<p>I found this section to be the most relevant forum to post this in. I'm currently a freshman, majoring in IR and Government.</p>
<p>I intend to enroll in a Phd program that consists of the same field. I was looking at the tuition and fees at some of the top schools and they seem to be exceedingly high. It would really take an immense sum of money to complete one's Phd, especially since it takes 5-6 semesters.</p>
<p>My question is, how do these students support themselves? Are the majority given financial aid, scholarships, grants etc? Is it possible to work while completing the program? I would like to hear from some students themselves.</p>
<p>Financial aid for graduate studies is very different than for undergrad. There really isn't any "need based" money. Scholarships, assistantships, fellowships are awarded on the basis of your merit for the programs to which you apply. AND of course, there are loans.</p>
<p>Yes...you can complete a PhD part time while you are working...in some fields.</p>
<p>And if you can find a PhD program that takes only 5-6 semesters after your undergraduate degree, sign me on! It is usually more like 5-6 YEARS.</p>
<p>Generally speaking, if you are good enough to be admitted to a "top" PhD program, you will be good enough to be awarded a teaching or research fellowship that will provide full living expenses. If you can't find a program that will give you full support, think long and hard about whether you really truly need and want a PhD.</p>
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Generally speaking, if you are good enough to be admitted to a "top" PhD program, you will be good enough to be awarded a teaching or research fellowship that will provide full living expenses.
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<p>This is good advice.
Right now, focus being a good student as an undergrad.</p>
<p>Thanks for all your replies. happymomof1, I thought it was about 6 semesters of courses and 2 years of research and working on your dissertation. Which would make it around 5 years or so.</p>
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Generally speaking, if you are good enough to be admitted to a "top" PhD program, you will be good enough to be awarded a teaching or research fellowship that will provide full living expenses.
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This is generally not true in the humanities, and absolutely not true in the sciences/engineering. A small fraction of programs in humanities offer fellowships, and practically all accredited PhD programs in science and engineering do, not only "the top" ones.</p>
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I thought it was about 6 semesters of courses and 2 years of research and working on your dissertation. Which would make it around 5 years or so.
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Don't know about humanities programs, but in sciences it is more like 5-6 years of research in parallel with about 2 years of courses. Time to graduation has been creeping up, a motivated student with a willing advisor can get out in about 4 years, but not much less.</p>
<p>From a purely economic perspective, a masters degree is a better deal, because you can get it in about 2 years, and with 4 years on the job you will be making about as much as a freshly minted PhD without having the extra 4 years of life below the poverty line. Of course, there are certain types of jobs that will not be available to you with a masters. However, I have never met a single PhD student who is doing it because of economic considerations.</p>