Graduate Student Support
Figure 1: Infographic that shows the typical types of financial support for graduate students in doctoral programs. Specific details regarding forms of support can be found under Results-Support.
Results - Support
Graduate students in doctoral programs are supported financially by a variety of different mechanisms. For the doctoral programs surveyed, support was in the form of a
TA (Teaching Assistantship): 53.7% of students are supported through a TA. This number increases to 88.4% for students in their first year.
RA (Research Assistantships): 29.2% of students are supported through an RA, the funds for which come directly from grant monies awarded to their advisors.
The remaining graduate students are supported by FS (fellowships like the NSF GRFP) at 4.5%; internal FS (awards made by the institution to help recruit and retain students) at 7.9%, TG (training grants) at 1.2%, and through Industry funds at 0.6%.
Students are also supported by a variety of other means including: Corporate funds, Fullbright fellowships, HHMI grants, International Grants & Scholarships, military support, graduate assistantships, and, rarely, through self support.
Results - Regions
New England
CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT
TA Average: $30,2011
RA Average: $32,032
Far West
AK, CA, HI, OR, NV, WA
TA Average: $26,969
RA Average: $29,231
Rocky Mountains
CO, ID, MT, UT, WY
TA Average: $26,611
RA Average: $26,431
Figure 2: Bar graph illustrating the average TA (teaching assistant) and RA (research assistant) stipends as a function of geographical location (Far West, Great Lakes, Mid East, New England, Outlying, Plains, Rocky Mountains, Southeast, and Southwest). Specifics on the average stipends for each region and the states included in each region are available under results. The overall average TA stipend was $25,000, the overall average RA stipend was $26,000. Stipends were self reported for the 2019-2020 academic year. 118 graduate programs provided data via the Graduate Program survey.
Mideast
DE, DC, MD, NJ, NY, PA
TA Average: $26,020
RA Average: $27,133
Southwest
AZ, NM, OK, TX
TA Average: $24,200
RA Average: $24,655
Great Lakes
IL, IN, MI, OH, WI
TA Average: $23,924
RA Average: $24,933
Southeast
AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV
TA Average: $23,913
RA Average: $24,874
Plains
IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD
TA Average: $22,939
RA Average: $24,170
Outlying
AS, FM, GU, MH, MP, PR, PW, VI
TA Average: $10,900
RA Average: $17,000