Which majors are most likely/least likely to provide graduate assistantships?

[Pegasus]

When I finished my undergraduate degree and began graduate school, an assistantship fell into my lap. It paid my tuition and a small stipend; enough for me to live frugally and not take out any loans. I didn't give it much thought and assumed that most people in graduate school had a similar situation. Now, of course, I know that some people take out large loans to cover their graduate studies.

 

I'd love for my DDs to seriously consider getting at least a masters degree as soon as they finish their undergraduate studies. IMHO, it's much easier to achieve right away as opposed to when a person is working full-time and/or juggling family responsibilities.

 

Is there any information out there on which majors are likely to have graduate assistantships available and which ones are not?

 

Thanks,

Pegasus

[regentrude]

In physics, a graduate assistantship (either teaching or research) is pretty much standard - unless the student has a scholarship of some sort.

 

ETA: In our department, we have graduate students teach the introductory lab sections. We rarely have grad students teach recitations. Other universities have grad students teach intro recitations.

Edited March 26, 2011 by regentrude

[AngieW in Texas]

My dh and I both have degrees in physics. All physics graduate students at our school were required to work as a graduate assistant (either teaching or research). Research was generally preferred. We had the issue that our department actually had a rule that married students couldn't work for the same professor, but since we had different interests, that was fine. My dh went with nuclear physics and I went with materials science.

[kokotg]

It's been awhile, but my understanding is that, in the humanities, funding is pretty standard for ph.D programs and pretty rare for master's (or, rather, some funding may be available, but you have to scramble to get it, and it's not guaranteed). My English ph.D program guaranteed funding for 4 years (through a combination of fellowships and teaching responsibilities), but it was generally possible for anyone who sought funding for a 5th year (and often beyond) to get it. The sciences are usually much better funded (which makes sense, since those students are the ones bringing money in through research grants, etc.). As I understand it, not many people get through professional programs (law, medicine) without taking out tons of loans.

[tearose]

I think that doctorate programs are more likely to have funding, regardless of field. Most programs award a masters of some sort along the way; some people leave after that and others stay on. These programs aren't interested in students who only want a terminal masters, but there's nothing to stop someone from leaving early. I have an MA and a PhD in music and a) my tuition was fully funded b) I received a stipend that was more than enough to live on--this was guaranteed for five years. I also think that if there's a chance a student wants to get a PhD, it's better to go straight into a doctorate program; people who entered my program with a masters could only shorten coursewprk by a semester, which is not much, considering that most masters programs take at least a year or two.

[jennynd]

I have Master in Mechanical Engineering and hubby has PhD in Aerospace eng. Both of us are tuition free with stipend

[kokotg]

Most programs award a masters of some sort along the way; some people leave after that and others stay on. These programs aren't interested in students who only want a terminal masters, but there's nothing to stop someone from leaving early.

 

Err...I can second that getting a masters through a funded ph.D program is a good way to sneakily get a free master's. But I didn't mean to! I planned to finish, but then, you know, baby and all that. Stuff happens.

[jennynd]

people who entered my program with a masters could only shorten coursewprk by a semester, which is not much, considering that most masters programs take at least a year or two.

 

course work maybe, but research??

for my master it was 24 class work and 6 credit research for thesis, for PhD, it is 36 school credit + research. for hubby it took him total 6-7 years to have everything done, but for me, it was 2 years. (he did work full time the last 2 years, just happen to have a good offer)

[Jane in NC]

Mathematics. My husband and I both had graduate assistantships. Our neighbor in chemistry had one, but another neighbor in Library Science did not until she began her PhD work. This was also case for people we knew in the English department. Once they had finished their master's degrees, the department offered some funding for their PhDs.

 

One of my friends recently finished her master's degree in Psychology. There was some money available. Psych grad students worked in the Learning Center, assisting students who need help with organizational and testing skills. But this position did not offer enough to pay for living expenses.

