Universities Sharing Grad Student Salaries: Ethical Or Not?

Graduate students' salaries vary depending on their university, department, and program of study. While some universities offer stipends or tuition waivers, others may provide salaried positions for teaching assistants or independent instructors. Graduate assistantship programs are often competitive and cater to high-performing students. The pay for graduate assistants averages around $26,000, while research graduate assistants may earn slightly more at $30,500. The highest and lowest salaries for graduate students in the United States are $71,162 and $26,792, respectively.

University funding and grad student salaries

Graduate student salaries can differ significantly between departments within the same university. For example, there might be a $15,000 difference in stipends between the business and natural sciences departments. This discrepancy is often attributed to differences in funding available to each department, with external funding playing a significant role. Departments with access to more external funding may have greater financial flexibility to pay their graduate students higher stipends or salaries.

The type of degree pursued also impacts graduate student salaries. STEM fields, such as engineering and computer science, tend to offer higher compensation compared to humanities and social sciences programs. This disparity is influenced by the potential for profitable research and industry connections in STEM fields. Additionally, the publishing structure, availability of grants, and undergraduate enrollment within a department can also contribute to the variation in graduate student salaries.

Unionization efforts among graduate students have gained momentum in recent years, with strikes and protests taking place at universities like the University of California, Indiana University, and the University of Texas. These unionization activities have prompted some universities to increase their graduate student stipends and benefits voluntarily. For example, the University of Pennsylvania announced its largest-ever increment to Ph.D. student stipends, raising the minimum to $38,000 for the 2023-24 academic year. Duke University also increased its full-year Ph.D. stipend to $38,600 for the same period, an 11.4% increase over the previous year.

Overall, graduate student salaries and funding packages can vary widely, even within the same university. The specific department, availability of external funding, and unionization efforts all play a role in determining the compensation offered to graduate students. While some universities have taken proactive measures to improve graduate student remuneration, unionization activities continue to shape the landscape of graduate student salaries across the country.

Grad student unions and salaries

Graduate students are increasingly unionizing to demand higher salaries, improved health benefits, and better working conditions. Unionizing gives graduate students more bargaining power and protection, and can lead to significant improvements in pay and benefits.

Graduate student unions have been recognized in both public and private universities across the United States and Canada. As of 2023, there were at least 156 graduate student employee unions in the US and 23 in Canada. The process of unionizing can be challenging and often faces opposition from university administrators and associations, who argue that unionization threatens academic freedom and harms faculty-student relationships. However, recent research suggests that unionization does not negatively impact these areas.

The benefits of unionizing for graduate students include higher salaries, improved benefits, and better working conditions. For example, at the University of California, striking graduate students secured a new minimum salary of $34,564.50. At Johns Hopkins University, the graduate student union negotiated a 40% raise in salaries. Unionizing can also lead to improved healthcare benefits, as seen at the University of Oregon, where the union won a state law providing paid sick days for all Oregon residents.

Additionally, unionizing provides graduate students with a collective voice and protection against abusive or unfair treatment from faculty or administrators. It ensures that graduate students have clear standards and contracts, as well as someone to advocate for them if issues arise. This can be especially important for international students, who may face additional challenges and concerns.

While there may be concerns about the potential negative impact of unionizing on the number of graduate student positions available, it is essential to prioritize fair treatment and compensation for graduate students, who are a vital part of the academic community.

Departmental differences in grad student pay

Graduate student compensation can vary greatly depending on the department, school policies, and the student's role at the institution. While some universities fix grad student salaries across departments, others do not. This inconsistency in pay can be attributed to various factors, including departmental budgets, external funding, grants, industry connections, and undergraduate enrollment.

For example, a student in a STEM field may receive a higher stipend or salary compared to a student in the humanities or social sciences. This is because STEM fields tend to generate more profitable research for the university, making it easier for them to secure grants and industry funding. Additionally, different roles such as teaching assistants (TAs) and research assistants (RAs) may have different pay scales within the same department.

