Survey: Grad Student Stipends Rising, New Appointments Dropping

Prospective graduate students eagerly awaiting word from schools about the size of their stipends for the next academic year will undoubtedly be pleased to learn that the median stipend paid to teaching and research assistants in university biological and physical sciences departments rose during the 1991-92 school year as compared with 1989-90, according to a recent study. The survey was conducted by the Office of Research and Graduate Studies at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. The good news, however, is tempered by another finding of the study--that the number of first-year teaching and research appointments declined in physical and biological sciences departments, as did these departments' share of the overall number of assistantships. A total of 80 United States universities provided assistantship stipend data for first-year grad students in 2,892 science and nonscience departments. The study was conducted in cooperation with, and was partially supported by, the Council of Graduate Schools. Area of Interest Minimum Median Maximum Agriculture $1,200 $8,712 $16,854 Arts & Humanities 300 6,000 16,854 Biological Sciences 1,200 9,279 22,000 Business & Management 792 5,500 16,854 Education 639 6,660 20,000 Engineering 1,200 8,400 20,103 Health Sciences 1,000 7,568 23,026 Physical Sciences 1,500 9,000 16,854 Social Sciences 1,350 6,750 16,854 Source: Office of Research and Graduate Studies, University of Nebraska, Lincoln GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIPS: STIPEND LEVELS BY AREA OF INTEREST, 1991-92 Area of Interest Minimum Median Maximum Value Value Value Agriculture $1,643 $8,712 $16,500 Arts & Humanities 1,000 6,606 14,406 Biological Sciences 2,200 8,712 14,406 Business & Management 1,600 6,500 14,406 Education 639 6,552 14,406 Engineering 849 8,100 16,050 Health Sciences 1,000 6,552 23,130 Physical Sciences 894 8,753 15,000 Social Sciences 1,000 7,000 14,406 Source: Office of Research and Graduate Studies, University of Nebraska, Lincoln The data were compared with figures from a previous study conducted by the University of Nebraska for the 1989-90 academic year. Fifty of the institutions participating in the 1991-92 study also took part in the earlier survey. Among the findings was that the median stipend for graduate teaching assistants rose 10.3 percent, to $8,712, during the 1991-92 school year. In the physical sciences, the median stipend increased 10.7 percent, to $8,753, making this the highest-paid category. However, the survey found that there were fewer first-year appointments in 1991-92 than in 1989-90. Biological sciences departments named only 1,359 teaching assistants, compared with 1,449 in 1989-90, a 6.2 percent drop. In physical sciences departments, first-year teaching assistant appointments fell 25.5 percent, to 2,978. "It would be a reasonable hypothesis to state that the poor economic conditions led to a decrease in teaching assistants being hired," says Merlin Lawson, dean of graduate studies at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. "Often, the teaching assistant budget is the first to go," he says. "But departments still need to be competitive on a national basis and protect their stipend levels." So although the stipend allocation may be a discretionary item in a de-partment's budget, if you get any increase in money at all, you put it back into stipends." Looking toward the future, others caution that the uncertain economy will continue to dampen the outlook for increased funding and new positions. "Graduate enrollment nationwide is rising about 2 percent a year," says Harvey Knull, dean of the graduate school at the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks. "And over the last two to three years, the number of graduate applications is increasing across the country. "But many institutions of higher education, especially state institutions, are having some difficulties because they're not being supported by their legislators. "Over time, if this continues, I do expect there to be an erosion of teaching assistant dollars. We're in a state of flux at the moment," he adds. "The physical and life science departments are jealously guarding their positions." On a weighted average basis, which takes into account differing numbers of stipends at various levels of pay, the median stipend paid by biological sciences departments to teaching assistants rose $932, or 12.17 percent, to $8,592, in the 1991-92 school year from two years earlier. Physical sciences departments paid an extra 9.67 percent, to $8,706. Among biological sciences departments, 55.37 percent of those responding said that stipend levels are determined by the student's academic rank--such as whether he or she has a bachelor's or master's degree--during the appointment. Such rankings mattered in only 38.1 percent of the physical sciences departments. The survey also found that first-year teaching assistants in agriculture departments put in the highest mean number of hours per week, at 19. Both biological and physical sciences first-year teaching assistants logged 18 hours per week. The median value of net stipends--which factor out paid tuition for a graduate teaching assistant--was up 10.75 percent, or $801, to $8,251 in biological sciences departments. Net median stipends were up 11.5 percent, or $840, to $8,137 in physical sciences departments. Among research assistants, the median stipend was $9,279, up 10 percent, in biological sciences departments, while the stipends rose 12.5 percent, to $9,000, in physical sciences departments. Again, though, the number of first-year appointments in biological sciences departments was down 33.3 percent, to 797, while in physical sciences departments, first-year appointments declined 40.3 percent, to 694. As with teaching assistantships, research positions were limited by economic variables, which also constrained the availability of funding from outside organizations, such as grants from foundations, a source of stipend financing at some schools. "Most graduate students are supported by assistantships," notes Gordhan Patel, dean of the graduate school at the University of Georgia, Athens, and a zoology and biochemistry professor. "The kind we have are where students get money from outside funding." Patel, however, is more optimistic than some other academics about future prospects for grad students. "Fortunately, my administration has been supportive," he says. "We have a good chance of being stable, with some increase in the level of stipends--maybe 2 percent in the 1993-94 year." The median value of net stipends, subtracting such items as tuition, was $8,649 in biological sciences, a 14.57 percent increase. In physical sciences, the median net stipend was up 16.05 percent, to $8,400. The survey also found that research assistants in biological sciences departments logged 19 hours per week, while their counterparts in physical sciences departments put in 18 hours per week. Edward R. Silverman is a freelance writer based in Millburn, N.J.

Survey: Grad Student Stipends Rising, New Appointments Dropping

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