 

I suspect that funding in math and science is often available at engineering schools where graduate students do a huge service as teaching assistants, paper graders and lab sections. Fellowships often seem dependent on a professor's funding, a sort of coattail effect.

[tearose]

people who entered my program with a masters could only shorten coursewprk by a semester, which is not much, considering that most masters programs take at least a year or two.

 

 

course work maybe, but research??

for my master it was 24 class work and 6 credit research for thesis, for PhD, it is 36 school credit + research. for hubby it took him total 6-7 years to have everything done, but for me, it was 2 years. (he did work full time the last 2 years, just happen to have a good offer)

 

I meant total. My program took 6-7 years average, and people with a masters were only ahead by a semester because the department would only credit one semeester's worth of classes. Those with masters degrees also took the same exams. The sequence was something like this:

 

--coursework 4 or 5 semesters (4 with masters, 5 without)

--comprehensive exams after 3 semesters

--optional masters awarded after 4 semesters (assuming one passed comps)

--prelims (taken towards the end of the 3rd year or sometime in the 4th, depending on how long it took to come up with a dissertation proposal)

--however long dissertation research/writing took

--defense

 

But practically speaking, people with masters degrees beforehand often did not finish before those without. Both in my cohort and my DH's, the people with masters degrees were not the first to finish.

[klmama]

When I finished my undergraduate degree and began graduate school, an assistantship fell into my lap. It paid my tuition and a small stipend; enough for me to live frugally and not take out any loans. I didn't give it much thought and assumed that most people in graduate school had a similar situation. Now, of course, I know that some people take out large loans to cover their graduate studies.

 

I'd love for my DDs to seriously consider getting at least a masters degree as soon as they finish their undergraduate studies. IMHO, it's much easier to achieve right away as opposed to when a person is working full-time and/or juggling family responsibilities.

 

Is there any information out there on which majors are likely to have graduate assistantships available and which ones are not?

 

Thanks,

Pegasus

 

You haven't said what your dc are interested in studying. Foreign language graduate programs usually offer teaching assistantships, less often research assistantships. However, there aren't as many job options after earning a masters or a PhD in languages as there are for those in the sciences, and the pay tends to be significantly lower.

[Reesegirl]

My oldest dd went into a chemistry phd program, did research and received a very nice stipend for living expense. So, I know that you can add chemistry to the list.

[Gwen in VA]

Dh and I are both engineers and know a lot of engineer/scientist types. I have only heard of ONE case in my life of an engineer/science person not receiving a stipend+tuition arrangement -- and that one instance was a rather amusing one with extremely peculiar circumstances.

 

Dd2 was talking to her organ teacher today, and he said even in music for PhD students TA'ships were fairly common.

[msk]

Part of this depends on the graduate school as well as the program. Some universities and departments are better funded than others. Most people apply to several programs; if they get in, they may or may not be offered a funding "package," and then compare the offers they get from different schools (along with other considerations, like how good the program is and how well it fits their interests) to decide where to go.

 

In general the "hard" sciences and engineering are funded better than the social sciences and humanities. At my university, grad students in all fields may get stipends or research assistantships, but the ones in hard sciences are paid more.

[JennyD]

My understanding is the same as some of the prior posters -- funding through grants/TAships/RAships is pretty standard for Ph.D. across the board. I know little about standalone MAs, but law school funding is much more unusual, although schools will sometimes offer money to especially strong candidates to coax them away from higher-ranked schools. (Which is not necessarily a good deal for the student, IMO, but that's another post.)

 

My observation has been that at the Ph.D. level, at least, there is a big difference between state and private schools. Public universities are much more likely to make you teach a lot, and they have less money overall. Private schools can be more generous.

Edited March 27, 2011 by JennyD

[stripe]

In addition to what's listed, I have also heard that some law schools assist (as in, pay off the loans for) those who work with the poor or other less well paying professions, in order to offset the financial disadvantage of not signing up to do high paying work, and some hospitals will pay off nurses' loans (this would be for RN/bachelor level degree) if they sign up to work for them after graduation. I feel like maybe I saw something about this for med school, but I'm not sure. Re what Jane in NC said, I've seen many library school / information technology students receive teaching assistantships or other research positions. I'm not sure about education, though. I think programs like an MBA, however, are unlikely to fund.

