<p>Hi all. I need some advice. I have two schools offering me full tuition and a stipend of 15 thousand per year for 5 years. Each told me to let them know my other offers so they can match or beat them. But I don't want to push my luck. So in other words, what do you think a reasonable offer is for political science-PhD. Both schools told me I was high on their list and it seems as though they want me because they are flying me out to visit the campuses. When I go out for my visits, I want to know what is reasonable to ask for. If the fellowship does not include housing, is it reasonable to ask that housing be included at least for the first year? (These universities are in California, and housing is quite expensive, about a grand a month. So I have doubts as to whether they would put anyone up with on-campus housing)
Thanks!</p>
<p>Is this a GTA/GRA or just a flat out fellowship? </p>
<p>On the one hand, the five year tuition sounds incredible, but a $15k a year stipend sounds really quite low. Most schools average $24k a year stipends, and that is almost necessary for a halfway decent place in california. I don't know how much you should be willing to push it, but you should definitely ask about the housing situation while you're visiting. I suppose guaranteed housing for the first year might be a good step up.</p>
<p>thanks merper. one school is offering a flat-out fellowship; the other a ta-ship. it's for political science. are the fellowship stipends usually lower for the humanities and social sciences?</p>
<p>That may be the case. Most of the people around here are Natural science/engineering majors so I guess the average could be skewed. There's a few Poli sci people around though, so I'm sure one will turn up soon with some more relevant advice. Good luck.</p>
<p>Hey, I'm a political science applicant as well. Just to give you an idea, I've been admitted to two programs (one of them also in CA), and their offers are both around $18K. Each is a combination fellowship/TAship, guaranteed for 4 years in one case, 5 years in the other. About the offer from the CA school: I feel the same way, and it seems it would be difficult for me to accept because housing is so expensive, although a professor I spoke to hinted that he could ask the Graduate Director for more funding, if necessary. On the other hand, he also said that the $18K offer was their "largest and most generous fellowship," so it seems that's the best they'll do, at least to start out with (they also nominated me for a summer fellowship, which would be another $5K for the year, about $23K total). But none of the schools in CA are top choices for me, and I'm still waiting to hear from other departments, so I probably won't try to negotiate this upward. Still, I would think you could get another few thousand from them.</p>