<p>Do graduate students majoring in chemistry or biology have to pay for tuition or does the university cover it? I recently heard that so long as you are a grad student in good standings, the univ willl cover the fees. Is that true and do you have to TA or sumthing to get this?</p>
<p>Almost all students are supported by one or more forms of aid. The lucky ones get fellowships which provide tuition and fees plus a (usually barely) living stipend. There are also TAs and RAs of various sorts.</p>
<p>You will almost certainly TA at some point, since the main source of jobs for PhDs are universities, where, of course, you will be expected to teach as well as conduct original research.</p>
<p>thanks for the reply</p>
<p>My girlfriend is doing bio at a UC, she received full tuition coverage and 30k a year living stipend. I dont know how that measures up but figure it can give you an idea...think she has to TA one course per year but thats about all.</p>
<p>Stipends for bio programs on the coasts tend to be around $25,000. Stipends for programs in areas with a lower cost of living tend to be lower.</p>
<p>I mean, none of us are getting rich as science PhD students, but it's enough to live on, for sure.</p>
<p>I heard of one person who a few years ago, was getting a full fellowship for a PhD in chemistry at a school to be unnamed. He also got an NSF fellowship and other fellowships, and while his school fellowship was then reduced because of his other fellowships, it wasn't a one-to-one reduction so he still came out substantially ahead. In addition, the school wouldn't reduce his fellowship if he took optional teaching/research positions, so he picked up extra money by serving as a TA/RA for various departments. He even worked as an adjunct lecturer at a nearby university. He also worked as a part-time consultant (chiefly for various advanced materials startup companies that were around). I think in some years, his total income (all of his fellowships + TA/RA pay + consulting fees, etc.) would easily top 75k, and in one year (when he did a lot of consulting), he may have made well over 150k. Not bad at all for being just a graduate student. Heck, I know some people who actually completed their PhD's and who now work in industry who don't even make 75k.</p>