[JennyD]

In addition to what's listed, I have also heard that some law schools assist (as in, pay off the loans for) those who work with the poor or other less well paying professions, in order to offset the financial disadvantage of not signing up to do high paying work, and some hospitals will pay off nurses' loans (this would be for RN/bachelor level degree) if they sign up to work for them after graduation. I feel like maybe I saw something about this for med school, but I'm not sure. Re what Jane in NC said, I've seen many library school / information technology students receive teaching assistantships or other research positions. I'm not sure about education, though. I think programs like an MBA, however, are unlikely to fund.

 

Yes, some law schools do have loan forgiveness programs for folks who go into public interest law, although from what I've read those are being cut back somewhat these days.

 

Years ago when a good friend graduated from med school she seriously considered going to a Native American community to work for a couple of years as part of a federal loan forgiveness program (a la Northern Exposure). I don't know if that sort of thing still exists, though.

[stripe]

I was thinking more about education - I have relatives who were part of the Teachers' Corps wherein they worked in a poor area of the US and got their teaching credential through coursework on the weekend. Teach for America / Americorps / Peace Corps are more like compensated service programs, but not particularly vocational training. It seems like maybe this would be useful but no longer exists. I did see various flavors of loan forgiveness/deferment for teachers and the Public Service loan forgiveness program (for those who work for "federal, state, or local government organization or agency and most charitable non-profit organizations"). I ran across this page on loan forgiveness too, which has a broader discussion of programs including law and medicine, including a National Health Service Corps which does include loan repayment for doctors who work in low income areas.

Edited March 27, 2011 by stripe

[memphispeg]

My dh and I went back to grad. school after working. We both had various types of funding, teaching, research stipends, student employment at gov't offices. We went for an MS in Geology and PhD in Neuroscience. We were better students after having worked for a few years after graduating college. We did not have kids or own much of anything during our student years. V. romantic!!!!

[MorganClassicalPrep]

I'm looking at graduate programs in history.

Funding for PhDs is fairly standard. Most of the schools I'm looking at offer multi-year packages of tuition remission and living stipend, with a combination of research assistant/reader/teaching assistant making up the requirements. As a general rule, bigger schools offer more money, but not always. (And by bigger, I mean more well-known in the field) The bigger schools also offer more in travel/research grants, which is important to consider.

 

Funding for M.A is less common, although schools that offer a terminal M.A. and no PhD are more likely to offer funded masters. The school I am at now offers funded M.A in history, but no PhD.

 

I've been told flat out by the professors I'm close to that I should not go into a PhD without funding. (Not that I could even if I wanted!)

 

I think this is all fairly standard across the humanities.

[KnitWit]

music

[Samuel]

Part of this depends on the graduate school as well as the program. Some universities and departments are better funded than others. Most people apply to several programs; if they get in, they may or may not be offered a funding "package," and then compare the offers they get from different schools (along with other considerations, like how good the program is and how well it fits their interests) to decide where to go.

 

This is very true for PhD programs in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Universities with strengths in music, arts, drama, etc, for example tend to offer support than conservatories and specialized schools. Some departments fund everyone, some only their top students (this is less common in the hard sciences). Some departments will guarantee funding for a certain number of years. Some make the process competitive after X years, or worse, year 1.

 

For master's level degrees, funding is harder to come by (and some schools do not offer MA/MS degrees if they offer a PhD, particularly in some sciences). This varies from field to field. Also, in many cases a MA is not particularly useful as a qualification in and of itself.

 

"Professional" programs rarely offer funding, at best, partial funding, except for the very best students (and even then, often not at the best schools). This is a problem if the profession is something like graphic design and the cost of the MA is 70K...

 

I can offer more specifics in the political science/intl. affairs area if that would be of interest.