Part Five: Funding
*Please note this page is still under construction. More information is forthcoming.
Thinking about funding goes hand in hand with thinking about where to apply. Most PhD programs provide a funding package for four or five years which covers tuition and a living stipend. Depending on the program, you may be asked to work as teaching assistant as part of your funding package or you may be able to seek out teaching assistantships on top of your package. In addition, departments will also have smaller, recurring or one-off funding opportunities available for language study, fieldwork, and conference travel.
Funding structures are not standardized across universities, so do not hesitate to ask the department you are interested in to provide a breakdown of when funds flow in and when funds flow out. For example, some questions you might consider asking your department include: Will you be paid bi-weekly or monthly? When is tuition due and who pays it? How does health insurance work? How does funding work if you are away for fieldwork? What happens if you bring in external funding (from a government agency, or institutions like American Institute of Pakistan Studies)? These questions are meant to provide thinking points for common issues around funding.
If you have multiple offers from graduate schools, and would like to attend School A, whose funding package is less than that of School B, you can share the offer from School B with School A to see if the latter will revise your funding. Usually, departments keep some funding on reserve for precisely these funding-matching reasons in order to entice the strongest applicants to their department. Asking for a higher offer to match what you already have is expected behavior and will not have any negative repercussions.
When comparing funding offers across schools, do pay attention to the living costs. Schools in expensive areas often account for the increased living expenditure when making their offers, whereas those in other areas may offer less funding, but their package can often lead to a higher net funding after accounting for living expenses.
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To proceed to the Samples page, click here.
Thinking about funding goes hand in hand with thinking about where to apply. Most PhD programs provide a funding package for four or five years which covers tuition and a living stipend. Depending on the program, you may be asked to work as teaching assistant as part of your funding package or you may be able to seek out teaching assistantships on top of your package. In addition, departments will also have smaller, recurring or one-off funding opportunities available for language study, fieldwork, and conference travel.
Funding structures are not standardized across universities, so do not hesitate to ask the department you are interested in to provide a breakdown of when funds flow in and when funds flow out. For example, some questions you might consider asking your department include: Will you be paid bi-weekly or monthly? When is tuition due and who pays it? How does health insurance work? How does funding work if you are away for fieldwork? What happens if you bring in external funding (from a government agency, or institutions like American Institute of Pakistan Studies)? These questions are meant to provide thinking points for common issues around funding.
If you have multiple offers from graduate schools, and would like to attend School A, whose funding package is less than that of School B, you can share the offer from School B with School A to see if the latter will revise your funding. Usually, departments keep some funding on reserve for precisely these funding-matching reasons in order to entice the strongest applicants to their department. Asking for a higher offer to match what you already have is expected behavior and will not have any negative repercussions.
When comparing funding offers across schools, do pay attention to the living costs. Schools in expensive areas often account for the increased living expenditure when making their offers, whereas those in other areas may offer less funding, but their package can often lead to a higher net funding after accounting for living expenses.
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To proceed to the Samples page, click here.
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