Teaching Assistantships (TAships) and Research Assistantships (RAships)

• Understand your Offer Letter. If you are offered tuition remission, find out what kind of hidden fees there are and whether they will also be waived. Fees information can add to the cost of attendance substantially and they are often hidden from prospective grad students.
• Usually there are two graduate coordinators who you can ask about tuition, fees, and the details of your financial package: one within your department and one in the Dean’s office at the college level. Should you need unvarnished details, facts, and figures, the Graduate Coordinator at the level of the Dean will be more capable of spelling out what your offer means.Grad students at many universities are unionized, especially those who are teaching or research assistants. If this is the case, your union rep might be able to help you understand your offer letter, and will be able to fill you in on the rights and benefits that are guaranteed in your contract. They can also help advocate for you if you find out later on that you’re getting paid less than you should be, or shorted on benefits, or anything else.
  • Many schools don't have this, so try and be friendly with the folks in the financial aid and "office of graduate studies" to help you figure out these fees, what is covered, etc.
  • Common fees might include insurance, health, parking, technology fees, activity fees, dissertation fees, minimum credit fees, continuous enrollment costs plus the cost of books… [others?]
  • Depending on the program, the folks who work in the office of your department’s Director of Graduate Studies can also be *extremely* helpful
  • If you are an out-of-state student, find out what it takes to be classified in-state and jump through those hoops as quickly as you can (one way to shorten the wait time is to move to the state at the beginning of the summer, get a driver’s license and register your vehicles for that state, and get involved with some local organizations/volunteering/etc.) If you have a spouse, s/he can get a job in-state over the summer to help anchor your in-state status as well. If you are not receiving tuition waivers, in-state classification will substantially lower your tuition bill. If you are receiving tuition waivers, they are for out-of-state waivers and your department may only allow for that the first year or two, then will expect you to be classified in-state and might award you in-state tuition waivers only--meaning, you’ll be saddled with the rest of the tuition bill (i.e. if out-of-state tuition is $15,000 and the in-state tuition is $5,000, you’re on the hook for the extra $10,000 if they shift you to in-state waivers.) I don’t think this is true of every university and program, but it is common enough that getting in-state classification is important (and it usually takes a few attempts to get it).
  • Many schools near state borders have reciprocal in-state agreements with residents in the bordering state. You can maintain state residency and pay tuition as in-state.
  • Be sure to be clear about summer benefits because depending on your situation you may or may not have summer tuition covered and/or a stipend.
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• Find out what is taxable and non-taxable income in terms of scholarships, awards, bursaries, Teaching Assistantships & RA-ships--it makes a big difference!

• Research and Teaching Assistantships: Sometimes these are automatically assigned. Other times you have to apply for them and seek them out, sometimes even in competition with students from other departments. Find out if yours are guaranteed or not. Assume you will need to apply at least one month prior to a school year (or semester) start date. Whilst a lot of this is determined by discipline, if you have expertise or experience in subjects other than your PhD topic, apply for those assistantships!
  • Training grants (such as the NIEHS Ruth Kirchstein awards) are DEFINITELY TAXABLE, but they are also not subject to FICA taxes. Basically you have to pay income tax but not social security/medicare tax. Our school never took taxes out and said it was “our responsibility”, so definitely save a chunk each month if your school doesnt take taxes out, because April will be a huge shock if you don’t
  • And make sure you check on this not just for the awards you win from your institution, but for any and all awards--things like NEH seminar stipends, external dissertation fellowships, institutional grants-in-aid like those offered by the Folger Shakespeare Library--these are all taxable income and the taxes are not withheld before you get the check, so you have to set aside the funds for this.
  • Also, if you receive an unexpected tuition waiver mid-year rather than having one from the beginning of the term, the taxes may not have been taken out of it yet, so make sure you ask about the tax situation for any awards you receive. A few good fellowships can unexpectedly push you into the next tax bracket.
  • Unless rules have changed, when I was in grad school I kept all of my receipts from buying books and deducted them from my gross income (even though I don’t itemize deductions, this is different because it’s an educational expense) -- some years this made a huge difference in taxes.
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• TAships and RAships usually result in a tuition waiver plus some kind of stipend-like payment, which are a decent way to fund your education in the absence of guaranteed funding (more on this below)
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• Some schools and programs may offer only Research Assistantships. If you are interested in being a teacher, and getting a job anywhere beyond a top-tier research school, make sure you have the opportunity to get some teaching experience.
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• Once in your program, find out about the variety of assistantships available. My program, for example, had one for a grad student to run the office that advised the department’s undergraduate majors. Having a variety of academic work experience can help in the job search, especially if you are in a highly competitive field and are looking for jobs at schools where teaching and student interaction are more important than scholarship. The experience can also make transitioning to an academic job easier.
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• What you've been taught about showing respect to instructors and appropriate classroom behavior is not likely to be the attitude your students will have in the classroom, particularly if you are teaching students at a private university or a top public institution. Be emotionally prepared for rudeness, privileged weirdness, and any number of stunts you could have never imagined pulling as a scholarship-dependent undergraduate. A bad grade might have made you study harder, they might have their parent to email the dean (or email her themselves).
• Think about teaching as a performance and your students as your audience--this will matter if your eligibility for TAships is tied to your teaching evaluations. Smile often. Come to class in a good mood or fake being in a good mood every single day. Make jokes. Make pop culture references. A faculty mentor who came from a poor background taught me this and it has been golden for teaching large required courses that tackle contentious issues (gender studies, social sciences).
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What teaching assistantships cover, what they don’t:

