phd with stipend in usa

8 best PhDs that offer the highest stipends

The best PhDs not only open the gates to knowledge but also offer some of the most generous stipends to help you achieve your dream. These stipends are not just numbers; they are the lifeboat allowing you to dive headfirst into your studies without worrying about the financial tides. 

Think of the great minds that have treaded the PhD path before you – Marie Curie, Albert Einstein and Martin Luther King Jr. The secret to their success wasn’t just their brilliance; it was the support they received during their PhD journeys. 

A stipend can be the catalyst for greatness, allowing you to focus on your research, collaborate with brilliant minds, and turn your academic dreams into reality. 

The best PhDs give you more than just a qualification. It acts as a catalyst to greatness.

Types of PhD stipends

When it comes to stipends, there are two main types: financial and non-financial. Financial stipends are a helping hand for students, given without needing any specific work in return.

They appear as financial assistance on your statement at the end of the year.

On the flip side, there are stipends given in exchange for the work you put in at the university. These aren’t considered financial aid; instead, they’re like salaries 

You might be wondering if your stipend is subject to taxation. Well, it depends on the type. If it’s a financial stipend, it’s generally not taxable. It’s like a gift to help you out.

However, if your stipend is in exchange for your university efforts, like work or research, it’s considered income and is subject to taxation.

The best PhDs have great stipends — which you should treat as a package. Source: AFP

PhD stipends: It’s a package

Your PhD stipend is made up of several important components to support you through your academic journey.

The living stipend is the main part, covering your accommodation, food, transportation and other daily needs.

It’s the primary source of financial support, and how much you get can vary based on factors like location, school, major and cost of living. 

The tuition waiver or fellowship is a significant perk considering the often hefty costs of a PhD education, especially in fields like Chemistry or other STEM subjects.

Health insurance is another crucial part of the package, ensuring you have access to affordable medical care to keep you healthy and productive. 

Then there’s the research grant or funding, providing extra money for things like textbooks, research materials, and conference fees.

As you delve into your academic journey, you might also find yourself as a teaching assistant (TA) or research assistant (RA), gaining work experience and building valuable professional connections.

So, your PhD stipend isn’t just about the financial support – it’s a comprehensive package designed to nurture and propel you forward in your academic pursuits.

The most powerful people in the world listen to those with the best PhDs. In this photo, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US First Lady Jill Biden listen to Anchal Sharma, a PhD candidate at the Indian Institute of Technology. Source: AFP

PhD stipends: More than just financial aid  

It’s important to treat your PhD stipend as something more than just scholarship money or salary.

Consider investing in specialised training courses or workshops relevant to your field.

Use your stipend to enrol in programmes that deepen your expertise and introduce you to the latest trends.

Think of it as adding layers to your professional skillset, making you a sought-after expert in your field.

Another useful way to make good use of your PhD stipend is by attending conferences and networking events.

Allocate registration fees, travel and accommodation funds to immerse yourself in a sea of knowledge and connections.

Conferences are like treasure troves of insights, letting you learn from industry leaders and exchange ideas with peers.

Networking at these events can open doors to collaborations, job opportunities and a broader understanding of your field.

Your stipend is a golden ticket, allowing you to actively participate in your professional community and stay updated on cutting-edge developments. 

Salary vs stipend

Your salary is like a regular paycheck you get for your job – it’s consistent, predictable and typically based on the hours you work or the tasks you complete.

It’s your stable income, like a steady river flowing into your bank account.

On the other hand, a stipend is more like a fund for a specific purpose, usually tied to education, research or training.

It’s not your regular 9-to-5 wage. It’s an allowance to support you in certain activities, such as pursuing a degree, researching, or attending professional development opportunities.

While a salary is your everyday bread and butter, a stipend is more like the extra toppings – there for a specific reason and not necessarily a routine.

So, who gets to hop on the stipend train? Usually, it’s candidates who are engaged in specific activities that need a bit of financial backing.

Students diving into research, interns honing their skills, or anyone pursuing specialised training are likely candidates.

Stipends often aim to support learning, growth or projects rather than being your everyday paycheck. It’s like a boost for those dedicating their time and effort to something beyond their regular work.

So, if you’re on a mission to deepen your knowledge, contribute to research or enhance your skills in a particular field, chances are you could receive a stipend.

When it comes to PhD programmes, the pay and stipends can vary . Generally, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) PhD programmes offer higher stipends than other fields.

For example, in the US, institutions like MIT and Stanford are known for generous stipends for STEM candidates. These stipends often cover tuition, living expenses and even healthcare. 

The best PhDs can help you develop valuable transferrable skills which are valuble in the working world. Source: ETX

1. Stanford University

Stanford University is renowned for having the best PhD programmes in the world. This is mainly due to the fact that it offers one of the highest stipends globally, securing its position as a top-tier institution for doctoral candidates. 

In the 2020/2021 academic year, PhD students at Stanford University received a stipend or teaching assistantship of US$45,850 , marking it the world’s highest-paid PhD stipend.

Newly admitted PhD candidates automatically qualify for financial assistance for up to five years, provided they maintain a good academic record and meet the stipend requirements.

This support of fellowship salary, research or teaching assistantship showcases the university’s dedication to offering one of the most competitive PhD stipends.

Stipends are distributed shortly after students meet the minimum enrolment requirements, and any obligatory expenses, such as university housing rent, are deducted before the stipend is issued. 

Earning a PhD can be costly both in terms of time and money, and it may take several years to complete a successful doctoral programme. Source: ETX

2. Princeton University

Embarking on a PhD at Princeton University promises academic excellence — and positions you among recipients of one of the highest-paid stipends in the US. 

In February, The Daily Princetonian reported that the Princeton Graduate Students United (PGSU) has announced that the university will raise some graduate student stipends by US$5,000 in the 2023/24 academic year.

This made the annual stipend rate for this academic year b etween US$47,880 and US$50,400 .  

If you’re a new incoming graduate student, you’ll be paid your first fellowship stipend in full for the month of August .

The best PhDs can help students build relationships with professionals in their field, learn about job opportunities and gain insight into industry trends and best practices. Source: ETX

3. University Of South Carolina

The University of South Carolina is a top institution with one of the best PhD programmes, offering some of the highest stipends to its students. 

From 2022, the university’s minimum total stipend has been US$34,000.

This makes the minimum monthly rate of at least US$3,778 for programmes that operate on a nine-month schedule and US$2,834 for those on a 12-month schedule.

There’s a “Provost Fellowship Top Off” valued at US$2,000, bringing a student’s stipend to at least US$36,000.

The university’s commitment extends to various scholarships, including the IRIX/David L. Coffen Fellowship and the Jerome D. Odom Fellowship, both in the field of chemistry.

The highest-qualified candidates are considered for Presidential Fellowships.

4. Rice University 

Rice University stands out by offering departmental stipends for qualified PhD candidates — amounting up to US$40,000 per year .

Candidates earn this by working as a research/teaching assistant for an assigned faculty member while maintaining full-time student status and continue making satisfactory progress toward their PhD.

The best PhDs will help you learn about yourself, about others and about the world around you. Source: AFP

5. University of Houston

With an annual stipend of US$31,000 annually , the financial support provided at the University of Houston is substantial. 

The Graduate Tuition Fellowship (GTF) further enhances the financial package for eligible students, covering tuition and fees, resulting in a net annual benefit of US$20,800.

Meeting a 3.00 grade point average and working as a graduate assistant are prerequisites for GTF eligibility, proving the university’s dedication to maintaining academic excellence among its doctoral candidates.

The fellowship covers nine semester credit hours (SCH) in the fall and spring semesters and six in the summers. 

6. Ohio University 

Ohio University’s financial support for PhD students is among the most generous in the country –surpassing over 1,000 other universities.

Here, s tipends come in different forms. Examples are teaching assistantships, research assistantships and graduate assistantships. 

At the School of Communication Studies , for example, eight to 12 new students are offered graduate assistantships that provide a full tuition waiver and a stipend of approximately US$16,100 per academic year.

A PhD degree holds high value in the job market as well as in the research world. Source: AFP

7. Boston University 

At Boston University, all PhD students in good standing are guaranteed the following:

• five years of stipend support
• 100% tuition scholarship
• a health insurance credit

How much? That varies by PhD programmes but its website states a range from US$27,318 for eight months to US$40,977 for 12 months for the 2024/25 academic year.

8. Cornell University 

For the 2023/24 academic year, Cornell graduate assistantship and fellowship stipends grew by 8% . 

This made the minimum 12-month assistantship rate US$43,326 and increased the minimum nine-month academic year stipend to US$32,494.

Here, a graduate assistantship refers to “ an academic appointment requiring 15 to 20 hours a week , averaging no more than 15 hours per week for the base stipend as established by the Board of Trustees.” They receive full tuition credit and a stipend.

Meanwhile, a fellowship refers to an “arrangement in which financial support is given to a graduate student to pursue his or her degree without any obligation on the part of the student to engage in teaching and/or research in furtherance of the university’s academic mission.”

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Highest PhD Stipend In USA: Best Universities with Highest Paid PhD Stipends

If you are here, chances are you are exploring universities that offer the highest PhD stipends in the USA. Well, you are at the right place.

This article delves into institutions that not only prioritise research and education but also ensure their students are well-supported financially. 

From Stanford’s impressive stipends to the competitive packages at Princeton, we uncover the top universities where PhD candidates can focus on their studies without the burden of financial constraints, setting a benchmark for academic excellence and support.

Highest PhD Stipend In USA

Which universities offer the highest phd stipend in usa.

Stipends can help easy the journey of many PhD students, and here are the highest paying PhD stipends in the USA:

Stanford: At Stanford University, PhD students are at the top, with a whopping $45,850 stipend, the highest PhD stipend, making it a dream for many. This hefty sum covers not just tuition but also living expenses, a critical factor in places with a high cost of living.

Princeton: Princeton University isn’t far behind, offering its graduate students between $47,880 to $50,400 . The university sweetens the deal with a full fellowship stipend paid in August for new students, setting a high bar for PhD stipends in the United States.

South Carolina: The University of South Carolina offers a different kind of allure with a minimum stipend of $34,000. This amount, boosted by a “Provost Fellowship Top Off,” brings the total to at least $36,000. For students pursuing a PhD, this financial aid is significant, especially when considering the cost of living in South Carolina compared to more expensive states.

Rice: Rice University present compelling options with their departmental stipends and fellowship packages. Rice offers up to $40,000 a year.

Houston:  University of Houston provides a substantial $31,000, coupled with a Graduate Tuition Fellowship, enhancing the value of the stipend further.

Ohio: Ohio University stands out for its generosity, surpassing many with diverse assistantships that include a full tuition waiver and a stipend, showcasing the range of stipends available to PhD students in the United States.

Boston: Boston University guarantees a package that includes a stipend, tuition scholarship, and health insurance credit, adjusting the stipend amount based on the program and academic year.

Cornell: CornellUniversity demonstrates its commitment to graduate education with an 8% increase in graduate assistantship and fellowship stipends, ensuring students receive competitive financial support.

These universities not only offer some of the highest PhD stipends but also ensure that the stipends do justice to the living costs, making them the best universities for prospective PhD candidates to consider.

Are These Stipends Enough To Pay For Cost Of Living?

Generally stipends are offered to assist PhD students manage their living costs, while being able to focus on their study and research work.

But here’s the catch. Even the highest PhD stipend may not stretch as far as you’d hope in cities where the cost of living is sky-high.

Rent, groceries, and other living expenses can quickly eat into your stipend, making financial management a crucial skill for PhD students.

The story changes a bit when you look at universities in areas with a lower cost of living. The University of South Carolina, for instance, offers a minimum stipend of $34,000, which goes further in a less expensive city.

For many PhD students, the stipend is just part of the financial puzzle. Teaching assistantships, research assistantships, and external fellowships can supplement your income, but these come with their own commitments and pressures.

And remember, that stipend isn’t just for living expenses. It often needs to cover:

• student fees,
• health insurance,
• and sometimes even a portion of your tuition.

So, are PhD stipends enough? It really depends on where you’re studying and how you manage your finances. While some students find their stipends sufficient, others juggle additional jobs or seek external funding to make ends meet.

It’s a delicate balance, one that prospective PhD candidates should consider carefully before diving into their doctoral studies.

Can International Students Get PhD Stipends In The US?

For international students dreaming of a PhD in the US, the question of funding is crucial. You might wonder, “Can I get a stipend too?”

The good news is, yes, international students are often eligible for PhD stipends just like their US counterparts.

In fact, universities like Stanford and Princeton offer substantial stipends, with amounts that aim to cover living expenses and sometimes more.

These stipends are part of fellowship packages, which means they’re not tied to teaching or research assistantships, offering more freedom for your studies.

But here’s something you might not know. The value of the stipend can greatly depend on your department and research area. Some departments offer higher stipends based on the availability of funds and the nature of the research.

Also, the cost of living can vary widely across the US, so a stipend that is generous in one city might be just enough to get by in another.

International PhD candidates often worry about additional costs like:

• health insurance
• tuition fees, and
• travelling homw.

Many US universities cover these expenses as part of the stipend package, easing the financial burden on students.

So, if you’re an international student looking to pursue a PhD in the US, rest assured that stipends are within reach. But, it’s wise to research and understand the stipend amount, what it covers, and how it stacks up against the living costs in your chosen city.

Can PhD Students Get Stipends Outside Of USA?

When you look beyond the US for PhD programs, you’ll find some attractive stipends that make the academic journey more viable.

For example, Norway and Denmark shine with stipends around $55,000, setting a high standard for supporting PhD candidates.

