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Can we talk about paying for grad school in a STEM field?


plansrme
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Yeah, yeah, I know; my oldest is only a junior in HS; she is not quite there yet.  But, the question of whether she will need parental financial support for grad school affects her undergraduate choice.  

 

When I was a whippersnapper, the lore was that grad students in STEM majors went to school for free and got a stipend on top of that to pay for living expenses.  Is that still the case?  She is thinking about eventually pursuing a Ph.D. in math, physics or one of the engineerings. Do I need to be holding back some of her college fund, or will she be able to feed and clothe herself at that point?

 

 

 

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I'm doing an MS before a PhD so I don't have personal experience yet, but as I look forward my professors have all said the same thing: ''Don't go anywhere that doesn't pay you, because it means they don't really want you and you might not get a good research position.'' This is for math, and the same has been said to my husband for physics. I don't know about engineering. My understanding is that a PhD candidate should not pay anything for the degree, and should be paid by the university (not necessarily a whole lot, of course). Some small students loans might be needed for COL, but it shouldn't be anything like undergrad or MS programs.

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When I was a whippersnapper, the lore was that grad students in STEM majors went to school for free and got a stipend on top of that to pay for living expenses.  Is that still the case?  She is thinking about eventually pursuing a Ph.D. in math, physics or one of the engineerings. Do I need to be holding back some of her college fund, or will she be able to feed and clothe herself at that point?

 

Yes, that is the case.

The grad students get a tuition waiver and a stipend (or, if the setup is that they have to pay tuition, they get a larger stipend that includes this cost). In exchange, they are expected to work as Teaching Assistants or Research Assistants.

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An academic PhD. will most likely be funded at a good university. Now if you're looking at a clinical doctorate program like in a healthcare field, those fellowships are a LOT harder to come by.

 

 

Yes, AFAIK this is true for both STEM and non-STEM fields. My Ph.D. in a non-STEM field was fully funded through a combination of fellowships and TA jobs.  Both amounted to a tuition waiver, health coverage, and a stipend to cover a very frugal lifestyle.  

 

Master's degrees and degrees from professional schools, OTOH, are another story.   

 
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I have one in a Ph.D. program in engineering and another in a master's program in operations research.

 

Both are fully funded, but the stipends are very different. The Ph.D. one is a decent salary by most standards and includes free health insurance (the plan offered to profs) and transportation perks; the master's one is low enough that if he had no savings and was in a high cost of living area he would need a SMALL loan each year to stay afloat. (He's living at home so he is saving a bundle.) The master's student is required to TA for his stipend; the Ph.D. is funded through a NSF grant and does research to "earn" her stipend.

 

But fully funded they are, enough so that they both are putting money in their retirement accounts in grad school!

 

Back in the day, my hubby and I were both fully and generously funded for our master's degrees in engineering. We saved the down payment for our first house while in grad school!

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Yeah, yeah, I know; my oldest is only a junior in HS; she is not quite there yet.  But, the question of whether she will need parental financial support for grad school affects her undergraduate choice.  

 

When I was a whippersnapper, the lore was that grad students in STEM majors went to school for free and got a stipend on top of that to pay for living expenses.  Is that still the case?  She is thinking about eventually pursuing a Ph.D. in math, physics or one of the engineerings. Do I need to be holding back some of her college fund, or will she be able to feed and clothe herself at that point?

 

At least for Masters (mathematics), my husband got a job as a TA that pretty much paid for his degree  + gas back and forth and most of the childcare. (this was at Texas State University. So a state school but not the Premier state schools)

 

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My ds is in a PhD program in a STEM field at a well-respected school.  He gets full tuition, health insurance, and a $25K per year stipend.  He can work as a TA for extra money, but it's not required.  You don't have to worry about saving money for grad school!

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Thanks again--so glad to know this is still the case. My daughter is meeting today with a friend-of-friend, a young woman on the math faculty at Ga Tech, to get a feel for what life as a professional math geek looks like. Just the thought of researching algebra for the rest of my life makes me want to stab my eyes out, but she is really excited. It is really good to know she can blow her entire college fund on undergrad. I guess!

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One of mine is considering pursuing a PhD in math and he has been given to understand he should expect it to be funded.  His GF, who is applying to Masters in Education programs, is wondering why her degree, which in all likelihood, will result in a lower-paying job than his, will cost her money! 

