Unfortunately Money Doesn't Grow on Trees: How to Fund Your Graduate Studies

1. Unfortunately Money Doesn’t Grow
on Trees: How to Fund Your
Graduate Studies
Jessica Block & Stephanie Gillespie
Georgia Institute of Technology
This powerpoint can be found @ http://JessicaTBlock.com/resources.html
2:45-3:45 Friday 10/28

2. 2
Agenda
• Why do finances matter in grad school
• Traditional funding paths and sources
• Nontraditional funding
• Money matters and tips
Lets gets started- What do you expect
to pay for in graduate school?

3. 3
3
• Tuition
• Textbooks
• Housing
• Food
• Transportation
Things you expect to
pay for
• Student fees
• Extra conference travel
• Renter’s Insurance
• Coffee supply
• Parking pass or city
parking
• Health
Insurance/health-care
• Child/Pet Care
• Entertainment
• Household Upkeep
• Wardrobe
and DON’T expect

4. 4
Sample Graduate Student Budget (Stanford)
Source: http://financialaid.stanford.edu/grad/budget/

5. 5
Finances are a stressor
Source: GT Graduate Student Survey- FIX CITATION HERE

6. 6
Funding Types
Source: SEE Profile Surveys, Infographic from ASEE Connections Email 6/23/16

7. Traditional Funding Sources

8. 8
Activity
Break into 3 groups, and discuss the following for your
assigned funding source:
- How do you find them?
- Conditions on the funding?
- Pros/Cons

9. 9
What we learned: TAs
- How do you find them?
- Conditions on the funding?
- Pros/Cons

10. 10
What we learned: GRAs
- How do you find them?
- Conditions on the funding?
- Pros/Cons

11. 11
What we learned: Fellowships
- How do you find them?
- Conditions on the funding?
- Pros/Cons

12. 12
What we learned: Other??
- How do you find them?
- Conditions on the funding?
- Pros/Cons

13. 13
Our recommendations for TA funding
• Ensure you are working the appropriate amount of
hours
• Talk with the lead professor to determine responsibility
splits
• Take advantage of the teaching experience
• Be aware:
– Your time commitment!
– Ask other senior graduate students about the courses
– Talk to your advisor about future years, will you be TAing for
the entire duration of your PhD?

14. 14
Our recommendations for Fellowships
• Find your campus fellowship office and writing center for
sample successful essays and tips
• Apply while eligible- many are limited to first or last
years of study
• Don’t count on receiving a fellowship, have other
options available
• READ everything - fellowship handbook, graduate
school handbook
• Beware of:
– Tax liabilities
– Conference travel: may not be included, and some schools
have internal limits
– Restrictions on additional income (i.e. second jobs)

15. 15
Our recommendations for RA funding
• Ask how long there is grant support for you, and
acknowledge the grants in your publications
• Time limits - will it cover the entire expected duration of
your program?
• Allows time to focus on research project/thesis topic
• Grant requirements may not match with thesis topic
• Beware of:
– Available funding
– Strict project requirements

16. NonTraditional Funding Sources

17. 17
Nontraditional Funding
● Can range from $500 to full tuition and stipend
● Can range from 1-time payments to full funding
● Be cautious about pursuing these if you already have a
GTA, GRA, or Fellowship!

18. 18
Small Funding Sources
• Campus-wide research competitions
– Present your research, awards are often travel grants or
scholarships $250-$2000
• Teaching/outreach opportunities
– Summer camps held on your campus may need someone to
lead modules
– Counselor/Graduate Assistant for residential or day camps
– Compensation will range based on time commitment. Expect
~$15+/hour
• Travel Funds
– Student Government Association
– Undergraduate mentoring programs - Department specific
– Conference-specific grants
– Save your own money

19. 19
Company-Sponsored Funding
Some companies may assist with paying for your degree
(NOT an exclusive list)
• AT&T (up to $8,000/year)
• BP (up to 90% of expenses)
• Genentech (up to $10,000/year)
• Proctor and Gamble (up to 80% of expenses, lifetime
cap $40,000)
• Raytheon (up to $10,000/year)
If you are considering asking your employer for funding,
consider using the tips here
Conditions and/or pre-approval often apply!