This level of financial aid is not just about covering tuition but ensuring that living expenses don’t become a burden. It’s a model that some of the best universities around the globe are starting to follow.

In countries like these, the stipend for PhD students does more than just cover the basics. It respects the fact that these students are often at the highest level of education, having possibly completed a master’s or bachelor’s degree.

The value of the stipend reflects the cost of living, allowing students to focus on their research interests without the constant worry of financial strain.

PhD programs in such regions offer more than just a high PhD stipend; they offer a living wage ratio that many find hard to match.

This approach not only attracts international students but also sets a precedent for how PhD stipends should be structured.

It’s about recognising the contribution of doctoral students and ensuring they can pursue their academic and research goals without undue hardship.

This insider detail reveals a stark contrast to places where stipends do not cover living costs, highlighting a progressive stance on supporting postgraduate students.

Highest-Paying Stipend For PhD Students

Universities offering the highest PhD stipends in the USA demonstrate a commitment to fostering academic excellence by alleviating financial pressures on their students.

 These institutions stand out not just for their academic prowess but for their dedication to supporting PhD candidates through substantial stipends.

As prospective students navigate their options, these universities emerge as beacons of opportunity, ensuring that financial aid goes hand-in-hand with world-class education and research opportunities, shaping the next generation of scholars.

Dr Andrew Stapleton has a Masters and PhD in Chemistry from the UK and Australia. He has many years of research experience and has worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow and Associate at a number of Universities. Although having secured funding for his own research, he left academia to help others with his YouTube channel all about the inner workings of academia and how to make it work for you.

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30 Fully Funded Ph.D. Programs

These fully funded Ph.D. programs are in fields like business, computer science, education and nursing.

(Getty Images) |

Many Ph.D. programs are fully funded.

Students interested in graduate research in various fields, from public health and English to computer science and engineering, have numerous options for Ph.D. programs that offer full funding. These programs typically provide waived tuition and fees and an annual stipend. Some also offer health insurance and other benefits. Gaining admittance into these small cohorts can be highly competitive, and the programs can be time-consuming . Here are 30 fully funded Ph.D. programs at U.S. colleges and universities. Keep in mind this is not a comprehensive list – there are others out there.

• Ph.D. in anthropology at the University of Chicago

Anthropology Ph.D. students at the University of Chicago can receive funding for up to eight years of study, assuming they are in good standing at the university. During that time, they will receive a full-tuition scholarship plus health insurance and a living stipend – which equated to $33,000 for the 2022-2023 school year – and can apply for external fellowships.

Ph.D. in biological sciences in public health at Harvard University (MA)

Harvard University's T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston offers a Ph.D. in biological sciences in public health that aims to provide students with expertise in disease prevention and treatment. This program includes tuition, a stipend and health insurance for five years as long as the student maintains satisfactory academic progress. International students receive the same benefits. Current research in the school's laboratories involves diseases like AIDS, cancer, diabetes, kidney disease, malaria and tuberculosis.

(Dominick Reuter) |

• Ph.D. in business at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Students enrolled in the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology can study a range of fields like organization studies, accounting and information technology. Those pursuing a Ph.D. will receive a full-tuition scholarship plus a monthly stipend of $4,267, capped at $51,204. They will also receive medical insurance, new laptops at the beginning of their first and fourth years of study and $4,500 over five years for conference travel expenses.

(Tommy Lavergne | Rice University)

Ph.D. in business at Rice University (TX)

At the Rice University Jones Graduate School of Business in Texas, students enjoy full financial assistance upon admission to the Ph.D. program. Aiming to prepare students to teach in fields like accounting, finance, organizational behavior and strategic management, the program provides students with a research or teaching assistantship. Students receive a tuition waiver and a $40,000 annual stipend contingent on making satisfactory academic progress and maintaining full-time student status.

Office of Strategic Communication | University of Iowa

• Ph.D. in business at the University of Iowa

The University of Iowa's Tippie College of Business offers Ph.D. degrees in fields such as accounting, economics, business analytics and marketing. The college says it provides full funding to "virtually all admitted students." This includes tuition and fees, a minimum nine-month stipend of about $20,000 with annual adjustments and comprehensive health insurance covered at 90%. Some departments offer funding for research presentations at major conferences, summer fellowships and paid time off for independent research.

Ph.D. in chemical engineering at Cornell University (NY)

According to Cornell University 's website, all students admitted to the chemical engineering Ph.D. program at the New York school receive a full tuition waiver, health insurance and a stipend. This funding can come from a teaching assistantship, research assistantship or fellowship, and full stipends are granted for nine months with the likelihood of additional aid in the summer.

Chris Taggart | Columbia University

Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Columbia University (NY)

Students enrolled in Columbia University 's Ph.D. program in clinical psychology at the Teachers College in New York receive fully funded tuition and a $25,000 stipend annually for three years. The stipend also carries into a student's fourth year. These doctoral fellows "may be expected to serve" as graduate teaching or research assistants. Students typically complete the mentor-matched program, which includes a full-year internship, in five to seven years.

Ph.D. in computer science at Brown University (RI)

Brown University 's Ph.D. students in computer science have access to "full financial support while completing the degree," plus the option to take classes at nearby schools without incurring additional costs, according to the school's website. In fact, doctoral students in any program at the Rhode Island university are guaranteed five years of financial support, which includes tuition remission, a stipend, health services fees and a subsidy for health insurance.

Georgetown University |

Ph.D. in computer science at Georgetown University (DC)

Georgetown University 's Ph.D. program in computer science provides scholarships and assistantships that cover full tuition at the Washington, D.C., school and include a stipend and health insurance for the first five years. Once enrolled in the program, students must complete the Apprenticeship in Teaching Program and ultimately write and defend a full research dissertation in a seminar open to the public.

Ph.D. in computer science at Washington University in St. Louis

Ph.D. students in the computer science or computer engineering program at Washington University in St. Louis receive full tuition support and health insurance. According to the university's website: "As a doctoral candidate, you will also receive a generous stipend to cover living expenses and a new, high-end Apple laptop computer. This support is guaranteed as you continue to make satisfactory progress towards your degree." Doctoral students may also qualify for one of three fellowships.

Jeff Miller | UW-Madison

• Ph.D. in counseling psychology at the University of Wisconsin—Madison

Incoming Ph.D. students at the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin—Madison are guaranteed full funding for the duration of the time that they are expected on campus, according to the university's department of counseling psychology website. Doctoral students also receive a benefits package that includes health insurance. Funding may come from financial aid, fellowships, assistantships and/or traineeships.

Emory University |

Ph.D. in economics at Emory University (GA)

Students enrolled in the economics Ph.D. program at Emory University typically receive full funding, according to the Georgia university's website. The stipend provided to students is $36,376 per year for five years, starting in fall 2023, and the full tuition scholarship is worth $70,200 per year. Funding for admitted students also includes a $4,370 annual subsidy that covers 100% of a student's cost of health insurance. First-year students have no stipend-related work requirements.

• Ph.D. in education at New York University

New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development offers more than 30 degree programs. Many can be pursued on campus or online. Ph.D. degrees are offered in areas like developmental psychology, educational leadership and childhood education. Full-time NYU Steinhardt Ph.D. students are eligible for a funding package that includes an annual stipend – $32,000 for the 2022-2023 academic year – tuition coverage for required coursework and student health insurance for five years.

L.A. Cicero, Stanford News Service |

Ph.D. in education at Stanford University (CA)

Stanford University's Graduate School of Education allows students numerous fellowship and assistantship opportunities at the California school, along with a "five-year funding guarantee that provides tuition aid, fellowship stipend, and assistantship salary, and covers the standard cost of attendance," the program website reads. At the Graduate School of Education, doctoral students can choose from a range of academic areas like curriculum studies and teacher education, and developmental and psychological sciences.

• Ph.D. in education at the University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education provides full funding to Ph.D. students as part of a fellowship and research apprenticeship package. This funding includes a living stipend, health insurance and coverage of tuition and fees for up to four years if the student maintains full-time enrollment. Some students may also qualify for additional summer funding.

• Ph.D. in engineering at the University of Michigan—Ann Arbor

Doctoral students in engineering at the University of Michigan—Ann Arbor can choose from numerous areas of specialization under umbrella categories like aerospace engineering, biomedical engineering, macromolecular science and engineering, and robotics. All engineering doctoral students are guaranteed full funding, a monthly living stipend and health insurance. The exact amount can vary, according to the program's website, and funding comes from a range of sources, including graduate student instructor positions and fellowships.

Boston University Photography |

• Ph.D. in English at Boston University

Annually, doctoral students studying English at Boston University receive a stipend plus full tuition, fees and basic health insurance. This funding is guaranteed for at least five years, with two of those years typically free from teaching requirements. Funding can sometimes be extended up to seven years, according to the university's website, but it's not guaranteed. Students may also apply for various prizes, fellowships and short-term research and travel grants.

(Stephanie Diani) |

• Ph.D. in English at the University of California—Los Angeles

Applicants to the Ph.D. in English program at the University of California—Los Angeles are automatically considered for various funding options. A six-year funding package includes "a minimum of two years of full fellowship, four years of summer stipend support and up to four years of teaching assistantships," according to the school website. Beyond tuition, fees and health insurance are also covered.

Jeff Watts |

Ph.D. in international relations at American University (DC)

American University offers doctoral students in its international relations program who do not have external funding a renewable four-year Dean's Fellowship that is contingent on making satisfactory academic progress. The fellowship includes the cost of tuition, fees and a stipend that must be earned via a part-time role as a teaching or research assistant. Students also must "demonstrate competency in a modern foreign language" before graduating.

Jonathan Cohen | Binghamton University

• Ph.D. in management at Binghamton University—SUNY

All students admitted to the interdisciplinary management Ph.D. program at the Binghamton University—SUNY School of Management in New York receive a combination of a full-tuition scholarship and a teaching or research assistantship for each academic year, up to four years. This STEM-designated business doctoral degree prepares students for careers in academia and work in the public and private sectors, and has a student-faculty ratio of 1-to-1, according to the university's website.

Duke University Communications |

Ph.D. in materials science and engineering at Duke University (NC)

Doctoral students at Duke University in North Carolina studying materials science and engineering generally receive full tuition, a stipend and fee support for the first five years. Students also receive up to six years of health insurance if they are on the university's student medical insurance plan. The doctoral program aims to help students publish with a faculty adviser and develop research skills, with the opportunity to present research at professional conferences.

Homewood Photography | JHU

Ph.D. in nursing at Johns Hopkins University (MD)

The School of Nursing at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland provides most doctoral students with three fully funded years of study. Available financial aid includes graduate assistantships, targeted fellowships and nursing-specific funding. The university aims to "advance the theoretical foundation of nursing practice and healthcare delivery" with the degree, its website reads. "By graduation, most Hopkins nurse scholars have been awarded grants that continue their research and set them well on their way to a successful career."

• Ph.D. in nursing at the University of Virginia

All students admitted to the University of Virginia 's Ph.D. in Nursing program are eligible for four years of scholarship funding to cover tuition, insurance and fees, as well as annual stipends. To receive certain aid, students must work 10 hours per week as a graduate teaching assistant. With a heavy research focus, students can expect courses in qualitative, quantitative and historical research, and will have to submit a research proposal for peer review.

Ph.D. in nursing at Yale University (CT)

At Yale University in Connecticut, the School of Nursing offers full funding to its Ph.D. students. They receive a monthly stipend for four years in addition to paid tuition and health care. The program allows students to gain in-depth knowledge in a particular area of study. Every incoming Ph.D. student gets paired with a faculty adviser "whose area of expertise and active research most closely matches with the student’s scholarly interest," according to the school's website.

University of Minnesota |

• Ph.D. in psychology at the University of Minnesota—Twin Cities

Students admitted to the Ph.D. program to study psychology at the University of Minnesota—Twin Cities are guaranteed full funding for five years as long as they maintain satisfactory performance and degree progress. This funding includes full-time tuition, a nine-month stipend and subsidized health insurance. Funding comes from some combination of teaching assistantships, traineeships, research assistantships and fellowships. Students in the program can specialize in areas like cognitive and brain sciences, industrial-organizational psychology and social psychology.

Matt Cashore | University of Notre Dame

Ph.D. within the Romance languages and literatures department at the University of Notre Dame (IN)

University of Notre Dame doctoral students who focus on French and Francophone studies, Iberian and Latin American studies or Italian studies are guaranteed five years of funding. Funding includes a full scholarship, including tuition and fees, plus a stipend and health insurance. Anyone who completes the Ph.D. degree requirements at the Indiana university within five years will automatically receive a one-year postdoctoral fellowship via the university's 5+1 Program. Fellows will have a teaching load limited to one course per semester.

Ph.D. in social work at Bryn Mawr College (PA)

Students admitted to Bryn Mawr College 's Ph.D. program in social work receive full tuition waivers and "substantial stipends" toward living expenses. The Pennsylvania college's website says: "Consistent with our model, all Ph.D. students are funded equally, and do not compete for basic financial support during coursework." The program's cohorts typically include only three or four students each year. According to the college, it awarded the first Ph.D. degree in social work in the U.S. in 1920.

Vanderbilt University |

Ph.D. in special education at Vanderbilt University (TN)

Funding is guaranteed for all admitted doctoral students enrolled in the special education Ph.D. program at the Peabody College of Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. This includes full tuition, a "competitive" monthly stipend and health insurance for up to four years. Students may also be nominated for additional honor scholarships and fellowships. Areas of focus within the Ph.D. program include high-incidence disabilities and early childhood education.