• Find out how many years of guaranteed funding your offer includes, and how that funding will be apportioned. Some programs reduce funding levels for students after they pass their PhD qualifying exams. Others pull funding entirely. You can negotiate your funding offer (in some places). Use the different offers you have on the table (if you have multiple offers) to get another program to offer you something comparable.
  • See what funding guarantees there are for future years. My institution did not provide funding after ABD (and I did not do due diligence in finding that out in advance so be sure you do!).
  • As with the language about your contract read your graduate student handbook or department handbook so you know when your funding runs out (Year 5? Year 6? Does your department have a good reputation for finding work for grad students after that?).
  • In some states you may be able to apply for unemployment
  • See what is available for the summer; it may or may not be included
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• With that said, realize that when you negotiate an offer and take it, you may be eating into a grant that was intended for something else. Your advisor (or whoever you negotiated with) will expect you to do that work. (Disregard if you’ve been offered a university fellowship with no strings.)
• Find out whether there are additional regulated (or pseudo-regulated) funds that aren't part of the TAship, but are available in the department, school, university. Sometimes there is money that is available, but it isn't talked about* or offered or something every advisor even knows about. It's ok to ask around, even if it feels uncomfortable.
  • Taxes on fellowships can sometimes make them less attractive than TA or RAships.
• In your offer letter, ask about any supplementation for moving costs. Some schools offer this, others do not. If the school you want does not, see if they can match a school that offers it and has accepted you. Rentals/Gas/Deposits can add up!
• Ask when your first stipend check will be paid out. Some schools start in August but your first stipend check doesn't arrived until the end of September (and you need to pay rent!) Keep this in mind when interviewing. Figure out what two months rent would be at these schools and budget for that if you can (or work something out with your grad school rep or future advisor).
• Although a great program is important, think about the cost of living in the area. Schools in the Bay Area and NY usually adjust their stipend for cost of living but it is usually not enough. A grad stipend may go further in a smaller town. You can make some of this up through papers and conferences.
• Many schools have a version of Craigslist or roommate searches within their community. Once you have accepted, see if you can access these pages early so that you can find fellow grads looking for roommates. These postings usually go up just before or after graduation (May/June).
• You may not have much furniture that first year, but if you want to "re-decorate" do it at the end of the school year. Grads and Undergrads leaving town often give things away for free or at a very reduced price (purchased my first car this way). The university craigslist equivalent is a great place to start. Also volunteering during dorm 'move-out' is a great way to sort through items that are often still in great condition but students just don't want to take with them.
• Universities often have discounts agreed with vendors within the community. Most grad students can also use these for dentist appointments, hair salons, and automotive shops.
• Clothing swaps. Organize one with fellow grad students in your department or host one! Great way to recycle clothing and get new outfits by just cleaning out your closet.