PhD Funding

Doctoral students in the Division of the Social Sciences in the 2016 cohort or later are guaranteed funding while enrolled, including tuition, individual U-SHIP health insurance premium, the Graduate Student Services Fee and Divisional fellowship or assistantship. For 2024-25 the Division’s annualized minimum Divisional fellowship/assistantship is $45,000, disbursed as $3,750 (prior to any applicable tax withholding) per month of enrollment.

PhD External Funding Policy

We encourage students to continue to pursue external funding opportunities, which can demonstrate excellence in their field and better position them for future funding and employment opportunities. In addition to the prestige and professional development associated with winning external fellowships, the Division provides a financial incentive for students to apply for fellowships: a student who secures external funding will always receive more than they would have from Divisional funding alone.

When a student secures external funding, the Division evaluates the terms of the external funding and applies the framework below. The Division’s external funding incentive is equal to 30% of the minimum annualized Divisional fellowship/assistantship. For 2024-2025 the incentive is $13,500.

For external awards* up to $13,500:

  • The student receives the external funding.
  • The student receives their full Divisional fellowship/assistantship.
  • No incentive is paid.

For external awards* between $13,500 and the program’s minimum fellowship/assistantship level:

  • The student receives the external funding.
  • The student receives Divisional fellowship/assistantship at an amount that when combined with external funding equals the program’s minimum stipend level.
  • The student receives the $13,500 incentive as additional fellowship/assistantship.

For external awards* greater than the program’s minimum stipend level:

  • The student receives the external funding.
  • No Divisional fellowship/assistantship is paid because the student’s external funding is already at or above the program’s minimum stipend level.
  • The student receives the $13,500 incentive as fellowship/assistantship.

* Notes: 

  1. External awards intended to cover specific additional expenses (e.g., travel, research, etc.) may be calculated at less than their full value. For example, a $15,000 external award that includes $2,000 designated specifically for airline tickets would be calculated as a $13,000 award.
  2. For the purposes of calculating Divisional fellowship/assistantship and incentive fellowship/assistantship, the Division will combine multiple external awards that cover the same time period. If an external award spans more than one academic year, the incentive is paid only once.

The external funding framework is intended to incentivize students to seek additional external funding without penalty. External funding opportunities are unique, so if you have questions about how your external funding will interact with your Divisional stipend, please let us know.