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

Jessica Block & Stephanie GillespieGeorgia Institute of Technology

This powerpoint can be found @ http://JessicaTBlock.com/resources.html

2:45-3:45 Friday 10/28

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

• 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

Sample Graduate Student Budget (Stanford)

Source: http://financialaid.stanford.edu/grad/budget/

5

Finances are a stressor

Source: GT Graduate Student Survey- FIX CITATION HERE

6

Funding Types

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

Traditional Funding Sources

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

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

10

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

11

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

12

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

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

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

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

NonTraditional Funding Sources

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

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

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

Profile: Company-Sponsored Study

Maggie*Graduate School: Georgia Institute of TechnologyGraduate Degree: MBAFunding 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

Profile: Military-Sponsored Study

Ashley*Graduate School: Georgia Institute of TechnologyGraduate Degree: MS Electrical EngineeringFunding 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

Profile: Graduate-level Internships

Francesca*Graduate School: Georgia Institute of TechnologyGraduate Degree: PhD Electrical EngineeringFunding 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

Profile: Teaching Fellows

Marcus*Graduate School: Georgia Institute of TechnologyGraduate Degree: PhD Electrical EngineeringFunding 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

Money Matters

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

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

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

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

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

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

Any Questions?