Ph.D. in theatre and drama at Northwestern University (IL)

This interdisciplinary Ph.D. program at Northwestern University in Illinois combines coursework in humanities, social science and the visual arts. The program's students receive a five-year full-tuition scholarship plus an annual living stipend. Ph.D students enrolling at this program in fall 2022 will receive a living stipend of at least $36,960 during the 2023-2024 school year. Stipend amounts may change from year to year. Students can apply for subsidies to facilitate conference travel and summer language study.

(Photo by Sarah L. Voisin | The Washington Post via Getty Images)

• Ph.D. in women, gender and sexuality studies at University of Maryland

At the University of Maryland 's Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Ph.D. students without a master's degree usually have five years of guaranteed funding. Those with a master's degree usually are funded four years, with awards stemming from a mix of departmental fellowships and graduate teaching assistantships. Since the program's establishment in 1999, the department has granted 36 Ph.Ds, according to UMD's website.

Learn more about paying for graduate school.

Finding a fully funded program isn't the only option to offset the costs of graduate school. See these seven strategies to pay for graduate school to learn more. Check out the latest Best Graduate Schools rankings to see the country's top business, medicine and law programs – and more. For additional grad school tips, follow U.S. News Education on Facebook , Twitter and LinkedIn .

Ph.D. programs that are fully funded

• Ph.D. in biological sciences in public health at Harvard University
• Ph.D. in business at Rice University
• Ph.D. in chemical engineering at Cornell University
• Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Columbia University
• Ph.D. in computer science at Brown University
• Ph.D. in computer science at Georgetown University
• Ph.D. in computer science at Washington University—St. Louis
• Ph.D. in economics at Emory University
• Ph.D. in education at Stanford University
• Ph.D. in international relations at American University
• Ph.D. in materials science and engineering at Duke University
• Ph.D. in nursing at Johns Hopkins University
• Ph.D. in nursing at Yale University
• Ph.D. within the romance languages and literatures department at the University of Notre Dame
• Ph.D. in social work at Bryn Mawr College
• Ph.D. in special education at Vanderbilt University
• Ph.D. in theatre and drama at Northwestern University

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Funding & Scholarship: Graduate Programs

Financial support for ph.d. students, all students admitted into our ph.d. program receive full financial support., this support includes tuition, fees, $1,000 in transportation and dental subsidies (as of ay24-25), and a cost-of-living stipend ($3655 per month in ay23-24 and $4083 per month before taxes in ay24-25)..

Support is independent of need provided a student remains in good academic standing and is making satisfactory progress towards his/her Ph.D. degree. Students are expected to complete their Ph.D. requirements in four to six years. Financial support takes several forms: fellowships, teaching fellowships, and research assistantships. Ordinarily, first-year Ph.D. students are supported with full fellowships so that they can devote their time to coursework.

For the class entering in Fall 2024 : SEAS PhD students are expected to complete two sections of teaching in SEAS in their second year or spread across their second and third years. Both sections may be completed concurrently in a single course. Their research assistantship will be adjusted accordingly during the semester(s) in which they are teaching fellow (TF). The academic requirement for the PhD degree is one section of teaching in SEAS. The student and their research advisor may arrange to replace the second section of teaching with a research assistantship. Beyond the first year, when students are in a better position to teach and assist in research, support is ordinarily provided through research assistantships, or a combination of a teaching fellowship and a research assistantship. For more detailed information, please visit the following pages: GSAS Tuition and Fees  G SAS Financial Support for PhD Students

External financial support for Ph.D. students

Applicants and current students are encouraged and expected to apply for all non-Harvard scholarships for which they are eligible, especially those offered by the  National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program  and  National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship (NDSEG) . 

Each year, many SEAS students secure fellowships from external agencies.  Should an incoming student be awarded and accept any fellowship external to Harvard, it is the expectation that the student will utilize these funds in the first year of study in place of Harvard funding.   In advanced (G2+) years in the graduate program, students with external fellowships are advised to have a discussion with their financial aid officers from Harvard Griffin GSAS and SEAS about how to best utilize the remaining years of funding based on their activities and academic requirements.

To ensure equitable treatment of all students, the coordination of external award benefits with a student’s existing funding package is determined by the Harvard Griffin GSAS financial aid officer in consultation with SEAS.

PhD students with external support are eligible for a SEAS-sponsored academic incentive.  PhD students who bring in open, competitive external fellowships that are equal to 50% or more of total their support (tuition/fees + stipend) will receive a supplemental award of $3,000 in the first year of the external fellowship.  PhD students who bring in open external competitive external fellowships that are not 50% or more of their total support and are at least $10,000 (tuition/fees + stipend or salary) will receive a supplemental award of $1,000.  The full $3,000 bonus may also be awarded in certain cases of multi-year fellowships depending on the total amount of support provided.

Financial support for terminal masters students (M.E. & S.M.)

While financial aid is not available for master’s students in our M.E. and S.M. programs, there are a variety of funding opportunities available. Prospective students are encouraged to apply for independent grants and fellowships to fund their studies.  Information about tuition and fees can be found here . Students in our Computational Science & Engineering or Data Science programs-should visit this page and also may contact the  GSAS Financial Aid Office  to learn more.

Students in the  MS/MBA:Engineering Sciences program  are eligible to apply for need-based  HBS Fellowships  and student loans in both years of the program.

Tuition, Fees, and Ph.D. Stipends

NOTE: All numbers below require annual approval by the Board of Trustees

Last updated April 17,2024

PDF version

View full cost to attend . 

  * - Projected rates for tuition, fees, and stipends are tentative and subject to change.

** - For longer term projections, the tuition remission rate can be assumed to increase 0.7% per year.

*** - Teaching assistant and grader rates are established by the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences.

English PhD Stipends in the United States: Statistical Report

By Eric Weiskott

This report presents the results of research into stipends for PhD candidates in English conducted between summer 2021 and spring 2022. The report surveys the top 135 universities in the U.S. News and World Report 2022 “Best National University Ranking,” plus the Graduate Center, City University of New York. Of these universities, 80 offer a PhD in English and guarantee full funding for five or more years. Graduate administrators at three universities declined to grant permission to have current or historical stipend amounts published, citing legal concerns (appendix A). The remaining 77 institutions form the data set. Stipend amounts are expressed in absolute dollars (table 1), in cost-of-living-adjusted dollars (table 2), relative to endowment size for universities with institutional endowments of $3.5 billion or less (figure 1), and broken down by type of university (public or private) (tables 3a–3b) and by region (tables 4a–4d).

The stipend data were gathered by consulting program websites and, if no URL is cited, by canvassing departmental faculty and staff members responsible for administering English PhD programs, often holding the title “Director of Graduate Studies” (DGS). 1 In some cases, the standard stipend must be expressed as a dollar range rather than a fixed amount, for reasons specified in the notes.

All figures given in this report are gross pay, reflecting neither tax withholding schemes nor any mandatory student fees. All figures are rounded to the nearest dollar. All figures reflect the base or standard stipend offer, not including supplemental funding offered on a competitive basis at the department, college, or university level. All figures represent twelve-month pay, regardless of whether the program distinguishes between academic-year stipend and any summer stipend, provided both are guaranteed. While every effort was made to procure academic year 2021–22 or 2022–23 figures, in a few cases this was not possible. A limitation of the data therefore is that they mix current and recent stipend amounts. For some programs, the standard stipend increases or decreases during the course of the degree. Where the changes in pay occur in specific years, they are accordingly factored into the numbers given in the report, which represent a five-year average in these instances. However, where the changes depend on the unpredictable completion of program requirements, or reflect differential pay based on past degrees earned or not earned at the time of matriculation, I express the standard stipend as a range. Because programs with a stipend range are ranked and averaged according to the average of the low and high ends of the range, the report may slightly overstate or understate the total value of the stipend over the length of the degree depending how candidates tend to move through those programs, or depending on the academic background of the candidates who matriculate into them.

Cost-of-living comparisons were made using Nerdwallet ’s cost-of-living calculator (“Cost”), checked against the standardized cost-of-living rating on BestPlaces (“2022 Cost”).  Nerdwallet ’s calculator has the advantage of splitting up geography into medium-sized benchmark areas, often roughly corresponding to a commutable radius around a town or city, as opposed to the jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction comparisons of BestPlaces and other cost-of-living calculators, which would be more pertinent to real estate purchases. However, use of the Nerdwallet tool entails limitations, occasionally acute. Some university campuses are located closer to available Nerdwallet benchmarks than others. Certain rural and suburban campuses are located in jurisdictions with somewhat higher or lower cost of living than the closest available Nerdwallet benchmark, often a city. These limitations were corrected for in the more severe cases and to the extent possible by averaging multiple benchmarks selected for geographic proximity and comparable cost of living (as given on BestPlaces ) to the location of the campus, as noted in each case in table 2. The possibility of PhD candidates’ commuting to campus from a distance greater than the radius of a Nerdwallet benchmark, not to mention the possibility of their living farther afield when teaching remotely in the COVID-19 pandemic or dissertating, further complicates a direct benchmark-to-benchmark cost-of-living conversion.

It was particularly difficult to determine the cost of living for one campus, Rutgers University, New Brunswick. This is because Rutgers is within commuting distance of New York, the highest cost-of-living metropolitan area in the United States, coupled with the fact that the Nerdwallet benchmark to which the city of New Brunswick belongs, “Middlesex-Monmouth,” covers two New Jersey counties that include many towns as distant from New Brunswick to the south and west as Brooklyn and Manhattan are to the north and east. That is, New Brunswick is inadvantageously situated in its Nerdwallet benchmark for the purposes of stating an average cost of living that captures patterns of commuting to and from campus. Commutes from south and west of campus are included, while commutes from north and east are excluded. In the Midwest and West, where Nerdwallet tends to have fewer benchmark areas, suburban and smaller urban campuses within commuting distance of a large city often are benchmarked to that city—for example, the University of Colorado, Boulder, to the Denver benchmark and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, to the Detroit benchmark. It would therefore seem to be inconsistent to omit to factor New York into the cost-of-living-adjusted value of a stipend paid by Rutgers University, New Brunswick, particularly as the difference between the cost of living in New York and New Brunswick is so much greater than the difference between the cost of living in Detroit and Ann Arbor, or between Denver and Boulder. My solution, to average the average of the Nerdwallet results for Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens together with the results for Middlesex-Monmouth, is an admittedly provisional one that risks overstating the cost of living of pursuing a PhD in English at Rutgers, which, after all, is not located in Brooklyn, Manhattan, or Queens. In a private communication, the DGS reports that a little over one quarter of current Rutgers English graduate candidates reside in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, or adjacent Jersey City, NJ. I consider this proportion large enough to confirm my initial expectation that the very high cost of living in New York should factor into an estimate of the cost of living associated with a Rutgers English PhD in some way. I have not systematically polled DGSs about where candidates live. If nothing else, I hope the difficult case of Rutgers illuminates the limitations of representing cost of living with a single standardized number in an age of urban agglomeration, rapid transport, and a prevailing tolerance for work commutes of up to one hour or so.

Endowment figures (figure 1) were drawn from the fiscal year 2020 statistical report on North American university endowments published by the National Association of College and University Business Officers ( U.S. and Canadian Institutions ).

This stipend report is not a substitute for a holistic assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of an individual PhD program and is not intended to guide prospective PhD applicants toward or away from any given program. The report does not take account of such significant variables as relative strength of the program in the applicant’s area of specialty; any competitive fellowships and stipends available; exam requirements burden; teaching and service expectations; cultural life and nearby off-campus intellectual institutions; the number of years of full funding guaranteed past five, if any; or record of placing graduates into full-time academic employment. The report isolates the stipend as one important factor among several shaping the experience, opportunity cost, and financial, intellectual, and professional benefit of pursuing graduate study in English. Graduate candidates are workers as well as students, and the stipend is their salary. It is hoped that by understanding these data, program administrators, graduate administrators, department chairs, current PhDs, and prospective PhD applicants can form an evidence-based impression of what the English PhD pays around the country and in divergent institutional and regional settings.

For completeness, appendixes list the universities among the 135 that either offer the PhD in English but do not guarantee full funding for five or more years (appendix B) or do not offer the PhD in English (appendix C). Note

1 I thank Anna Chang for assistance gathering updated stipend amounts at a late stage of the project.

Works Cited

“Best National University Rankings.” U.S. News and World Report , 2022, www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities .

“Cost of Living Calculator.” Nerdwallet , 2022, www.nerdwallet.com/cost-of-living-calculator .

“2022 Cost of Living Calculator.” BestPlaces , 2022, www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/ .

U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Endowment Market Value and Change in Endowment Market Value from FY19 to FY20 . National Association of College and University Business Officers , 2021, www.nacubo.org/-/media/Documents/Research/2020-NTSE-Public-Tables–Endowment-Market-Values–FINAL-FEBRUARY-19-2021.ashx.

Table 1. English PhD Standard Stipend Nationwide Comparison

Table 1 Average: $25,006

Table 1 Median: $25,000   

Table 1 Notes

1 The figure reflects a stipend of $30,800 for the first year and $36,570 thereafter, averaged over five years.

2 gfs.stanford.edu/salary/salary22/tal_all.pdf . I obtained this figure by tripling the standard arts and sciences per-quarter rate to reflect Stanford University’s three-quarter, nine-month academic year.

3 The figure reflects an academic-year stipend of $27,605 ($3,067 per month), plus a summer stipend that is the average of the 2020–21 summer stipend of $5,300 ($1,767 per month) and three months of the 2021–22 academic-year rate—namely, $7,251 ($2,417 per month). Brown University is phasing in a summer stipend to match the academic-year stipend over the next year.

