A little worried about UMD funding situation...

So, I got into Food Science Ph.D in NCSU and U Maryland, CHemical engineering PhD in U Alabama, and Biomedical engineering in Stevens Institute.

NCSU, BAMA, and SIT all promised me full funding, but UMD has been a little uncertain. Apparently, UMD grad school has some weird funding processes.

I chose my potential PI because she has a great reputation in the department for taking great care of her students and fantastic research experiences. She is trying her very best to get me a job that’s comparable to RA during the first semester. I have been corresponding with her a lot, but she said she will “try her best” to get me RA/TA during the 4-5 years of my PhD program at UMD unless I break rules such as academic misconduct or failing to maintain good grade.

Is this just a soft way to say “you are gonna get funded but I can’t give you guarantee just due technicality” or “you mav actually not get fully funded”? I don’t want to drop out in the middle because the school can’t pay me do their works. I mean I know I can go to other schools like SIT or NCSU, but UMD is my top pick right now.

This is something that’s going to vary from one school to the next (or even between departments). Does she have graduate students you can ask? They’re the most likely to be upfront about funding prospects.

Where I went for my PhD (one of the UCs), students were accepted with a financial package only for the first year; we were reassessed each spring. Virtually everyone got funding for at least 5 years, but you could never breathe easily until you knew for sure you had funding for the next year.

Yeah, Stevens, BAMA and NCSU were very clear that I would get funded 5 years(of course, as long as you are on a good standing.) I should ask the TA and will get back soon.

Paul, you should be careful with the situation at UMD if their graduate program does not explicitly state that students are funded through their program. Professors’ ability to pay you is based on their research funding. The professor you have in mind might be the nicest most well-meaning person, but if she doesn’t have funding or a grant runs out and isn’t renewed some time during your studies then she can’t pay you as an RA. Some schools can guarantee funding through all years because they need TAs to run all their classes, so if you don’t get RA then you TA to earn your stipend which also means you have less time to do your research towards your thesis.

I’ve seen very well-meaning professors have to let students go (some find other professors, some cannot and leave with MS degrees) because funding fell through.

You should find out as much as you can about how grad students are funded at UMD. Ask the professor or ask the graduate student services coordinator. Ask the professor what her active projects are and how they are funded and how long that funding lasts for, the end goals for that grant, prospects/process for grant renewal, etc. If you’re uncomfortable having this conversation in a money oriented way, you can ask in terms of the science - what kinds of agencies are interested in this research, what are its applications, etc. can lead more easily into discussions about how it’s being funded.

Ask the grad student coordinator about what happens if students don’t get paid by their advisor through research funds. Ask how many TA positions there are per semester and if it’s competitive to get them. In departments like bioengineering or chemistry, there are so many undergrad courses to teach that there’s always a need for TAs. In smaller departments without a lot of undergrad course offerings, TAships may not always be available. The grad student coordinator’s job is to make sure students do well and can graduate in reasonable time and with a job lined up - they don’t really have a stake in whether or not you go to their school for you PhD so they should be honest with you.

I understand if it’s MS degree, but how can Ph.D funding fall through? that sounds super crappy!

@geraniol

Updates: I talked to her graduate student, and it looks like I don’t have to worry. He personally hasn’t seen anyone getting gutted their Ph.D funding, and the professor is very good at securing TA/RA positions. Also, the stipend is going to be around 16k after tax and health insurance, if I decide to use the school one. I feel relieved!