowships

Typically most people not pursuing a PhD, cant get the scholarships, because most of the scholarships are for 4 year PhD programs. And yes its quite possible everyones tuition is being covered by the school, as most programs dont allow all that many people in per year, especially the PhD programs.

 

[thirtythree]

thanks, digitalsm. what does your name mean, by the way? I think "digital sado masochism" everytime I see it

 

[br0wn]

JHU gives me about 45K every year for my tuition and stipend.
My responsibility is to spend 20 hours per week to do some research (which I want to do anyway to advance my study).

 

[thirtythree]

Originally posted by: br0wn
JHU gives me about 45K every year for my tuition and stipend.
My responsibility is to spend 20 hours per week to do some research (which I want to do anyway to advance my study).

not a bad deal.

 

[thereaderrabbit]

Funding for anything psychology related might be tough, but some of the other fields make good $$$.

I have a research fellowship that pays about $18k a year and tuition is covered. I do have friends outside of the sciences who have to pay tuition and earn much less money being teaching assistants... then again I also know people getting paid over 30k a year on other research fellowships. Thanks goodness I'm on my last year! Soon I'll be called doc : )

FYI- knowing the faculty in your department and having a good advisor is key to getting top funding dollars.

-Reader

Ps. I'm working on a Ph.D. at Penn State in the materials science program.

 

[Heisenberg]

Most graduate physics programs work that way. I was accepted to two schools, both had similar deals, so I think it's pretty standard. I get tuition waved, health insurance, and work either teaching or doing research, and so get paid for that.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Computer Science at a school with decent funding should offer TA/RA work plus tuition waivers that should give you (barely) enough to live on.

 

[thirtythree]

Originally posted by: thereaderrabbit
Funding for anything psychology related might be though...

why's that? (I'm assuming you meant "tough")

 

[RabidMongoose]

A lot of science/engineering type graduate students have either a research or teaching fellowship/assistantship. That means they don't pay and get a small stipend to do research or be a teaching assistant for a class. Lots of MS students get something like this and almost all PhDs at any decent school gets a full ride, too.

I'm not sure how psychology works, but I doubt that it's like what I just described. It's probably less common to get a full ride in psychology, but I guess if you're really good then it's alright. You'd probably have a lot more competition.

 

[Rumpltzer]

Yeah, I've never heard of a physical sciences program that makes you pay for grad school.

This goes for the US citizens as well as those showing up from Asia and India.


I did a TA in addition to the research for a few years, and I advised (ece and materials) students who'd ask about grad school to at least go for a masters. It's free!

I'd also advise thm to apply as a PhD potential even if they have no immediate desire to get a PhD. LOTS of people change their minds when they come in for a masters, and most offers and better funding (the research as opposed to the teaching) will go FIRST to those who are more likely to stick around to help out the professors with their work. Apply as a PhD and change your mind later if you want to.

I have no idea about psych.

I do have a friend (from China) in a UC polySci PhD program. She's getting 2nd and 4th year research and 1st, 3rd, and 5th year TA. That covers all of her tuition and fees and a stipend which is enough to live on. She doesn't get paid in the summers, though.

 

[thereaderrabbit]

Thirtythree,

As an RA, I have an increased salary over the summer months (because I have more time to work in the lab). Most TAs don't get paid over the summer months. While that does mean they can take summers off, most grad students want to finish up school ASAP.

The sciences are usually very well funded by the NSF, a branch of the US military, and industrial grants. When you get outside of the sciences money can be hard to come by. This is an observations based on observations during my six years in graduate school. I do wish other programs were better funded, as I don't like seeing friends trapped in school for ridiculous amounts of time because they have to work part- or full-time jobs that are unrelated to their projects to earn the money needed to get by.

I don't know anyone specifically doing clinical psychology, but I would assume the worst.

Most everyone can make it through graduate school , but I would heed my advice "knowing the faculty in your department and having a good advisor is key to getting top funding dollars." Also Rumpltzer makes a good point about talking Ph.D. even if you're just looking for a masters.

In most programs, if you come into the school with good credentials and express interest in getting a Ph.D. potential advisors take note. Hour for hour, masters students usually accomplish much less than Ph.D. students, so the smarter advisors will often pass on students who aren't interested in an Ph.D. This is true even if they are smart, determined, and savvy. My advisor will not take masters students unless they are fully funded by academic fellowships.

Well, back to writing that journal article,

-Reader

 

[Whisper]

From what I know, most Ph.D programs will end up giving you some type of financial aid...usually, like you've said, covering your tuition and leaving you with a small stipend each month. As far as clinical psych specifically, almost all Ph.D programs in the area are fully-funded.

In return, you do research and/or teach a few courses in addition to going to your classes. It can be a tough load, but hey, it's free.

That's the reason why many Ph.D programs are so damn hard to get in to. Clinical psych is a good example; it's acceptance rates are--at many schools--lower than those for medical school (~5%). Then again, a lot of those people screened out are psych majors who think to themselves, "hey, I have a psych degree but nothing to use it on. I want to make money. I know! Let's do clinical psych, whee!"

It's also partially why they've come out with the Psy.D, which requires less research (and more clinical experience) than a Ph.D, and for which you receive no financial aid.