4 www.tgs.northwestern.edu/funding/index.html .

5 gsas.yale.edu/resources-students/finances-fellowships/stipend-payments#:~:text=students%20receive%20a%20semi%2Dmonthly,2022%20academic%20year%20is%20%2433%2C600 .

6 The figure reflects an academic-year stipend of $28,654, plus a summer stipend of $6,037 for the first four years, averaged over five years.

7 today.duke.edu/2019/04/duke-makes-12-month-funding-commitment-phd-students#:~:text=students%20in%20their%20guaranteed%20funding,54%20programs%20across%20the%20university .

8 english.rutgers.edu/images/5_10_2021_-_Fall_2022_grad_website_updated_des_of_funding_for_prospectives.pdf . The figure reflects an academic-year stipend of $25,000 for the first year and $29,426 thereafter, plus a summer stipend of $5,000 the first summer and $2,500 each of the next two summers, averaged over five years.

9 The figure is anticipated for 2022–23 following an admissions pause in 2021–22.

10 The low figure is a teaching assistant offer; the high figure is a university fellowship. While funding in excess of the rate for teaching assistants is competitive, it is also de facto guaranteed: for 2021–22, all eight offers of admission exceeded the rate for teaching assistants.

11 policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1238 . The figure reflects a stipend of $25,000 with $1,000 in summer funding in year 3 and $4,500 in summer funding in years 4-5, averaged over five years.

12 The figures reflect a stipend range of $18,240–$25,000 for the first year and $23,835 thereafter, averaged over five years.

13 The figure reflects a stipend of $25,166 for the first year, $24,166 for the second through fourth years, and $19,000 for the fifth year, averaged over five years.

14 grad.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/upload/files/facstaff/salary_21-22_october_2021.pdf . I obtained this figure by halving the standard teaching assistant annual rate to reflect the rule that PhD candidates at the University of California, Davis, may work no more than half time.

15 Lehigh University guarantees full funding for five years for candidates classified as full-time. This includes all candidates except a few who are nontraditional students and bring an outside salary or other outside funding to the degree.

16 miamioh.edu/cas/academics/departments/english/admission/graduate-admission/graduate-funding/teaching-positions/index.html .

17 The figures reflect an academic-year stipend of $17,100, plus a summer stipend range of $2,500–$5,000.

18 The figures reflect a stipend of $23,688 for the first year and a range of $19,480–$20,250 thereafter, averaged over five years.

19 hr.uic.edu/hr-staff-managers/compensation/minima-for-graduate-appointments/ .

20 The University of Utah guarantees full funding for five years for those entering with a BA but four years for those entering with an MA.

21 Among the doctoral degrees offered by the English department at Purdue University, West Lafayette, the one in question is the PhD in literature, theory, and cultural studies.

22 The University of Florida guarantees full funding for six years for those entering with a BA but four years for those entering with an MA.

23 These figures reflect the range between FTE .40 at level I (BA holder, precandidacy) and FTE .49 at level II (MA holder, advanced to candidacy). See https://graduatestudies.uoregon.edu/funding/ge/salary-benefits for a schedule of salaries.

Table 2. English PhD Standard Stipend Nationwide Comparison, Adjusted for Cost of Living (Expressed in Boston-Area Dollars)

Table 2 Average: $33,060

Table 2 Median: $31,718

Table 2 Notes

1 I used the benchmark for Philadelphia, which, although geographically distant from State College / University Park, has a more comparable cost of living than other benchmarks for Pennsylvania.

2 For programs located in New York City—in this listing, Columbia University; New York University; Graduate Center, City University of New York; and Fordham University—I averaged the results for Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens.

3 I averaged the results for Austin and Houston.

4 I averaged the New York City triborough average with the results for Middlesex-Monmouth, NJ. This reflects Rutgers’s liminal geographic location: it is much closer to New York City, without being in the city, than any other campus on this list, and a substantial minority of Rutgers PhD candidates commute to campus from the city.

5 I averaged the results for San Francisco and Oakland.

6 I averaged the results for Bakersfield and San Diego. While Los Angeles is closer geographically, it has a much higher cost of living than Riverside and is just outside of convenient commuting range.

7 I averaged the results for Boston and Pittsfield.

8 I averaged the results for Queens and Albany, a better approximation of the cost of living on eastern Long Island than averaging the cost of living in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens.

9 I averaged the results for Los Angeles and San Francisco.

10 I averaged the results for Washington, DC, and Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick, MD.

Table 3a. English PhD Standard Stipend Nationwide Comparison: Private Universities

Table 3a Average: $28,653

Table 3a Median: $28,967

Table 3b. English PhD Standard Stipend Nationwide Comparison: Public Universities

Table 3b Average: $22,230

Table 3b Median: $21,500

Table 4a. English PhD Standard Stipend Comparison: West and Southwest

Table 4a Average: $25,661

Table 4a Median: $25,500

Table 4b. English PhD Standard Stipend Comparison: Midwest

Table 4b Average: $23,234

Table 4b Median: $21,966

Table 4c. English PhD Standard Stipend Comparison: Northeast

Table 4c Average: $26,741

Table 4c Median: $26,235

Table 4d. English PhD Standard Stipend Comparison: South

Table 4d Average: $22,438

Table 4d Median: $20,881

Appendix A. English PhD Programs Declining to Have Stipend Data Published

Appendix b. english phd programs not guaranteeing full funding for five or more years.

Appendix B Notes

1 The department will “attempt to fully fund all students admitted to the PhD program for five years” ( english.columbian.gwu.edu/graduate-admissions-aid#phd ).

2 Guarantees full funding for four years.

3 “All admitted students receive a multi-year funding package” ( www.humanities.uci.edu/english/graduate/index.php ).

4 Guarantees full funding for four years.

Appendix C. Universities Not Offering the PhD in English

Appendix C Notes

* Offers a terminal MA in English.

1 Offers a terminal MA in literature, culture, and technology.

2 Offers a terminal MA in English literature and publishing.

3 Offers a PhD in rhetoric and professional communication.

4 Offers a PhD in communication, rhetoric, and digital media.

5 Offers a PhD in communication and rhetoric.

6 Offers a PhD in literature. The University of California, Davis, and the University of Kansas also offer a PhD in literature, yet, unlike the University of California, San Diego, or the University of California, Santa Cruz, the Davis and Kansas degrees are housed in English departments and retain an explicitly anglophone focus.

7 Offers a PhD in rhetoric and writing.

*Campus-specific endowment information is not available in the National Association of College and University Business Officers report.

Eric Weiskott is professor of English at Boston College, where he directs the English PhD program. His most recent book is  Meter and Modernity in English Verse, 1350–1650  (U of Pennsylvania P, 2021).

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Graduate School

Graduate student stipend information.

• Financing & Support
• Ph.D. Funding

The Graduate School offers incoming doctoral and MFA students financial packages intended to support excellence in graduate education and to enable students to devote themselves full time to their research and scholarship.

All recommendations for graduate student funding are made at the program level. Eligibility and awards are determined annually and are always conditional on students making satisfactory progress toward their degrees. Students with questions or concerns regarding Brown funding — including eligibility, awards, or renewals — should discuss them with the program’s Director of Graduate Study.

Brown's funded degree programs are residential programs that require full-time dedication in order to reach the goals of superior scholarship envisioned for all students. The Graduate School recognizes that training opportunities outside of regular appointments can play an important role in preparing graduate students for their careers and, for supported graduate students in good standing, the Graduate Council is supportive of such additional, paid training opportunities, as long as they do not exceed 12 hours per week. Additional details can be found on the Activities Outside of Stipended Appointments webpage and in the  Graduate School Handbook .

Stipend Information

2023-2024 stipend amounts.

FY24 Doctoral Base Stipends (July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024)

2024-2025 Stipend Amounts

FY25 Doctoral Base Stipends (July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025)

2025-2026 Stipend Amounts

FY26 Doctoral Base Stipends (July 1, 2025 - June 30, 2026)

Where to Find Stipend Information

Students receive an appointment letter through  Self Service Banner  (SSB) each term (fall, spring, and summer). You can find your appointment letters in  SSB  by logging in with your Brown username and password, then clicking on the 'Student' tab and selecting ‘Graduate Student Appointment Details’ at the bottom of the list. The appointment letter provides: 

• The appointment type and a general description of duties 
• The start and end dates of the appointment 
• The department in which the appointment is assigned 
• The total stipend amount for the term 
• Whether the appointment in the bargaining unit or not and union-related steps to take prior to the appointment starting

Calculating Monthly Amount

All stipended graduate students will receive their regular stipend payment at the end of each month (see the Student Employee FAQ section on the Controller’s Office  General Information/FAQ webpage ). Your Appointment Letter provides the total amount you will receive for that term and from that you can determine approximately how much you will receive at the end of each month (please note this is a pre-tax amount).

Fall and Spring Terms

The fall and spring funding periods are both 4.5 months in length. Fall runs September 1 - January 15 and spring runs January 16 - May 31 (these dates are detailed in your Appointment Letter). To determine how much you will receive each month, divide the stipend amount from your Appointment Letter by 4.5 months. 

Example:  Your Fall 2023 Appointment Letter shows a stipend amount of $16,421.63.  $16,421.63/ 4.5 months = $3,649.25 per month, pre-tax.

Summer Term

The summer term runs June 1 - August 31 and straddles two fiscal years. Students receiving a summer stipend will receive one month of stipend payment (June) at the rate of the fiscal year that is ending and two months of stipend payment (July and August) at the rate of the fiscal year that is starting. This means that the payment amount in June may be different from the amounts in July and August (though it will generally be the same as the amount from the previous July and August).

Example:  Your Summer 2024 Appointment Letter shows a stipend amount of $11,976.91. The 2023-2024 monthly stipend rate is $3,808.25 and you will receive that amount, pre tax, in June 2024 (the portion of the summer in the 2023-2024 fiscal year). The 2024-2025 monthly stipend rate is $4,084.33 and you will receive that amount, pre tax, in both July and August 2024 (the portion of the summer in the 2024-2025 fiscal year).

Effects of Appointment Type

A general overview and description of duties for student appointments can be found in the  Graduate School Handbook . Appointment types not only affect the type of work a student is performing during a term, but may also affect how the student’s stipend is taxed and will determine whether or not they are in the bargaining unit. For example, students appointed to fellowships do not generally have taxes taken out of their payments and are not in the bargaining unit, while students on assistantship appointments such as RA, TA, or Proctor, do have taxes withheld at the time of payment and are in the bargaining unit (and so must pay the GLO Membership Fee or the GLO Fair Share Fee). See the Tax Information and Graduate Student Union Information webpages for more information.

Steps Required to Receive Payments

All students must complete the I-9 process in order to receive payment from Brown. Students will be required to complete this process upon matriculating as well as anytime they return to active student status after taking a leave of absence. 

The I-9 process includes:

• Submitting the I-9 Form and completing all onboarding tasks in Workday (instructions can be found on the  I-9 Forms webpage ) 
• Visiting the HR Service Center, in person, (Page-Robinson Hall, Room 213) to present original, unexpired documentation for the I-9 Form. Please refer to the  List of Acceptable Documents  for guidance on the types of documents required. 

Sprintax Calculus

All international students are required to enter data pertaining to immigration and tax status in Sprintax Calculus each calendar year and if they extend their stay at Brown University. Students are also required to notify their department and [email protected] each time they leave the U.S. with their location and possible return date, and then again when they re-enter the country, regardless of the length of time they were away. Current information is required to ensure that correct taxes are applied. More information is available on the Controller’s Office Foreign National Payments and Taxation webpage. Note that the university previously used FNIS for this process, but has recently transitioned to Sprintax Calculus.

Effects of Student Location

A student’s location during the term (whether they are on campus or off campus in another state or country) plays a role in how the student’s payment is processed by Brown and may affect the taxes withheld. Students should let their program administrator know when they will be away from campus and international students should notify their department and [email protected] each time they leave the U.S. with their location and possible return date, and then again when they re-enter the country, regardless of the length of time they were away. To ensure that student payments are in compliance with all relevant tax laws, students may get questions about their current location and travel dates from their program administrator, the Graduate School, or the Controller’s Office. 

Receiving Stipend as Check or Direct Deposit

Information about how to sign up for direct deposit is found on the Controller’s Office  General Information/FAQ webpage . Note that students who sign up for direct deposit may still receive one more payment as a check if the direct deposit setup process is not fully completed prior to payments being disbursed. 

• Internal Funding & Appointments
• Tax Information
• Fellowships
• Student Payroll Procedures
• Graduate School Handbook
• Graduate Student Union Collective Bargaining Agreement  and current  stipend agreement
• Onboarding and I-9 process: HR Service Center,  [email protected]
• Tax related questions: Controller’s Office,  [email protected]
• Sprintax Calculus or tax related questions for international students: Controller’s Office,  [email protected]
• Visa questions or travel issues: OISSS,  [email protected]

• PhD in USA – A Guide for 2020/21
• Finding a PhD

A PhD in USA takes approximately 5 – 6 years of full-time study and can cost between $12,000 – $45,000 per academic year. PhD programs in USA differ from that in the UK and Europe in that students must first take taught classes, coursework and exams before starting their research project.

Why Do a PhD in USA?

The United States has long had some of the most distinguished universities and advanced PhD programmes in the world. Combined with curriculum flexibility, rigorous teaching methods, vast funding opportunities, breathtaking campuses and significant career prospects, it’s no wonder that it is one of the most sought-after study destinations for research students.

