I am curious how most students completing their PhD fund themselves. My work is making things difficult, since they do reimburse, but only certain programs, in certain areas, in certain departments, etc. etc. Do most fund themselves, get schoalrships, internships (especially interested in TUI students). Thanks, Kristie
I looked for funding sources when I went through NSU back in the mid-1990's. Except for some limited support from my employer, I didn't find any. Part-time programs are virtually all pay as you go. Unlike traditional programs where PhD students pay no tuition, live on a small stipends and teach or research in return, part-time programs charge high tuition to mid-career folks who presumably can pay. There may be a few exceptions (I think TUI may have some support). Don't expect much. Regards - Andy
Earning an MBA secured me an immediate raise, which I am putting toward my PhD tuition. My employer also reimburses me for about half of my classes. Without tuition reimbursement, I would not have been able to get my MBA or enroll in the doctoral program at TUI. My company restricts tuition reimbursement to schools accredited by one of the six regional accrediting bodies. Even other US Dept. of Education approved, nationally accredited programs are excluded. This helped me narrow my choice of schools considerably.
TUI does have a Graduate Assistant program for qualified PhD Students. It provides a tuition reduction. Tthis results in a larger refund from the student loan check. During the dissertation phase, only 4 credits are taken at a time which allows for even more of a refund. This is great source of funding for the research.
Originally posted by kristie7 I am curious how most students completing their PhD fund themselves. (especially interested in TUI students).>>>>> I think it also depends on your program and your GRE scores. If you're an education major (or other less competitive field), have a GRE higher than 1200 or so, and are willing to go full time, then your chances of securing a fellowship somewhere are pretty good. But if you're ina competititive major (e.g. theology) then your chances are slim indeed. If you want to go part time, I think you'll have to break the bank to do so. Interestingly, I've dug around certain programs where every admitted student receives a fellowship, but so far, I've only seen it in some selct biochem programs. Ben
Originally posted by kristie7 I am curious how most students completing their PhD fund themselves. (especially interested in TUI students).>>>>> I think it also depends on your program and your GRE scores. If you're an education major (or other less competitive field), have a GRE higher than 1200 or so, and are willing to go full time, then your chances of securing a fellowship somewhere are pretty good. But if you're ina competititive major (e.g. theology) then your chances are slim indeed. If you want to go part time, I think you'll have to break the bank to do so. Interestingly, I've dug around certain programs where every admitted student receives a fellowship, but so far, I've only seen it in some selct biochem programs. Ben
I got my PhD in Germany where (in 1984) these were no fees. I wrote and defended my thesis in English. I ran a correspondence college to finance my research and travel (Africa, Russia, UK).
It saddens me that our book "Bears' Guide to Finding Money for College" is growing more out of date every day, with no signs of an update. It focused on the older, the non-traditional, the part-time, and the graduate learner, and had lots of good stuff in it. One of the most relevant, still, and one on which we got a lot of happy feedback, was the notion of foundation grants for individuals. There are some 2,000 or so foundations that do this, often making what for them are very modest grants ($5,000 to $10,000) to fund a year of graduate study. The book Foundation Grants for Individuals, which larger public libraries have, is the 2nd best place to start. The best is one of the four Foundation Libraries, which are in NY, Chicago, San Francisco, and the fourth city I can't remember.
Having contact nearly every day with students of many different clinical stripes – psychology, medicine, social work, nursing, OT, recreation, etc – I’ve come to realize that as a baby boomer I had it a lot easier as far as financial support in graduate school was concerned. I have a lot of respect for the sacrifices today’s students make. Sometimes I muse about how long it will take to pay off fairly substantial amounts. There was so much NIMH money available when I started my MSW in 1973 that the only people who didn’t receive money were those who didn’t want the really minimal burden of an assistantship. I made so much working as a laborer for US Steel summers in the 60s (lots of overtime while we were pumping out steel for big cars and the Vietnam War) I could pretty well afford undergraduate. I took out one student loan during my doctoral years which I used to buy a stereo and a motorcycle. It seemed like a wise investment at the time. Most psychology interns I encounter who are from university-based programs received fellowships; very few students who attend free-standing schools seem to receive support.