20. 20
Profile: Company-Sponsored Study
Maggie*
Graduate School: Georgia Institute of Technology
Graduate Degree: MBA
Funding Story: Lockheed Martin funded 100%. Maggie
worked full time and completed her degree part time over
two years. This is a special benefit of being a participant
in the Operations Leadership Development Program
(OLDP).
Name changed for anonymity
* Name changed for anonymity

21. 21
Profile: Military-Sponsored Study
Ashley*
Graduate School: Georgia Institute of Technology
Graduate Degree: MS Electrical Engineering
Funding Story: Ashley was funded by the U.S. Navy
through an internal fellowship. This included full tuition,
half salary, and half benefits. Ashley went to school full
time and completed her degree over two years. This is
similar to the SMART Scholarship.
* Name changed for anonymity

22. 22
Profile: Graduate-level Internships
Francesca*
Graduate School: Georgia Institute of Technology
Graduate Degree: PhD Electrical Engineering
Funding Story: Usually paid as GRA, but took a paid
summer internship at John Deere in year 2. Francesca
made roughly $5k per month (before taxes) and worked
from May through August. She found this opportunity
through her advisor who has industry contacts. Although
she didn’t make much progress on her research and her
degree, she was able to gain hands-on experience that
was outside of her research area. She made industry
contacts for potential future collaborations, and learned
what problems are important to people in industry.
* Name changed for anonymity

23. 23
Profile: Teaching Fellows
Marcus*
Graduate School: Georgia Institute of Technology
Graduate Degree: PhD Electrical Engineering
Funding Story: Advisor had no funding, so applied to be a
Teaching Fellow through a program funded by the K-12
outreach division of GT. Taught middle school students
engineering as a classroom volunteer, requiring 8-10
hours of work a week, and transportation to/from was an
additional 2-4 hours/week. Program offered tuition
support when necessary, as well as $8,000 annual
stipend and reimbursement for mileage and supplies.
While not enough to live on, was better than nothing.
* Name changed for anonymity

24. Money Matters

25. 25
Cost of Living
Not all funding offers are the same!
School- City/State Cost of Living compared to
US Average
Georgia Tech- Atlanta, GA 137%
Boise State U.- Boise, ID 100%
U. T. El Paso- El Paso, TX 98%
U. Colorado Boulder- Boulder, CO 150%
Cal. Tech- Pasadena, CA 174%
Arkansas State - Jonesboro, AR 87%
Cornell University- Ithica, NY 127%
Source: Economic Research Institute July 2016 http://www.erieri.com/careerplanning/studentcostofliving#appstart

26. 26
Know your tax liability
● Many funding sources are tax-liable (fellowships,
awards, scholarships, etc.)
● Not all schools/sources take out your income taxes
before paying you
● If you owe taxes to the government, consider paying
quarterly to avoid annual “late” penalties (Form
1040-ES)
● The only way to know: talk to a certified tax
professional

27. 27
Consider keeping a budget
Buffering: Grad school expense may not be the same
month-to-month
If you have a budget and set aside funds for known
upcoming expenses, you may be less stressed when
paying the large lump sum
FREE Resources:
• Mint.com or the app
• Good Budget (digital envelope system)
• Excel budgets often for download

28. 28
Funding Your Future: IRAs
• If your funding source is traditional income, you are
likely eligible to put funds into an Individual Retirement
Account
• If you funding source is not considered income (i.e.
payed as a scholarship), you cannot use this to fund an
IRA
Source: http://www.painting-with-numbers.com/blog/401k-ira-miracle

29. 29
Funding Resources
Lists of funding sources and compilations. This is not an
exclusive list!
• http://www.phdproject.org/resources/education-funding/
• https://www.fic.nih.gov/FUNDING/NONNIH/Pages/pred
octoral-graduate.aspx
• http://societyofwomenengineers.swe.org/scholarships
• Search your graduate studies office and department
websites as well!
If you don’t apply, you can’t win. Just don’t expect to win!

30. 30
In Conclusion:
• Funding is specific to each university and each
department
– ASK QUESTIONS
• Know your options
• Plan ahead - Grad school can be 5+ years
• Have a backup plan

31. Any Questions?