In addition to comprehensive training standards, here are a few other reasons why a student may choose to undertake their PhD in the United States:

• Longer learning timeframes – A PhD in the US lasts longer than a PhD in the UK or Europe. This allows students to more confidently transition from undergraduate to postgraduate studies; more commonly referred to as ‘graduate studies’ in the US. This gives you the opportunity to learn more about your subject, research methods and academic writing in general before starting your research project.
• World-class universities – It’s no secret that some of the most well-known higher education institutions that continue to dominate global rankings are based in the United States. Although many factors go into determining whether a position is right for you, a PhD at a high-ranking American university will undeniably have many benefits, from excellent learning standards to access to innovative equipment and deep expertise.
• International network – The US has long been a popular choice among PhD students around the world. As such, the US hosts a diverse and multicultural learning environment in which many research students will quickly feel at home.
• Opportunities – With over 4,000 universities in the US, we can safely say you will have plenty of opportunities to find the ideal combination of project, supervisor and university that works for you.

Universities in USA

Universities in the United States can be divided into two types: public universities and private universities.

Public universities are financed by the state in which they are based. Because of this, public universities charge less for students from within the state and more for students from outside the state, including international students.

Private universities are not financed by their state, but by private donors, research funds and tuition fees. For this reason, private universities generally charge higher tuition fees than public universities and require all students to pay the same amount, regardless of whether they come from out-of-state or abroad.

According to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2021 , eight of the top ten universities in the world are located in the United States. These are:

Method of Study

The main difference between a PhD in the US and a PhD in Europe lies in the program structure. Whereas a European PhD essentially consists of a single phase lasting three to four years , an American PhD consists of three different phases, each with its own time frame.

• Phase One – The first phase lasts approximately two years and focuses on building a basic foundation for the doctoral student. This phase consists largely of taught components such as lectures, tutorials and laboratory sessions, in which the student learns more about theoretical concepts and research methods within their discipline.
• Phase Two – The second phase can be considered an assessment phase, which runs both periodically alongside and at the end of the first phase. Here, students complete coursework and take exams on the basis of the material they have covered of which they must pass in order to proceed to the third phase.
• Phase Three – The third phase lasts approximately three years and resembles the European PhD structure. During this period, the student undertakes an independent research project, including forming a research design, conducting experiments, writing a thesis (more commonly referred to in the USA as a dissertation) and sitting a viva exam.

Teaching Requirements

Besides structure, a key difference between a PhD program in the US and in Europe is the focus on teaching requirements. In the US, doctoral students are expected to lecture, lead tutorials, host laboratory sessions, mark coursework and provide office hours for undergraduate students. Although students studying in European will likely contribute to these at some point during their study, this would normally be on a voluntary basis and involve less time commitment.

Research Flexibility

Another difference is project flexibility. In Europe, students typically apply to a PhD project predetermined by a supervisor, and although there may be some scope to adapt the project, depending on the funding provider , it will usually be limited to how the project is carried out rather than what it is about. In the US, however, a student applies to become a doctoral candidate within a department rather than applying for a particular research project. This is because students are expected to decide on their thesis topic (also commonly referred to as a dissertation research topic) near the end of their first phase after they have developed a better understanding of their subject and know where their interests lie. Therefore, research students in the US generally have more flexibility and influence in the direction of their research than students in the United Kingdom or Europe.

PhD Admission Requirements in USA

PhD admission into US universities can be highly competitive, both because of the limited number of positions and the large number of annual applicants.

The eligibility requirements for a doctoral program in the USA can generally be divided into four sections:

• Grade Point Average (GPA) – in the US, a scoring system known as Grade Point Average is used to measure academic ability. A student’s GPA is calculated as a weighted score of the subjects they study during their undergraduate degree; an equivalent score is calculated by universities for international applicants. Although universities rarely set minimum GPA requirements for doctoral study, it’s worth being aware that a GPA of 3.0 is equivalent to a UK second class honours (2:1); the typical entry requirement for UK universities.
• Graduate Records Exam (GRE) – most universities will require you to take a series of examinations known as Graduate Records Exams, which are used to determine your suitability for graduate study. GREs will assess your analytical, reasoning and critical thinking skills as well as your depth of your subject.
• Student aptitude – in addition to academic ability, US universities also look for characteristics of a strong researcher. These include traits such as engaging in the subject in your own time, e.g. by attending talks and conferences, demonstrating a high degree of independence and enthusiasm, and a general passion for your subject.
• English Language Proficiency – international students whose first language is not English must sit language exams such as IELTS or TOELF to demonstrate their English language proficiency.

International students will also require a F1 student visa in order to study in the US, however, you would typically apply for this after you have secured a place into a doctorate program.

How to Apply for PhD in USA

When applying for a PhD position at a graduate school, the application process will differ between universities, however, they will all typically ask for the following:

• Academic CV – a short document summarising your educational background and current level of experience .
• Personal statement – a document which outlines why you believe you are suitable for PhD study and your passion for the subject.
• Academic transcripts – a complete breakdown of the modules and their respective marks you have taken as part of your previous/current degree.
• GRE scores – a transcript of your Graduate Records Exam results.
• Research statement – a condensed version of a research proposal outlining your general research interests, if required.
• Recommendation letters – references from several academic referees who endorse your qualities as a person, your abilities as a student and your potential as a doctoral researcher.

Application Deadlines and Fees

Since PhD programs in the United States have taught components, they commence at the same time as all other taught degrees, and therefore share the same application deadlines and start dates. This corresponds to an application period that typically begins in August and ends in February. Admission decisions are typically made in April, with successful students starting in August/September.

When you apply to a graduate school, you will be expected to pay a fee for each doctorate application to cover the school’s administrative costs for processing your application. The fee varies from university to university, but typically ranges from $50 to $100 .

Funding your PhD in USA

It’s very common for a PhD student to receive financial aid in the form of a PhD scholarship; in fact, this will be the case for the vast majority of students in the US.

PhD funding can be ‘fully funded’ covering the student’s graduate program tuition fees, accommodation and living costs, or ‘partially funded’ covering the student’s tuition fee only in part or full.

Besides funding, a graduate student can take on an assistantship, such as a graduate teaching assistant or research assistant, in which they take on a part-time salaried position at the university alongside their studies.

Due to the international and collaborate nature of American universities, there are also a number of international scholarships available, such as the Fulbright Scholarship and the AAUW International Fellowship .

PhD Duration in USA

In the US, a PhD takes approximately 5 – 6 years to complete if studying full-time, and 8 – 10 years if studying part-time.

If you already have a Master’s degree, your first phase can be shortened by one year at the discretion of the university.

Cost of a PhD in USA

The cost of a PhD program in the US can vary considerably depending on the type of university, i.e. whether it’s a public or private university, the doctoral course, i.e. whether it’s in a STEM subject such as computer science, engineering or a non-STEM subject, and whether you are a home or international student.

In general, however, the typical annual tuition fee for a PhD in the US is between $12,000 and $45,000 per academic year.

As with any doctoral degree, additional costs may include travel for collaborations, bench fees, accommodation and living expenses.

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Stipend rates.

2024-25 Graduate Student Assistantship and Fellowship Stipend Rates

Effective August 21, 2024 ( View 2023-24 rates )

[1] Weekly hours spent on summer appointments must comply with University Policy 1.3, and stipend rates must meet the Board of Trustees mandated minimum (nine-month) stipend rate, prorated for the number of weeks of the summer appointment. The length of the summer appointment (number of weeks) is determined by the Principal Investigator, department, unit, college, or other source of funding.

[2] The maximum academic-year stipend amount that a graduate student may receive when any portion of the stipend comes from any funds held at Cornell (university accounts, college accounts, department accounts, unit accounts, or Principal Investigator sponsored funds) is $52,026. The increase may be from the same funding source as the basic stipend (an “adjustment”) or from a different source (a “supplement”). The limit applies to support from any combination of fellowships or assistantships when part of the stipend is paid from funds held at Cornell. There is no restriction on summer stipends and fellowships.

Prorated Stipends for Non-Standard Appointments

Minimum stipend rates for non-standard appointments classified as graduate assistantships (TA, GA, RA, or GRA) must be proportional to the board-approved stipend. Examples are provided in the table below.

Partial assistantships must include tuition proportional to the stipend. That is, if a student receives a partial TAship with 50% stipend for the semester, the hours must be limited to 7.5 or less per week and he or she must receive 50% tuition for that semester in addition to the stipend. Awards that do not provide tuition and stipend in amounts proportional to the hours expected of a regular assistant are not assistantships and should not be portrayed as such.

Examples – Adjusted Stipend Rates for Non-Standard Appointments

Assistantships for professional degree students.

Students who are enrolled in professional degree programs are generally ineligible for assistantships outside of their graduate field of study, unless the director of graduate studies for the student’s program requests an exception based on the student gaining experience directly supporting the student’s ability to teach the subject matter of the profession. Requests for exceptions must be approved in advance by both the dean of the Graduate School and the dean of the college in which the professional degree program is housed. The college that administers the professional degree in which the student is enrolled is responsible for payment of the full tuition. Professional degree students may be appointed as graduate teaching/research specialists (GTRS) (see below). They may not accept an assistantship without:

• A signed letter from the director of graduate studies for the student’s program requesting an exception based on the student gaining experience directly supporting the student’s ability to teach the subject matter of the profession.
• A signed letter from the student’s college dean or dean’s designate indicating that the college will apply a tuition credit of at least $14,750 per semester.
• A signed letter from the Graduate School Dean or Associate Dean of Administration, approving the assistantship appointment.

Graduate Teaching/Research Specialists 

Students in the professional degree programs may be appointed as graduate teaching/research specialists (GTRS). The GTRS is not an assistantship; GTRSs receive a stipend in proportion to the percent time of their appointment as compared to a full-time graduate assistantship but not tuition and health insurance. Hours are limited to no more than 10 per week. Before a program may begin using the GTRS title, approval must be given by the Graduate School.

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Phd stipends: all your questions answered, published by steve tippins on june 26, 2022 june 26, 2022.

Last Updated on: 2nd February 2024, 03:04 am

What are PhD stipends? When you enter a PhD program, you can also get financial support in the form of tuition reduction, free tuition, and PhD stipends. That means compensation for work you’ll do, such as teaching or being a research assistant. Typically, traditional, face-to-face universities and PhD programs—as opposed to online programs from non-traditional schools—will compensate you for being a PhD student.

Do All PhD Students Get a Stipend?

Not all PhD students get stipends. However, most students in traditional programs do get stipends because these are full-time programs that require full-time attention, if not more.

It’s very difficult to keep a job of any kind and be in a full-time doctoral program. In order to have students at an institution, the institution has to make up for the income students lose by not working. PhD students are valuable labor for institutions because it costs less to pay them to teach classes and do research support than someone who has already earned a PhD .

What Is a Good Stipend for a PhD Student?

The average phd stipend.

The average annual stipend in the United States ranges between about $23,000 and $33,000 per year. You’re not going to get rich as a PhD student on one of these stipends, but you can survive.

The Highest PhD Stipend

The highest PhD stipends that most students can get are around $30,000 to $33,000. Interestingly, stipends vary by discipline. The higher stipends tend to be in disciplines where it’s harder to find doctoral students or easier to find PhD jobs.  

Education or musicology will have a stipend below $20,000 on average, and there aren’t a lot of jobs for graduates in these disciplines. However, if you were to look at something like biomedical engineering, the stipend would probably be around $33,000.

There is a factor of supply and demand that goes into stipends, and these are averages across the US. They also vary slightly by institution.

Is a PhD Stipend Enough to Live On?

When you evaluate whether a PhD stipend statement is enough to live on, first think about where you’re going to school. Would $24,000 allow you to survive on your own in New York City? It would be really difficult to find someplace to rent under $2,000 a month. If you don’t have a strong desire to eat, maybe you could get by on something like that. 

On the other hand, if you are somewhere like Little Rock, Arkansas, where rent might be $600 a month, then you have $1,400 left for other things like food. It might be possible there. Many doctoral students share apartments and have roommates to make it easier to survive financially.

Can I Work While Doing a PhD?

You may be able to work a little bit while doing a PhD, though it’s very hard to have time to do much else besides focus on your degree. Some people come from previous jobs and can continue consulting. Some faculty members run consulting businesses and employ students to do more work than the stipend has them assigned to do. Just be aware that if you start making outside work a priority, eventually your stipends will go away.

Is a PhD Stipend Taxable?

We aren’t qualified to give tax advice, but in most cases stipends are considered taxable income to the doctoral student.

How Can PhD Students Earn Money Besides Their Stipend?

There are ways doctoral students can earn money outside of their PhD student stipend . Some doctoral students tutor students on the side. It used to be you could sell textbooks back to the manufacturer, but that’s become increasingly rare now that most textbooks are going electronic.

There are other opportunities like consulting based on previous contacts or working along with other faculty members to help them in their projects. 

In many cases, there are grants that you might receive in addition to your stipend. Apply for grants such as dissertation-writing grants or grants aligned with your demographic background or area of interest. Check with your institution’s financial aid office and with professional associations for grants.

How Often Is a PhD Stipend Paid?

PhD stipends are paid based on your university’s compensation schedule. If your university pays every two weeks, you’ll be paid every two weeks. If it pays once or twice a month, you’ll be paid once or twice a month.

Do PhD Stipends Increase Each Year?

Don’t count on a PhD stipend increasing every year. Universities have vast bureaucracies, and doctoral students are usually low on the pole of influence. If you get a stipend, assume that it will stay at that level. 

