Graduate support not actually enough...?

Colleges & Universities University of Chicago
1

<p>Hi guys, not sure if you’ll be able to help, but UChicago is really appealing to me for graduate studies in humanities (Egyptology, specifically), but it looks like the funding from the university would actually come short:</p>

<p>It says [url=<a href=“Students | Division of the Humanities”>Students | Division of the Humanities]here[/url</a>] that the annual funding for grad students is $22,500, whereas [url=<a href=“http://gradfinancing.uchicago.edu/expenses/]here[/url”>http://gradfinancing.uchicago.edu/expenses/]here[/url</a>] it says that the estimated expenses are $26,080. I was under the impression that usually graduate places are fully funded, so am I missing something here?</p>

<p>I’d be reasonably attractive to have as a grad student, but I doubt I’d get anything like Fulbright simply because they simply don’t award them in my area.</p>

<p>Any help would be greatly appreciated. Am I simply going to have to work full-time for a while here in Sydney before taking up a position at Chicago, or do you think it would be possible to apply for funding elsewhere?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance. :)</p>

2

<p>$22,500 is a very good stipend amount, in comparison to most institutions. If you’re an international student, then you’ll need to be able to finance international travel yourself, which can be quite expensive. The University can’t be held accountable for such expenses.</p>

3

<p>It’s really a technical issue, although there’s a practical side of it, too. If you get the stipend, then the University is fully funding tuition and expenses (other than travel expenses) for the academic year. However, the summer stipend does not provide quite enough to satisfy immigration authorities that you have enough resources for 12 months. There’s a $3,600 gap.</p>

<p>Now, (1) you could probably live for the year on the $22,500, even after taxes, and (2) it shouldn’t be hard to earn an extra $3,600 over the course of the year. But apparently you are not going to get into the country without showing upfront that you have access to another $3,600.</p>

<p>This is something to talk to the University about, since it would be an issue faced by 100% of foreign graduate students. I am certain there are non-onerous ways to solve it.</p>

4

<p>From what I understand the stipend comes with no work requirement. Would a teaching or research assistantship add extra dollars? Perhaps you could investigate that option.</p>

5

<p>I am certain the $22,500 includes teaching salary. But maybe they could line up a 10-hour/week job in the library or the Oriental Institute. That would do it. Or there might even be a loan fund available to international students. Whether or not it was ever actually used by anyone, that would probably do it, too.</p>

6

<p>I just did a little brief research on Social Science Division site and it appears that teaching duties are separately compensated. I may be misreading something, however. If one receives a fellowship, it replaces the Divisional stipend and is not added to it. Some of those fellowship stipends are in excess of $30,000 per year.</p>

7

<p>I think the OP was pointing to a page that had the minimum guaranteed amounts, and that clearly said “stipend and teaching salary” or words to that effect. I’m sure there are fellowships that go over the minimum.</p>

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<p>I am a UChicago grad student in a different division (math), and my (standard departmental) 9 month stipend is pretty much what the OP listed, which includes teaching for the semesters that I have to teach, plus a separate supplement in the summer. I have found my expenses to be significantly less than said stipend, but then again I don’t really spend money on anything except food and rent…
As for making extra money, my contract says I am not supposed to hold other jobs during the school year. (This is a Physical Sciences Division-wide contract…the one for the Social Sciences division may have different terms).</p>

9

<p>Thanks heaps for the help. I don’t want to sound ungrateful at the possibility of attending such a great place, but it’s really an issue of practicalities.</p>

<p>

So you think it’s possible to get by? To be honest, I’m frightened of the fact that it’s only the 9 months which are actually funded, when I’ll have to be there year-round. During summer, do you just save up through the 9 months and then live off the savings + summer supplement? </p>

<p>Off the top of your head, is there any other source of income that’s realistic? </p>

<p>I know that travel over will be at my own cost, which is fair enough, but the other universities I’m looking at will essentially cover my tuition and living costs without me having to do anything other than work within the university itself.</p>

<p>Thanks again for everyone’s help. :)</p>

10

<p>I found the stipend at UChicago to be above average among the schools I was accepted by (and cost of living in Hyde Park by far the lowest), and am finding it much more than enough to live off–I’ll be surprised if I spend half of the $6250 estimate your link lists this summer. Except for students with dependents I haven’t really heard any complaints about the stipend here.
As for alternate sources of income, during the summer a lot of students in my department volunteer for the REU or teach summer school (there’s probably less of a demand for that sort of thing in math than Egyptology…)</p>

11

<p>Awesome - thank you so much for your help. Now I just need to figure out what to do with the GRE… :S</p>

12

<p>

Keep in mind that the cost of living in Chicago is high compared to most of the other cities that offer Egyptology (Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Haven, Memphis, Ann Arbor, Providence). It’s only a bargain compared to NYU, Berkeley, and UCLA, two of which currently aren’t accepting Egyptology applicants anyway. </p>

<p>In NELC, some students get a stipend for five years; others have to live without one for the first two years. The stipend is ~$19K.</p>