Stipend questions, answered

It depends on the stipend-to-rent ratio, not the stipend alone. Many students in Boston, New York or the Bay Area make it work with roommates; others find the math punishing. Our cost-of-living-adjusted figures show what each stipend is actually worth city by city. Compare the adjusted numbers before you fall in love with a location. Comparing PhD stipend by university on adjusted numbers is the only comparison that matters.

In most funded US programs, tuition is waived or covered alongside the stipend, but fees sometimes are not. We track tuition and fee coverage per program because a “full” offer that bills you $3,000 a year in fees is not the same as one that does not. Always check the fine print behind the headline number.

Stipends are taxable income in the US, so take-home runs roughly 10 to 15% below the headline for most students, varying by state. Our per-program pages note whether published figures are pre- or post-tax where programs disclose it. Budget on the after-tax number, not the offer letter’s.

Many top programs guarantee five years through TA or RA positions, but policies differ by department, not just university. We flag guaranteed funding years for each of the 798 programs so you can filter for five-year guarantees. A guarantee in writing beats a verbal promise every time.

A $46,000 stipend in an expensive coastal city can be worth less than $36,000 in a low-cost college town once rent, taxes and fees are counted. Benefits like health insurance and summer funding shift the math further. Our adjusted comparisons rank the PhD programs that pay the most in real terms, not just on paper.