Be sure to also check the maximum duration of a PhD stipend. Some institutions have limits, so be aware if the limit is less than the average time it takes someone to complete a PhD.

Final Thoughts

A PhD stipend is a great thing. It allows you to keep living, albeit barely, while digging deep into your preferred area of interest. In most cases and locations, it’s high enough to subsist but low enough that you don’t want to hang around at that level for a long time.

Steve Tippins

Steve Tippins, PhD, has thrived in academia for over thirty years. He continues to love teaching in addition to coaching recent PhD graduates as well as students writing their dissertations. Learn more about his dissertation coaching and career coaching services. Book a Free Consultation with Steve Tippins

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CSStipendRankings: PhD Stipend Rankings

CSStipendRankings is a stipend-based ranking of top-paying computer science departments in US. We may implement support for other countries and you are welcomed to contribute! For a real academic ranking, please refer to CSRankings . For reviewing individual PhD advisors, please refer to PI Review .

• Stipend is the minimal amount of pre-tax allowance graciously granted by the institution to its PhD students. Currently, we support displaying (1) the stipend received by the majority of students , (2) the minimal guaranteed stipend , and (3) the stipend that students receive during the semester only . Note that some departments do not have guaranteed summer funding , and we are currently working to collect such data. For now, this data is not complete.
• Fees are annual non-reimbursible tariffs (including health insurance) reclaimed by said institution. See why health insurance is included in here. If the institution charges a CPT fee or summer enrollment fee for international students, they should also be counted here. In short, this should be the maximum possible fee that the institution charges.
• Living cost is calculated based on the MIT Living Wage Calculator for the institution's city. See why we use this calculator and its limitations in here .
• summer-gtd , indicating summer funding is guaranteed in this department.
• varies , indicating the amount of funding varies from advisor to advisor in this department.
• no-guarantee , indicating this department does not guarantee any funding at all (at least for a subset of its enrolled PhD students, where a PhD student is defined as a graduate student who is required to conduct research under an advisor to graduate and get a degree). Anyone who can prove this is welcomed and encouraged to submit an issue, and we will add this label immediately. See the reason here .
• cpt-fee , indicating international students in this department need to pay a fee for their CPT applications.
• striking , indicating this department is currently under a strike.
• , indicating the stipend is verified for the semesters, but not for the summer. This icon also serves as a hyperlink to the document used for verification, if the document is uploaded to a publicly accessible location, such as GitHub issues.
• , indicating we have a survey for this department. If you are a PhD student at this department, please click the icon to fill it.

To raise issues/comments : We believe issues and comments should be discussed and resolved publicly on GitHub for transparency. If you believe any data is inaccurate or have additional comments, please open an issue or a pull request . The maintainers will not respond to private messages sent to their personal or university accounts regarding this website.

* We have noticed discrepancies in the data reported for this university or department, and we suspect that it may not be entirely accurate. If you have access to more reliable information, we would appreciate it if you could share it with us.

This ranking is part informational and part satire, designed to democratize information on how PhD students in computer science and related areas are paid for their labor – inadequately , in most cases.

Most of the frontend code of this website is from CSRankings , and we intentionally used the same template. The code of this website can be found at https://github.com/CSStipendRankings/CSStipendRankings , and the data presented can be found as a CSV file here .

Contributing: Everyone is welcomed to submit patches or report the stipend via pull requests . Also, feel free to submit issues on GitHub . We encourage submitting datapoints through issues due to its ability to facilitate public discussion. Additionally, it provides the advantage of creating a hyperlink on the checkmark that directs to the corresponding issue. In most cases, we will respond to a submitted issue within a few days.

Frequent-Asked Questions: Please see FAQs here .

Disclaimer: CSStipendRankings is designed to highlight stipend situations across various institutions, based on user-submitted information. We try our best to verify their accuracy, but we cannot guarantee they are correct or up-to-date. Ultimately, while we hope you find this information useful, this should not be used as the primary basis for grad school decisions . We advocate users to do their own research before making life decisions.

THIS SOFTWARE AND INFORMATION IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS “AS IS” AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

CSStipendRankings is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License . The frontend (i.e., CSS and HTML) of this website is based on code licensed from CSRankings, a work at https://github.com/emeryberger/CSrankings . The copyright of CSRankings is owned by Emery Berger . The copyright of the non-CSRankings part of CSStipendRankings is owned by its contributors .

• PhD Stipends

Graduate Financial Aid

All PhD students receive a semi-monthly stipend payment to cover the basic cost of living in New Haven. The minimum annual stipends for the 2023-2024 academic year are:

• Humanities/Social Sciences: $40,530 stipend
• Physical Sciences: $40,530 stipend
• Biological & Biomedical Sciences: $42,000 stipend

Understanding the semi-monthly payroll process

First-year phd students.

Your first stipend payment is a significant milestone, and we want you to have a clear understanding of the payroll process. During your first year of study, your stipend will be disbursed in 25 semi-monthly payments. Graduate students are paid twice each month, on the 15th day and the last day of the month (or the Friday before, if it falls on a weekend or a holiday). After each payment, you should check your Workday profile to review your payslip. Select "Pay" from the menu and choose the payroll slip to view.  

In your first stipend payment, you will also see a one-time relocation award of $1,000 included. This award is meant to assist you with the costs associated with moving to New Haven. This is a one-time payment and will not be included in your future stipend payments. Please keep this in mind when budgeting for your expenses, as your future stipend payments will not include this additional amount.

In the future, if you have on-campus employment or other one-time payments, you will also see these items reflected in your payslip. Your payslip may also change from term to term depending on your funding sources (i.e., teaching, research, university fellowship, etc.).

Continuing PhD students

As a continuing PhD student, you will receive your first stipend payment on September 15. Continuing student stipend payments are paid on a semi-monthly basis, on the 15th and the last day of the month (or the Friday before, if it falls on a weekend or holiday).

Direct Deposit

We encourage you to set up direct deposit of your stipend checks into a US bank account of your choice. This is the fastest and most convenient way to access your stipend each pay period.

If you are a new student, you may need to wait until after the start of your fellowship period and the creation of your payroll record to set up direct deposit of your stipend check. Any incoming student who has not set up direct deposit will have their checks sent to the Payroll Tax Form US mailing address listed in their student record.

To set up direct deposit, you must have a US bank account . Then follow these steps:

• Login to Workday using your NetID and password. 
• Select the “Pay” widget on your Workday homepage. 
• Next, select “Payment Elections.” From here, use the “Add” function to add a new account for direct deposit. You may add more than one account and you can choose how to allocate funds across your accounts.

Once you have set up direct deposit, it may take one or two pay periods to take effect. Until then, your stipend check will be mailed to you at the address you provide.

If you encounter difficulty with Workday, have questions about the direct deposit process, or how to view your stipend statements online, please contact the Employee Service Center at 203-432-5552 or via email ( [email protected] ). 

Additional Financial Aid and student information can be found on the Yale Hub .  

If you have any questions or concerns about your stipend, payslip, or other matters related to payment, please reach out to the Graduate Financial Aid Office.

• [email protected]
• 203-432-2739
• 246 Church Street, 2nd Floor

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• Doctoral Programs

Financing Your Education - Doctoral Programs

A doctoral degree is a significant investment in your future, and financing your education is a critical factor to consider. While the funding we provide covers the basic standard cost of attendance determined by Stanford University for a modest life as a graduate student, accepting an offer from a doctoral program has significant personal, professional, and financial implications. Below you’ll find information on GSE and Stanford financial support for doctoral students, as well as other important considerations when it comes to financing your PhD.

Funding guarantee

Stanford GSE offers all admitted PhD students a five-year funding package that provides tuition aid, fellowship stipend, and assistantship salary which covers the standard cost of attendance. The funding is based on meeting the basic financial need of the student alone for the first five academic years of the doctoral program and entails assistantship work. The cornerstone of the GSE doctoral experience is the apprenticeship that all students undertake, typically under the guidance of their academic advisor, but often with other Stanford faculty as well. In this apprenticeship model, doctoral students are provided with a funding package that consists of opportunities to serve as teaching and research assistants for faculty members' courses and research projects. By this means, and in combination with the coursework, students are prepared to excel as university faculty, education researchers, and leaders in the field.

All funding is contingent upon satisfactory academic progress and performance on the research and teaching assistantships. There is no separate application for this funding.

Assistantships

As part of the academic and professional training and development, students undertake assistantships which provide both salary and tuition. Research assistantships are funded by faculty research grants, other faculty funds or as needed, by the GSE Dean’s Office, and can lead to joint publications with faculty or to dissertation topics. Students who have sufficient expertise and experience may also be selected as teaching assistants for courses at the GSE or other Stanford schools and departments. Assistantships are typically secured in consultation with faculty advisors. Students work 10 hours (25% assistantship) or 20 hours (50% assistantship) a week depending on their year in the program. 

• Research assistantship (RA): Various duties for research projects
• Teaching assistantships (3 types):
• Course Assistant (CA)—course preparation and grading
• Teaching Assistant (TA)—leads regularly-scheduled discussion sections
• Teaching Affiliate (TF)—full responsibility for course

Funding Details 2023-2024

Note: The above figures reflect 2023-2024 rates. Actual amounts will be adjusted to the rates for 2024-25 and future years.

Cost of attendance

Tuition depends on the units taken by the student. In addition to tuition expenses, the cost of attendance of a PhD program involves living expenses such as rent, food, and transportation. The sum of tuition and non-tuition expenses constitutes the standard cost of attendance. 

As you consider applying to graduate school, you can use the standard cost of attendance of your program —plus any additional expenses you might have—to create your financial plan, keeping in mind that tuition and non-tuition expenses of the standard cost of attendance are set by the university on an annual basis.

What you can do now to prepare financially if admitted

• Prepare for how your standard of living may change as a graduate student, especially if you are coming from a full-time job.
• Consider the length of your program, any dependents, existing debt, and additional financial commitments you may have. Students with children may review Stanford support programs for families.
• If you have personal or special circumstances that require additional expenses above and beyond the standard cost of attendance, plan accordingly.
• Start saving as much as you are able to cover any unexpected expenses you may incur while in graduate school.
• Familiarize yourself with federal as well as private student loans, their interest rates, fees, repayment options, deferment policies, and eligibility requirements, so that you are informed if you need to borrow.
• Be ready to cover all initial expenses, since fellowships and stipends will not be disbursed until a few weeks into your first quarter. Onboarding into a PhD program often requires up front out of pocket expenses for relocation.

Additional GSE resources

Once PhD students matriculate, the GSE has a variety of resources available to support academic work and unanticipated needs.

Students are eligible for up to three travel fellowships during their time at GSE if they are attending a conference or other professional development opportunity.

GSE Student Emergency Fund assists graduate students who experience a financial emergency or unanticipated expenses causing financial hardship. This fund is meant to support those who cannot reasonably resolve their financial difficulty through fellowships, loans, or personal resources. 

GSE Dissertation Support Grants help advanced PhD students who require additional financial support for dissertation research activities. These grants, available at up to $6,500 total per student, are available to students who do not have access to other funds to cover their dissertation costs.

Stanford University resources

Knight-Hennessy Scholars (KHS) program aims to prepare the next generation of global leaders to address the increasingly complex challenges facing the world. The program selects up to 100 students each year and provides three years of financial support that is integrated into the GSE’s funding package for PhD students.

Vice Provost for Graduate Education awards various fellowships for doctoral students and maintains a list of other Stanford fellowships that students may consider.

Cardinal Care subsidy is an automatic university-wide subsidy program for graduate students. Vaden Health Center manages the university’s Cardinal Care student health insurance.

Stanford Financial Aid Office oversees a number of financial support programs specifically for graduate students with challenging financial situations. 

Additional hourly work is available to students who wish to work for pay as "casual labor" at Stanford up to eight hours a week, provided work does not adversely affect the academic program. Requires approval from the student’s advisor and the Academic Services team.

Other funding sources

External fellowships are integrated into the GSE’s funding package. There are many funding opportunities offered outside of Stanford. The GSE admissions team has compiled an external fellowships and grants document for you to explore, though you should plan to do your own research as well. International students can find additional sources of funding on the Institute of International Education’s (IIE) Funding for U.S. Study website and this publication .

Stanford is committed to providing benefits through the Yellow Ribbon Program of the Post-9/11 GI Bill® to students in degree-seeking programs. GSE students who qualify for Chapter 33 benefits at the 100% level may be eligible for additional funding through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Please note that for GSE students receiving tuition fellowship funding, the Yellow Ribbon match may reduce and in some cases replace institutional grants and scholarships. For instructions, visit the page, Activate VA Education Benefits at Stanford .

International students are guaranteed the same funding package as domestic students. However, there may be restrictions regarding the number of hours and opportunities to work during the summer months. To learn more, please contact the Bechtel International Center .

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Salary and stipend rates

Mit strives to offer salaries and stipends that enable students to live and pursue their education in cambridge and the greater boston area..

Salary and stipend rates are extensively reviewed and revised each year by the Office of the Provost, in consultation with the  Graduate Student Council  and MIT’s senior leadership, to respond to changes in the cost of living. Set rates vary by field of study, length of degree time, degree type, and teaching appointment status, and are announced each spring.

Please note these rates can only serve as a guideline to what a department may offer when providing a funding package. Departments have the freedom to set higher rates that are in line with their funding policies for MIT appointments and external fellowships. Additionally, we offer also  grants for graduate students with dependent children  and other sources of support . 