 

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One of mine is considering pursuing a PhD in math and he has been given to understand he should expect it to be funded.  His GF, who is applying to Masters in Education programs, is wondering why her degree, which in all likelihood, will result in a lower-paying job than his, will cost her money! 

 

Unfortunately, it's more based off whether they are a net benefit to the university or not, not on whether they earn more money.

 

Graduate students usually contribute by having research or teaching assistantships, and so are producing research (always) and teaching (frequently) for the university. They are very much "apprentice professors". There is also a large pool of freshmen needing instruction in those disciplines.

 

For a master's in education, they're usually not doing publishable research (varies, of course) and there aren't a large number of education courses that many freshmen need to take.

 

Sometimes people are able to get their school district to fund their master's in education. Maybe this would be a possibility?

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One of mine is considering pursuing a PhD in math and he has been given to understand he should expect it to be funded.  His GF, who is applying to Masters in Education programs, is wondering why her degree, which in all likelihood, will result in a lower-paying job than his, will cost her money! 

 

 

It depends. If she is seeking something in an area of "need" the school may have grants that will pay for it. I got my MEd in sp ed, under a grant for certification to teach persons with emotional disabilities. Everyone in the program got two certifications. My second certification with Learning Disabilities. My undergrad degree was in Chemistry, I believe there was also a grant program for teachers of Chemistry, Physics and Math at the time.

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One of mine is considering pursuing a PhD in math and he has been given to understand he should expect it to be funded.  His GF, who is applying to Masters in Education programs, is wondering why her degree, which in all likelihood, will result in a lower-paying job than his, will cost her money! 

 

If your son's girlfriend is willing to spend two years teaching at an underserved Catholic school, U Notre Dame will pay for grad school and provide free housing during grad school and the two years of teaching. The teachers make about $12K per year, though, so not a lot; however, many of the ACE teachers have gone on to do interesting things after their two years. The teachers do not have to be Catholic, either.

 

https://ace.nd.edu

https://ace.nd.edu/teach/how-ace-works/faq

https://ace.nd.edu/teach/where-you-will-serve

 

Other schools with a similar program:

 

http://www.ucceconnect.com/map-of-ucce-programs.html

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One of mine is considering pursuing a PhD in math and he has been given to understand he should expect it to be funded.  His GF, who is applying to Masters in Education programs, is wondering why her degree, which in all likelihood, will result in a lower-paying job than his, will cost her money! 

 

One of my daughter in laws teaches at the elementary level.  Her masters degree was funded by the school district she teaches in. 

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If your son's girlfriend is willing to spend two years teaching at an underserved Catholic school, U Notre Dame will pay for grad school and provide free housing during grad school and the two years of teaching. The teachers make about $12K per year, though, so not a lot; however, many of the ACE teachers have gone on to do interesting things after their two years. The teachers do not have to be Catholic, either.

 

https://ace.nd.edu

https://ace.nd.edu/teach/how-ace-works/faq

https://ace.nd.edu/teach/where-you-will-serve

 

Other schools with a similar program:

 

http://www.ucceconnect.com/map-of-ucce-programs.html

 

Where do teachers who are not married live on 12K.

 

Maybe it's my perspective in a high COL area. Starting salaries here are in the 40K range. I think that's actually quite comfy for someone in their 20s to start out with, but at 12K one would have to be living almost rent free here.

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They are living rent free.  12K would cover food and personal expenses.

 

Actually I just read what they provide, and they provide affordable housing.  Sounds like the 12K covers the rent as well.  During the summers, they receive full room, board and free parking.  But these schools aren't located in high cost of living areas, so with a bit of frugality, they probably manage okay.   Interesting program.

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They are living rent free.  12K would cover food and personal expenses.

 

Actually I just read what they provide, and they provide affordable housing.  Sounds like the 12K covers the rent as well.  During the summers, they receive full room, board and free parking.  But these schools aren't located in high cost of living areas, so with a bit of frugality, they probably manage okay.   Interesting program.

 

Yes, that's right. I believe housing is usually free at the universities while the students are studying there but then they have to pay rent once they start their two years of teaching. I heard about ACE years ago so my memory might be foggy but I think ACE teachers try to room together when possible to help keep rent down.

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I'm doing an MS before a PhD 

 

Whoa, seriously?  You're getting a masters in math in preparation for a PhD, while homeschooling 2 kiddos.   :thumbup:   Am I the only one who is super-impressed?  Or does your DH do most of the homeschooling?  

 

ETA:  I should add even if your DH is homeschooling, this is still super impressive!

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