Full-time Ph.D. graduate students receive financial assistance in the form of Teaching Assistantships, Research Assistantships or Fellowships. These are available to qualified students on a competitive basis.
Currently, the gross 12-month stipend is $19,500. In addition, four-year $5,000 Graduate School Enhancements and/or $3,000 Graduate School Supplements are available to entering students with good qualifications, providing a total net stipend of up to $24,500.
U.S. citizens with outstanding qualifications are eligible for various fellowships. For example, the prestigious Board of Regents Graduate Fellowship, combined with a Graduate School Enhancements and/or Supplements could raise the net stipend to $35,000.
A Teaching Assistant (TA) usually functions as an instructor in an undergraduate laboratory, and spends approximately 20 hours per week in the performance of these and other teaching duties. Most graduate students serve four to six semesters in this capacity and are given the opportunity to teach in several different laboratories. Teaching assistants are expected to take their teaching duties seriously. Failure to perform these duties satisfactorily may result in loss of the assistantship and/or dismissal from the graduate program.
Research assistantships (RAs) are available through grants obtained by individual faculty members. RAs do full-time research with no teaching duties, but this opportunity is usually available only after sufficient research progress has been made.
Additional Benefits of TAs and RAs include