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