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I am attending a PhD as well in a few months ... my assistantship includes full-tuition, insurance and a stipend of $500-$800 a month (ouch!) Depends on the school of course, that you need to make a serious consideration. There are 2 years of TA, 2 years of research work @ 20 hours a week for 9 months. Grants are available almost all year round, you should look into that as well. I plan on taking grants during summers to travel abroad for research.
A teaching assistantship is work. If you do it, you should get paid. Don't think of it as a hand-out or a freebie. You will check a lot of papers, sometimes you will do the lectures for the professor. If it's in the sciences, this usually means taking care of the labs and doing tutorials. It can cut into your own study time and research time. Yes, the pay is usually higher for the amount of hours you put in, but not if you also have to study, and maybe get a second job to avoid loans and to live comfortably.
Not my first choice. But, it's good for the resume especially if you plan to teach later. You can claim that you already have some teaching experience.
On the other hand, I went to a grad school that didn't have an undergraduate component. So anybody accepted to the school was an automatic research assistant. You get paid for doing research that you would normally do to get your doctorate anyway. That's a deal.
Both TA and RA positions usually carry a tuition waver. So take that into consideration, but be careful of some deals that tell you the RA is worth 30K or something "counting tuition waver" - that may amount to something more like 20K after you pay tuition, matriculation, insurance, etc.
Most good science and engineering departments will offer an RA position. If they have an undergraduate, you may have to do a TA first (depending on how many TA's they need).
Shop around. If you are in a high need field (not a lot of people apply: like the sciences or vet school), you may be able to get better deals - moneywise (scholarships may also be offered on top of the RA position). Of course, the quality of the school or department also matters . . . so deliberate carefully.
Both TA and RA positions usually carry a tuition waver. So take that into consideration, but be careful of some deals that tell you the RA is worth 30K or something "counting tuition waver" - that may amount to something more like 20K after you pay tuition, matriculation, insurance, etc.
I also had a co-worker once tell me that her tuition waver counted as taxable income. So she was responsible for paying taxes on something like $36K even though she only brought in about $15k.
I don't know if that was a school policy (St Louis University), state tax law, or a misunderstanding on her part. That's certainly not something I've ever experienced or heard from anyone else.
I also had a co-worker once tell me that her tuition waver counted as taxable income. So she was responsible for paying taxes on something like $36K even though she only brought in about $15k.
I don't know if that was a school policy (St Louis University), state tax law, or a misunderstanding on her part. That's certainly not something I've ever experienced or heard from anyone else.
The school should send you a W-4 with the correct information on it. It never hurst to consult a tax preparer, either. They don't all charge an arm and a leg.
I also had a co-worker once tell me that her tuition waver counted as taxable income. So she was responsible for paying taxes on something like $36K even though she only brought in about $15k.
I don't know if that was a school policy (St Louis University), state tax law, or a misunderstanding on her part. That's certainly not something I've ever experienced or heard from anyone else.
If you are a research assistant, it is counted as taxable income. If you are a teaching assistant, it isn't. I have no idea why and I think it is a stupid rule in the tax code. The good thing is, you get pretty much all of it back off your taxes, but I end up getting hit with an extra $500 tax bill every semester as a result.
I also had a co-worker once tell me that her tuition waver counted as taxable income. So she was responsible for paying taxes on something like $36K even though she only brought in about $15k.
I don't know if that was a school policy (St Louis University), state tax law, or a misunderstanding on her part. That's certainly not something I've ever experienced or heard from anyone else.
I think someone gave you some misinformation. I have been a funded doctoral student for 3 years. (University of Missouri - St. Louis). Tuition is TAX FREE. The university will send you a form for your taxes. Although it is declared - it is NOT taxable income. As a funded student, the tuition is free, while my salary as a Research Assistant, Teaching Assistant, etc IS taxable income. This information is also readily available online from the IRS in the education and scholarship section.
I think someone gave you some misinformation. I have been a funded doctoral student for 3 years. (University of Missouri - St. Louis). Tuition is TAX FREE. The university will send you a form for your taxes. Although it is declared - it is NOT taxable income. As a funded student, the tuition is free, while my salary as a Research Assistant, Teaching Assistant, etc IS taxable income. This information is also readily available online from the IRS in the education and scholarship section.
As a funded master's student, it isn't for any of the research assistants in my entire program...we all have to pay taxes on it. For the teaching assistants, tuition is tax-free. Texas has no state income tax so it is a federal thing.
It also may depend on if your actual department is simply dropping the tuition costs, or actually paying it to the university. If they are just waiving it, it may be tax free. In my case (and everyone else in my department), your tuition/stipend/health insurance is paid out of the research grant that you are working on.
Most Universities have Fellowships that are truly merit based award + tution waiver without any service commitment. The number of University fellows are very few.
Most people get RA/TA positions.RA/TA are departmental awards in lieu of some service. TA is tutoring, grading papers and, at times, taking classes. 20 hrs/wk. RA is assisting, usually one professor, in his/her research effort. Setting experiments, assisting with data collection, programming etc. RA is paid for 20 hrs/wk but usually works waay more than that. In summer, as the class offering is reduced, TA's usually also work in computer labs, libraries, etc. You have to maintain at least a 3.0 GPA to be a TA/RA. Usually, RA/TA comes with a full tution waiver.
I really can't add more than what has been said - yep, these are a great opportunity!
Especially with a research assistantship, you can have opportunities to publish, and to work close with profs (which can open doors).
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