MIT doctoral programs typically provide 12-month appointments; details on funding are outlined in graduate student offer letters. For students in 12-month programs who have a 9-month funding appointment, it is very important that you check with your department or program about opportunities for summer support, since nine months of support is typically insufficient to cover living expenses in the area.

12-month salary and stipend rates (2023-2024)

Salaries, stipends, payroll, and taxes.

All students are paid via MITPay, with the first payment typically disbursed during the second week of the term. Please see payroll information for graduate students for more information.

The salary or stipend is only part of the financial picture for supporting graduate students. Depending on award or appointment type, there are different costs to MIT and/or external sponsors. In all cases, MIT pays a substantial fraction of the tuition for students with research assistantships, teaching assistantships, and fellowships. MIT also subsidizes the graduate student housing system and the cost of health care.

Payments received from MIT may be subject to  withholding tax  in accordance with regulations governed by U.S. federal and state tax authorities. To learn more about how common payment types are defined by the IRS, and details about tax withholding and reporting, please visit the  Office of the Vice President for Finance (VPF) website .

The MIT International Students Office (ISO) and MIT VPF host a series of tax information workshops each spring for both U.S. and international students. More information can be found on the  workshops page . You can also see articles and videos about preparing and filing taxes for students and academics at the  taxes  section of MIT’s  iGrad portal .

Useful links: 

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Historic Stipend Levels

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• CAREER FEATURE
• 23 May 2022

PhD students face cash crisis with wages that don’t cover living costs

• Chris Woolston 0

Chris Woolston is a freelance writer in Billings, Montana.

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Salaries for PhD students in the biological sciences fall well below the basic cost of living at almost every institution and department in the United States, according to data collected by two PhD students.

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Is PhD for me

60 Highest PhD Stipends in the US

The financial struggle in academia is not hidden, still many graduate students want to pursue a research career. US offers best research labs and institutions to attract aspiring PhD researchers from all over the world. Its your right to ask about highest PhD stipends offered in the US because PhD is a long journey and you have the right to ensure you are financially safe during these years.

In a nutshell, the highest PhD Stipends in the US are offered in cybersecurity, physics and biomedical engineering. High stipends for PhD researchers helps make them more focused on their research work and career without constant worries that come with financial instability.

Table of Contents

1. cybersecurity, 3. biomedical engineering, 4. neuroscience, 5. computer science, 6. pharmaceutical sciences and pharmacogenomics, 7. sociology, things you should know before prioritizing the stipend for phd , sources of data, inclusive criteria, limitations.

Best PhD stipends in the World: If you want to pursue PhD outside of US explore more about countries are paying best to PhD students .

Highest PhD stipends in the US

The data I collected shows that Nova Southeastern University (NSU) offers an attractive annual stipend of $94,000 to its 1st year PhD students in cyber security research. It’s 3.1 times higher than the living cost in the area. Such a gap in PhD stipend and living cost ensures that you can save some money while pursuing your research career.

Major reasons for high stipend of Cybersecurity students can be 

• Need For The Cutting Edge Research: US economy is strongest in the world and a hub of information technology research and development. Universities and research institutions in the US direly need researchers in the field of cyber security. In addition to this, there are a lot of funding institutions that are willing to invest in innovative cyber security research projects.
• High Market Demand for Cyber Security Professionals: Cyber security specialists, data scientists, and artificial intelligence engineers usually receive attractive salary packages right out of college, and as a result, universities and other organizations try to attract top talent in cybersecurity research with higher stipends.

Visit Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity Research to know more about your career prospects in cybersecurity research.

Besides this, I observed that US PhD researchers in computer science and information technology on average receive $40,000+ in annual stipend. Usually these PhD stipends are twice the living cost in the area.

Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) offers $44,069 per annum to students conducting their PhD research in Physics. This is the second highest annual PhD stipend when I compare it to the average living cost per annum in the area ($19,308), or in other words, a 2.3 PhD stipend to living cost ratio. 

Physics attracts high funding due to the following reasons.

• Remarkable Investment in Physics Research: Myriad of physics research projects which are funded by government grants. Other than this many private organizations are investing in cutting-edge physics research projects. In 2018, universities performed around 58% ($24.3 billion) of federally funded basic research in physical sciences e.g., physics.
• High Demand for Physics Researchers: Statistics alone show a high demand for physics researchers and it is projected to grow in the current decade (2021 to 2031) by 8%. PhD students are the core scientific labor who advance knowledge of physics and its applications so they are compensated accordingly.

Brown university, in general, offers attractive stipends to PhD students in the data I collected from PhDStipends.com . For biomedical engineering it offers $44,000 annually to its PhD students. This amount seems twice the annual average living cost near the campus. Hence, a sweet deal for PhD students who don’t want to struggle financially.

Universities are willing to pay a high stipend for biomedical researchers for a number of reasons.

• High demand for biomedical Engineers: Biomedical engineering is a field with an increasing demand in the third decade of the 21st century. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a growth rate of 10%   (faster than average) to biomedical professionals from 2021. This puts research centers in competition with the industry, which offer a median pay of $97,410 , to attract the top talent. In turn, high PhD stipend offers are an effort to attract and retain  talented students. 
• Biomedical Research significance for healthcare: Due to evolving needs of patients, healthcare costs are higher than ever, and so are the budgets dedicated to its research. The biomedical research institutions receive these funds to solve increasing complexity of medical problems . This way they are able to offer higher compensations to talented scientific workforce which can solve these problems.

Neuroscience PhD students receive a stipend of $44,000 annually by the Brown University in the US. This stipend is plentiful  considering the average living cost in Rhode Island, where the campus is located. According to livingcost.org the average living cost for one person including rent is $21,552 a year. Thus, the PhD stipend offered is almost as twice as the living expenses for a PhD student if she is single in her first year of PhD.

There are several solid reasons for offering such high stipends to PhD students in neuroscience.

• Increasing demand for skilled neuroscientists: Neurological disorders and neurodegenerative diseases are prevailing due to the aging population in the US. Moreover, the complexity of the brain and nervous system demand the best minds to answer the unanswered questions arising in this field everyday. 
• Increasing funding for neuroscience research: Significant research funding is offered by large public and private organizations who are interested in cutting edge neuroscience research projects such as The BRAIN Initiative by NIH. This research funding is considered as an investment by these grant providers to advance our understanding of the neural system. Such generous funding allows American research institutions and universities to offer high PhD stipends.

Of course we cannot finish the discussion about the highest PhD stipends offered without  the field of computer science. This field indeed has many areas of specializations and it will be naïve to judge or estimate all of those stipends under this one umbrella term. However, if universities and PhD students are mentioning it as a PhD in computer science in general then I am also going to talk about it in general here.

To give you a ballpark figure, 1st year PhD stipends in the year 2022-2023 indicated that $60,000 is the highest PhD stipend offered to computer science PhD students in the US. This stipend was offered by the University of California – Riverside (UCR). If I evaluate it in terms of living cost near the campus it’s almost twice the living expense including rent in the area even for a full year. 

There are a myriad of reasons why computer science PhD students get these high stipends while PhD researchers in other fields like humanities are offered acute low stipends.

• Increasing demand for computer and information research scientists: In simple terms, the market is demanding these professionals more and more. The Bureau of labor statistics shows towering growth for these professionals in the next decade. This high demand creates competition for the qualified computer research scientists. Thus, both universities and the industry try to offer higher PhD stipend to attract and retain the talent.
• Ample Funding from the industry: The Information technology industry is breaking barriers every day with technologies such as AI for each and every domain of work, especially the white-collar labor. Computer science research projects are critical in driving the innovation for tech giants like Google, Apple and many others. This is the core reason why the software companies are willing to allocate more bucks for research. Hence, if some research institute, professors or even PhD students can show the potential to execute these research projects they obviously get paid well for that.

I found University of Delaware (UD) offering the highest stipend in the US to the PhD researchers studying Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacogenomics. This stipend is as high as $44,800 which is twice the average living cost for a single person per annum in Newark, Delaware. Consequently, there is a high chance that you can rent a comfy place, afford to maintain a car and still save during your PhD years.

Following major factors contribute to high PhD stipends for Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacogenomics.

• Pharmaceutical sciences and pharmacogenomics research is critical : Due to increasing complexity in healthcare problems there is a rise for personalized drug recommendation for each individual. Such subtleties require a very specialized scientific workforce with expertise in pharmacology, genomics and even biostatistics. This not only makes PhD positions of pharmacogenomics research brutally competitive but also most lucrative in terms of stipend.
• Pharmaceutical industry needs rapid innovation and Pharmacogenomics is at the forefront of it. These areas of study need constant exploration for arising problems in clinical pharmacy practice . The US government as well as the pharma industry get solutions to these problems by providing grants to universities pursuing their research interests. This way the researchers, like PhD students, get compensated highly for their input.

Yes, I know. I agree sociology shouldn’t be this high on this list. It would be easy to justify it much further in our list. However, I can’t twist data. Generally, OR you can say for the most part, I have seen meager PhD stipends for sociology like other areas of social sciences. 

Despite this, University of California – Irvine (UCI) offers an annual PhD stipend of $62,399 which is obvious considering the high living costs near the campus. Still, I can’t ignore the $31,284 annual average living cost per single person, rent included, for Irvine, CA. The living cost can be higher, however, current values make the PhD stipend almost twice the living cost.

Let’s analyze closely why some universities are willing to offer this high stipend to sociology PhD students.

• High Research fundings dedicated to sociology research: Even though the market is not killing to attract the sociologists like it’s killing for data science professionals. Sociology still receives a good amount of research funding. For instance, the NSF funding dedicated to sociology is  around 65% of total federal support. This percentage is much higher than many other fields. This means a higher grant amount for universities. In turn, if universities want to compensate their sociology PhD students they easily can.
• Interdisciplinary collaborations opportunities: This might be the strongest reason why PhD students, even though some, get compensated warmly. Sociological research has the ability to provide a perspective to other disciplines. It can give an insight on how scientific discoveries and solutions will work in the real human world. I suspect that this might be the reason why some schools consider offering stipends this soaring to its PhD students.
• More research funds. Secondly, the computer science research project funding is high because The academic research projects usually solve crucial issues faced by these companies. Therefore, the overall research funding increases for the professors and in turn for the PhD students too.

Earn more during academic breaks. The hidden story is that PhD students in the field of information technology have more opportunities to engage in summer breaks, where many of them are allowed to take on industry work and internships. These activities can give a real boost to earnings and savings for these students.

Comparing US PhD stipends to Highest PhD stipends in the world. Another interesting thing I found while collecting the data on best PhD stipends offered in the world is that Norway, even though it offers the highest PhD stipends (1.69 PhD stipend to living cost ratio), still fall behind these excellent PhD stipend packages (2.7 PhD stipend to living cost ratio) offered to high demand fields of study in the US. 

Although one can argue that the PhD stipend to living cost ratio was collected as overall average and not specifically for PhD students in computer science and information technology. So the numbers may differ if we go into more detailed comparisons.

Although I think a PhD stipend is the most important thing when it comes to the PhD decision. The reason is that PhD itself is a long journey and you are already going to give up so much besides the finances. So, a high PhD stipend compared to the living cost near the campus should be a priority for a prospective PhD student.

However, there are other things you should note when applying for a PhD. Let me jot down three major ones for you.

• Student-Program Research Match. If you apply and get accepted in a program whose research goals are not aligned with yours then you are going to limit your ability and potential for academic growth. A program that is aligned with your post-PhD goals is a much better choice than a Program offering the highest PhD stipend.
• Student- Supervisor Personality Match. This is what makes a PhD hard. Yes a lot of evidence out there shows that PhD, even though a scientific journey, is still pursued among humans who are evolved in tribes, who have some insecurities, prejudices and preferences. A high academic degree does not mean that anyone can match your personality right away or you can match theirs. Make sure you and your supervisor get along especially when it comes to work standards.
• Student-Location Match. Location location location that’s what the real estate gurus and food business owners said all the time. However, it matters in pretty much all matters of our life. It matters more when you plan to live your highly productive PhD years. These years can be longer than the standard 4 year tag on the cover of your admission letter. 

So, like any other prospective PhD student, I want to live comfortably, spend extravagantly and still save some amount for future suffering of postdoc years. For this, I might look up to the highest PhD stipend offered in the US in the list above. Still, there are many other factors that impact our performance and happiness during PhD years.

Remarks about the collected DATA

I collected this data from phdstipends.com . The PhD stipend information is willingly shared by the PhD students. The data is publicly available at phdstipends.com .

No information is collected regarding any individual. The submitter’s anonymity is maintained on this platform. You can read more about the anonymity of the submitters, sharing of PhD stipends, and other common questions here .

To maintain consistency and provide a fair comparison between PhD stipend offers, I used the following criteria:

• PhD stipend is assumed to be a pre-tax amount . As many of the entries did not include any tax deduction information. PhD stipend is taxed if it is compensation for some work (assistantships) and on the other hand, it is tax-free if it is not paid against any work (fellowships). I explained the PhD stipend in the US in detail here . I hope you will find the infographics in this post useful.
• To ensure the updated information only 1st year PhD stipends were included from the academic year 2022-2023 .
• Only those stipends were included that were reported correctly. Any entry with mistakes and errors was excluded.
• In the case of the same stipend by two universities, the inclusion was decided on living wage ratio e.g., the minimum stipend will be assigned to the lower living wage ratio stipend.

These are limitations of my data so you should accept these PhD stipend values with a grain of salt.