The type of compensation, whether it is a stipend or a salary, also plays a role in grad student pay. Stipends are typically given to students as part of an assistantship or fellowship, with the amount based on the length of the academic year. On the other hand, salaries are given to employees formally hired by the university to perform specific responsibilities. Salaried grad students may receive additional employee benefits such as subsidized healthcare or workers' compensation.

The location of the university also impacts grad student pay. For instance, the top-paying locations for a Graduate Student in the United States include New York, Houston, Omaha, Milwaukee, and Chicago.

Unionization efforts among grad students have led to increased stipends and benefits at some universities. Graduate students are advocating for better compensation, and in some cases, universities have responded by boosting stipends and benefits to prevent picket lines and work slowdowns.

Assistantships and fellowships

Graduate assistantships and fellowships are great ways to help graduate students pay for their education. They are similar in concept to undergraduate work-study programs, but instead of menial tasks, graduate assistants are paid to perform tasks that align with their fields of study.

Assistantships

Graduate assistantships help students pay for grad school through a combination of tuition waivers and cash compensation. The position also might offer worker benefits such as health insurance, housing and meal plans, although the terms vary by school and by position. Graduate assistantships can be broken down into two broad categories: teaching assistantships and research assistantships, although some positions may involve both responsibilities.

If you’re pursuing a degree in science, technology, engineering, or math, you're more likely to land a research assistantship. Duties can include designing and running experiments and recording and interpreting data. For students in biology, chemistry, biomedical engineering, or other health-related fields, there’s a chance your graduate assistantship will be funded by the National Institutes of Health, via a grant through your advising professor.

For graduate students pursuing degrees in English, history, philosophy, or another liberal arts discipline, teaching positions are the more common form of assistantship. Duties vary — a teaching assistant might help a professor grade papers and prepare exams, give occasional lectures, or manage discussion groups, or even run an entire class.

Fellowships

Fellowships, such as the prestigious awards given by the National Science Foundation, offer more freedom for students to explore their passions. Fellowships might not have any official research or teaching responsibilities, giving students more control over creating a course of study that fits their interests.

However, in some cases, a graduate program might have a department-wide fellowship that requires all students to assume some teaching duties. Fellowships provide a living stipend, graduate fellow health insurance premiums, and tuition support, and may also include support for mandatory fees, without a commensurate service requirement. Graduate fellows are not employees of the university, and appointments are not governed by contractual bodies.

Stipends and living expenses

Graduate stipends are often inadequate when compared to the living wage. Basic necessities are often a financial burden for grad students. A 2020 study by the University of Albany found that graduate students are at a higher risk of mental health issues due to food insecurity.

Stipends are usually based on the research or other work performed for a university. They typically increase annually, with PhD students receiving the highest pay.

Stipends are often modest and may not leave much room for budgeting blunders or unexpected expenses. To survive on a graduate student stipend, it is important to budget aggressively and access savvy financing options if you need extra cash. Graduate students may have to work, teach, or conduct research for the university in exchange for their monthly stipend.

Graduate student stipends vary depending on the university, field of study, job duties, and other factors. For example, at the University of Iowa, the minimum stipend for half-time work as a graduate assistant is $18,809 for the 2016-2017 academic year. In contrast, at Cornell University in New York, graduate students typically earn $25,152 for a nine-month stipend.

Some universities have recently announced significant increases in their graduate student stipends, including the University of Pennsylvania, Duke University, the University of North Carolina, Rice University, and the University of Buffalo. These increases may be in response to the growing unionizing efforts of graduate students and their demands for better compensation.

At some universities, graduate students are unionized, which can lead to more standardized funding and required yearly raises. However, graduate student unions are not widespread, especially in the US.

It is important to note that stipend or fellowship income is usually tax-exempt as long as it is used for tuition, fees, books, supplies, and equipment required for enrollment and the pursuit of a degree. If the stipend is used for other purposes, such as room and board, it must be included in gross income and will be taxed.

To make ends meet, some graduate students pick up side hustles or part-time jobs, such as tutoring or reselling items online. Others may rely on student loans, college-sponsored short-term loans, or scholarships to supplement their stipends.

Frequently asked questions