<p>What are the stipends like in graduate schools? (In regards to engineering, computer science, etc...) Is it enough to live on for 1 person? What if the spouse is working and making ~$30k how about then? Do all grad students get stipends? What of those that don't? Surely they can't be taking loans out to survive.</p>
<p>Yes, they are taking loans out to survive. Hello, 50K debt!!!</p>
<p>As far as I know, funding is mostly available for PHD students. Master students are basically there to fund the PHD programs at their school, so there is no point in hooking them up with money. I know some kids get funding for masters, but usually they are excellent students, and very rarely does the funding look anything like PHD funding.</p>
<p>If you don't get a stipend, don't do it. Might as well get a job that pays rather than going in debt. I agree that pHD students are more likely to get decent funding than master students.</p>
<p>I'm in chemistry.. which is often lumped into that physical science/engineering bubble. In my department, you are guaranteed funding of $21,500/year for four years. For the first two years it'll be a teaching assistantship, and the last two years a graduate researchship.</p>
<p>I'm rather fortunate because I have a $30/k a year fellowship (for two years), and since I have to TA as a graduation requirement, I'm getting paid in addition to my fellowship to TA. (I'm only making half of the regular TA salary because I'm only allowed to be hired on for half of the regular TA time). But still, I'm making more than enough to live on.</p>
<p>I'm sorry I wasn't more specific, I'm asking strictly about Ph.D. programs. Is it normal that people in Ph.D. programs should be getting some sort of stipend? How much on average? etc.. </p>
<p>If you're guaranteed funding for only the first 4 years and your Ph.D. program takes 6 what do you do for the last 2 years?</p>
<p>For bio, don't go to any program that doesn't pay you a stipend for your PhD--they all should pay somewhere around $20-30,000, depending on cost of living in the area. The "guaranteed" funding for the first 4 years means that the school/grad program pays for you, and after that, your PI pays your stipend (which is usually fine, but not so cool if your PI loses their grants).</p>
<p>scorp,</p>
<p>Most PhD's, as far as I know, come with funding. MA's is where you lose the cash and they rake it in. As I said before, the money schools make off of MA's is what is probably supporting your PhD.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the replies.
I have a few more questions and some clarifications...
So let's say one was to be doing a Ph.D. in something biomed related (computer science/integrated computer surgery/bioinformatics/biomedical engineering) or just even plain engineering how much should one expect the stipend to be?
Let's say at a top 10 school and a top 30,50 school?</p>
<p>For bioinformatics, I'll bet it depends on what you do your degree through. Bio programs pay pretty good stipends in general so if you do bioinformatics through the bio program at for example, Columbia, it's about $28,500. In the midwest, I'm hearing numbers around $25,000.</p>
<p>The school's ranking doesn't really have any bearing on how well the grad students there will get paid. As forestbrook said, it depends mostly on the cost of living in that area. You should expect to make between 18-30k a year. Whatever you make, you'll be able to pay for rent, food, and basic living expenses.</p>
<p>There are books available that have information about every school for a certain discipline. (My boyfriend got one for physics from the school library) Information includes everything from stipends, whether tuition is covered in addition to the stipend, how many grad students are there, how many are accepted out of how many applications, application requirements, amount of funding the department has.. etc.. If you are going to base where you apply on how much funding you get, I recommend getting your hands on such a book.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the advice guys. Pearlinthemist I'm going to go see if I can find such a book, do you know what it might be called or what to look under in the library or while googling?</p>
<p>Name the book(s), pearlinthemist. Pretty please, deary.</p>
<p>Yeah, I'm sure a book like that would be helpful to many here.</p>
<p>Stipends really depend on the amount of funding that a particular department has. From personal experience sciences tend to do better than the arts, and engineering stipends are generally the highest that I have seen. If there is a particular department at a certain school that you are interested in, ask them.</p>
<p>No, not everyone gets a stipend. Each semester we have a number of people walk through our building looking for an assistantship or academic-related work. Mostly international students who indicated that they would attend even if they were not offered funding. Tuition and fee waivers and other expenses are also a part of the financial picture, and that varies as well.</p>
<p>And I have seen people finish a Ph.D with 100k in loans from the whole college experience.</p>
<p>From what I can tell, it actually seems like worse schools will give you more money as a way to entice you to come. In chemistry standard is about $25,000 but I've had some offers as high as $30,000.</p>
<p>I think the one my boyfriend used for physics was called something like "graduate school shopper"</p>
<p>A grad school stipend is really and truly enough for one person to live on. I'm getting $28k as a biology stipend in Boston, and it's providing for both my fiance and me (and our pet rabbit!) this year. We're not living like kings, but we're living.</p>
<p>It does vary.
I'm working on a master's degree, and stipends for that are usually lower than for PhD students.
I get 10,000 per year for the stipend, and I'm trying to live off that. I don't have a husband or kids, though. Actually, not even a car. I could live off that fairly easily - it covers room and board with a little left over. But I also have to pay fees, buy textbooks, and I have some medical expenses, so it's not really that feasible after all. But since I took out loans as an undergrad, I'm avoiding taking out loans as a grad student at almost all costs.</p>
<p>Just curious, what field are you in that pays MS students lower just because they're MS students?</p>
<p>I've heard of PHDs getting a raise after passing their QE but it's negligible, 1 example was an extra $50/month, before tax.</p>