• Most entries do not provide information regarding the duration of the stipend . So I cannot confirm that PhD stipend was offered for 9 or 12 months.
• Most of these stipends are not minimum stipend offers reported on the universities’ websites. Some additional fellowships e.g., any external, additional departmental fellowship, etc. may or may not be reported in the PhD stipend amount. The reasons are the inclusion of internal and external fellowships, summer support packages with the basic financial aid package. For example, the basic financial aid package reported by Stanford and Princeton is much lower than the highest stipend PhD students are reporting.
• If you combine any assistantship or fellowship, the value of the stipend may change due to reimbursement of assistantship and tax.
• Some additional fees and deductions e.g., a part of health insurance, one-time semester fee, etc. may not be reported in the PhD stipend amount.

In contrast to common assumptions, the best PhD stipends – in terms of actual value for PhD students are not always offered by the most popular schools in the US.

It is a good idea to compare living costs in the area with the PhD stipend amount to estimate its actual worth. I hope you realize that a PhD is a long commitment and you as PhD aspirer and applicant should check how easily you can live through your PhD years.

A PhD is already harder than a job and if you are struggling financially then the difficulty level increases further for you as a PhD student.

What is the maximum PhD stipend in the USA?

I observed $94,000 to be the maximum PhD stipend in the US which is offered to cybersecurity students. However, considering the other perks and benefits like medical insurances, summer opportunities and research assistantships attached to funding of many PhD programs we can say that PhD stipends in some lucrative fields can be higher.

Which university pays the highest stipend for PhD in the US?

I found Nova Southeastern University (NSU), Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Brown University, University of California – Riverside (UCR), University of Delaware (UD), University of California – Irvine (UCI) giving the highest PhD stipends in the US.

PhysStipendRankings: PhD Stipend Rankings

PhysStipendRankings is a stipend-based ranking of top-paying Physics departments in US. We may implement support for other countries and you are welcomed to contribute! For a real academic ranking, please refer to U.S.News , etc.

• Stipend is the annual, 12-month, pre-tax allowance graciously granted by the institution. Note that some departments do not have guaranteed summer funding , and we are currently working to collect such data. Departments with summer funding guarentee are tagged with a summer label. For now, the list is not complete.
• Fees are annual non-reimbursible tariffs (including health insurance) reclaimed by said institution.
• Living cost is calculated based on the MIT Living Wage Calculator for the institution's city.

We have received a lot of comments that the living cost calculated by the MIT Living Cost Calculator does not really reflect the real living cost in multiple areas. We are considering alternative metrics and data sources. If you are aware of something we can use, please feel free to submit issues or pull requests on GitHub.

This ranking is part informational and part satire, designed to democratize information on how PhD students in physics and related areas are paid for their labor – inadequately , in most cases.

Most of the frontend code of this website is from CSRankings , and we intentionally used the same template. The code of this website can be found at https://github.com/PhysStipendRankings/PhysStipendRankings , and the data presented can be found as a CSV file here .

Contributing: Everyone is welcomed to submit patches or report the stipend via pull requests . Another option to submit valuable datapoints is through this Google Form . Also, feel free to submit issues on GitHub .

• Gathering data for summer funding guarantees. We plan to incorporate a feature that allows users to exclude non-guaranteed funds when calculating the stipends.
• Highlighting universities that offer 100% appointments during the summer, e.g. UW, instead of the typical 50% appointments.
• Adding a verification system for stipends, where we can confirm the details of the stipend with an offer letter or paystub record, and displaying a checkmark in the "Stipend" column to indicate that the stipend is verified.
• Add alternative sources of living cost. In the future, users should have the ability to choose between different sources of living cost while ranking.
• Data is often unavailable for the precise district in which the university is located. In such cases, we use data for the county or wider metro area. This often skews the estimate lower. For instance, UC San Diego is located in La Jolla, one of the most expensive districts in the US, but we resort to using figures for the wider San Diego county. Same goes for Princeton vs. Mercer County, etc.
• The Calculator states that the estimates are what is required "to cover the costs of their family's basic needs where they live". However, how much one needs to sustain onself is subjective, and users have reported that they can live on much less.

PhysStipendRankings is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License . The frontend (i.e., CSS and HTML) of this website is based on CSRankings, a work at https://github.com/emeryberger/CSrankings . The copyright of CSRankings is owned by Emery Berger . The copyright of the non-CSRankings part of PhysStipendRankings is owned by its contributors .

PhD Stipend Survey Results

The living wage ratio (LW ratio) normalizes each gross pay entry to the local living wage. The purpose is to allow you to quickly compare the pay received by students at universities in different cost-of-living areas. See the FAQ for more information.

Show/Hide gross pay details.

PhD Handbook

Phd Stipend In ...

Phd Stipend In USA: How to Find a Job After PhD in USA?

A PhD is considered to be one of the most challenging degrees around the world but equally rewarding too. It takes about 4 to 6 years to complete a PhD in USA. One of the best parts about doing a PhD is that you get paid for it. If you are interested in the academic field, a PhD can give your career a boost and result in a salary increment by almost 25% than a master’s degree. Not only will you be entitled to a PhD stipend in USA that is around $15,000-30,000 per year but also a lucrative salary after PhD in USA between $60,000-1,00,000 and above.

You have come to the right place to know about PhD stipend in USA. Here is a complete guide to provide you with details of PhD stipend in USA for international students, average salary after PhD in USA and answers to all your commonly asked questions about job after PhD in USA!

PhD Stipend in USA for International Students

Let us kick start the discussion on job and salary after PhD in USA by answering one of the most common questions among international students: what is the average stipend for PhD students in USA? 

Take note of the following details regarding PhD stipend in USA:

• Just like salaries for employees, students pursuing PhD are paid stipends which are funding from the institution to help you meet your living expenses while performing research.
• Here it is to be noted that the PhD student stipend in USA is paid on the basis of the number of months in an academic year i.e. usually 9 months per year rather than the entire calendar year.
• You can expect an average PhD stipend in USA between $15,000-30,000 per year.
• PhD stipend in USA for international students vary depending on the institution, your field of specialization and location.
• There is no minimum fixed stipend in PhD in USA like in some European countries.
• A PhD stipend in USA which is a fellowship award is tax-free while the one that is a salary for a teaching position is taxable.

Also Read: What is the total cost of pursuing Phd In USA?

Job and Salary after PhD in USA

Your salary after PhD in USA will depend on the type of job position, industry, level of experience and skills among other competent factors. Most commonly after earning a PhD, the candidate is likely to look for an academic position such as professor, lecturer, post doc, etc. Nowadays, it is not uncommon to find jobs outside the academic arena as multinational companies are also looking for expert researchers who can take their organization to the next level.

Having said that let us take a look at the table below and explore the various job and salary after PhD in USA:

Also Read: How you can apply for Phd In USA to earn from above-listed jobs?

Top Recruiter and Salary after PhD in USA

It is a pre-assumed notion that the scope of getting a job after PhD in USA is limited to academics. Opposed to this, with your level of knowledge and field of expertise, you can approach recruiters in various sectors including government institutions, hospitals, insurance companies, laboratories, large corporations as well as private companies.

Here is a list of top recruiters that you can eye on depending upon your area of specialization after PhD in USA:

How to Find a Job after PhD in USA?

As you must have understood from the above discussion that PhD job roles are related to academic positions. Here what needs to be understood is that as a PhD candidate you will be treated more as a part of the university staff than a student. A job vacancy for pursuing PhD is the opening of the position to apply for PhD at a university itself where you will be given a stipend.

Here are the ways you can find a job after PhD in USA:

• Research: Proper research on your part is quite essential as after completing your PhD which will already be a long journey, you cannot sit back and relax to find a job. Being proactive and looking for job opportunities is necessary to make your PhD worth all the effort and time invested.
• Networking: Networking is indispensable in today’s job market as almost 70% of the vacancies in USA are filled through networking.
• Job search websites: 
• Career services at the university: The university where you have completed your PhD can help you by providing resources and information about job openings.
• Newspapers: You can keep an eye on the newspapers to find details of jobs that require a PhD qualified candidate.

This was all about PhD stipend in USA for Indian students. We hope this article has helped you realize the salary and job opportunities in PhD beyond the all-time favorite academic field. With several leading universities, the US is considered to be one of the hotspots among international researchers and could provide you with great career prospects. Speak to our Yocket counselors today to know about the best opportunities for PhD in USA and get insights on salary after PhD in USA. 

Also Read: How to pursue Phd in USA without GRE?

Frequently Asked Questions about PhD Stipend in USA

How much is the PhD stipend in USA for Indian students?

The PhD stipend in USA for Indian students is around 12,00,000-24,00,000 INR per year.

What are the top non-academic job after PhD in USA?

The top non-academic/part-time jobs after PhD in USA include market research analyst, actuary, life science researcher, data scientist, research scientist, business analyst, operations analyst, biomedical scientist, etc.

Does a PhD increase salary?

Yes, a PhD can help you increase your salary by almost 25-30%.

How can I work in USA after a PhD?

You can apply for a H-1B visa to live and work in the US after completing your PhD. You will need an employer from the academic or industrial field to sponsor your H-1B visa to the USCIS.

Is a master’s degree required to pursue PhD in USA?

It is not mandatory to hold a master’s degree to pursue PhD in USA. Several top universities offer direct admission to PhD programs without a master’s degree.

Kashyap Matani

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Boston University offers striking PhD students 12-month stipends if they work summers

I n its latest efforts to help end a nearly two-month strike by graduate student workers, Boston University proposed granting all PhD students access to a 12-month stipend, a university leader said Tuesday.

The proposal came during the 25th bargaining session between the university and the graduate workers union, said university provost Kenneth Lutchen in an email to BU community members. The strike by graduate workers, who teach classes, grade student work, and conduct research, has impacted classes and university life since late March.

The new 12-month stipend policy would enable all PhD students who were previously on eight-month stipends to work or conduct research over the summer to receive a minimum of $42,159 annually, Lutchen said.

“Students have repeatedly spoken of the challenges of living with an eight-month stipend and how it affects their financial security,” Lutchen said, adding: “We hope that this move at the bargaining table signals our goodwill and seriousness of purpose in moving toward resolution with [Boston University Graduate Workers Union] and reaching an agreement that supports our students.”

The union, which formed in 2022, represents about 3,000 masters, professional, and PhD students and is part of Service Employees International Union Local 509. Its strike calls for stronger health care coverage, pay, and benefits.

David Foley, president of SEIU 509, told the Globe that while the proposal is a “step in the right direction,” it’s a long overdue effort to address the economic insecurity experienced by graduate workers. It excludes hourly workers and does not address the needs of the many graduate workers already struggling to live in Boston on 12-month stipends, Foley said.

“Forty-two thousand dollars is still far from a living wage for any of our members, and we remain committed to fighting for a meaningful end to rent burden and financial insecurity,” Foley said in a statement. “The university has the means — and the obligation — to do better.”

The union said it expects to see more movement from the BU administration now that it has acknowledged graduate workers’ complaints about underpayment.

Currently about 560 grad students remain on strike, according to Rachel Lapal Cavallario, a BU spokesperson. That makes up 20 percent of salaried grad students and 10 percent of hourly ones, she said, according to student and faculty attestation data and hours submitted for hourly students.

As of May 8, about 80 percent of bargaining unit members that receive stipends have been working each week throughout the strike, according to BU’s negotiations team .

Graduate students are currently paid stipends between $27,000 to $40,000, according to the union. The university said those wages are for 20 hours of work per week, while grad workers claim to work more than that.

When the students began striking in March, they asked the school for about a $62,000 stipend, the union said, to which BU said it offered about $42,000 . The union declined to counteroffer, BU said. The students are still advocating for the $62,000 stipend, according to the union.

In March, the school also offered to raise the minimum wage to $18 from $15 for hourly workers and add children under age 6 to the health insurance plan for full-time PhD students.

Graduate workers help grade quizzes and teach lab sessions and supplementary class meetings known as discussion sections. Their absence throughout the strike caused classes and labs to be canceled throughout the semester, several students told the Globe. BU’s spring semester concluded earlier this month, with the summer term beginning on May 21, according to Lapal Cavallario.

The proposal for 12-month stipends came about in part because faculty cited difficulties recruiting PhD students in humanities and social sciences, Lutchen said.

“We appreciate the dedication and patience of everyone involved and are hopeful these efforts will produce significant progress as we head into the summer,” Lutchen said.

Another bargaining session is set to occur in the coming weeks.

Material from prior Globe coverage was used in this report.

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Graduate Assistant, Mathematics and Statistics

Title: Graduate Assistant, Mathematics and Statistics

Employee Classification: GS - Graduate Student - Stipend

Pay Grade: GS 00

Division: Academic and Student Affairs

Department: Mathematics and Statistics

Campus Location: Main Campus

General Summary

Provide support to the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. This includes tutoring in the Mathematics Tutoring Center and other duties supporting the mission of Eastern Michigan University.

Graduate Assistants receive a stipend and a tax-exempt tuition waiver.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

Responsible for tutoring, working with students on learning strategies, and other activities supporting student learning in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Ability to work 10 hours per week (50% graduate assistantship) or 20 hours per week (100% graduate assistantship) is required.
• A Bachelor's Degree is required.
• Application to either the M.S. in Mathematics program or the M.S. in Applied Statistics program is required.
• Enrollment in at least 6 graduate credits during the Fall 2024 semester and the Winter 2025 semester in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics is required.

Preferred Qualifications:

Tutoring experience is helpful.

Special Instructions:

The review of applications begins on April 22, 2024, and continues until the positions are filled.

In addition to applying online, please have a letter of reference sent to Dr. Debra Ingram, Professor, and Department Head, by e-mail at [email protected].

Appointment Percentage

PI240831717

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