Grad Student Aid in UK/USA for non EU/USA Residents
Grad Student Aid in UK/USA for non EU/USA Residents
With the variety of wisdom displayed on this board, I suspect it's a good place to post this query. I have two kids graduating in June 2018 in Canada. Both are dual Canadian/British citizens and both have spent their lives wandering around the world following their Dad's career. Currently they are legally Canadian residents for tax and education-support purposes, but I am strongly urging them to undertake their graduate studies in another English speaking country, USA/UK/Australia, etc., for broader world-wide academic exposure, especially valuable if either ends end up in academia. YOLO (you only live once). Both are thankfully doing well at the undergrad level and will probably be able to gain admission to grad school in a world top 20 university in each one's chosen field, Physics/AI for one, Earth Sciences/Eco for the other. But I doubt that either will land a Rhodes Scholarship. I suspect that neither are doing THAT well. I do not ask for grades but I do get snippets when they discuss with each other. Problems: Most countries tend to charge an arm and a leg as tuition fees for "foreign" students. E.g. even though both are British citizens, they have never spent 3 years resident in any EU country, hence they will be charged as "foreigners" at any university in the UK. Having had no connection with the USA, they will of course be termed as "foreign" students there. I suffered through this situation myself as a young lad. I got admitted to Stanford for grad studies but was informed I would not be given financial aid in the first year, hence I ended up doing grad studies in Canada despite my then strong preference for Stanford. I did undergrad in the UK. So, any suggestions as to how/where they can look for financial aid and the prospects thereof would be most welcome. Otherwise they either stay on in Canada or I get to foot a bill of around $100k p.a. for the two of them until, presumably they get financial aid for PhDs... As parents we'd much rather go very frugal in our own lives rather than land them with student debt.
Re: Grad Student Aid in UK/USA for non EU/USA Residents
Your experience with Stanford is atypical (I'm not sure if it would have been more typical in its day). I believe that most/all of the top PhD programs these days will guarantee you a teaching or research assistant position from the first semester. From the university's perspective, a lot of the value they get out of having a PhD program is having a ready supply of graders, tutorial session leaders, and lab grunts. So, at least in STEM (which I am most familiar with), I'm pretty sure that none of the well funded research departments are going to be stingy about offering such positions and will guarantee them for the first X semesters as part of your admission/financial aid package. The positions would almost certainly include a tuition waiver (including any applicable international student fee), health insurance, and a stipend that may or may not be enough to live off of.
As an example, I just took a look at Stanford's Physic's department's site: https://physics.stanford.edu/graduate-p ... al-support:
All of our incoming Physics Ph.D. students are supported financially by Research and Teaching Assistantships, which provide a salary during the academic year and a tuition allowance for 10 units per quarter.
Note that this sort-of financial support is different from a 'fellowship'. With a teaching/research assistant position, you basically have a job (typically 20 hours per week) and what you do is completely directed by and for the benefit of the the university. Fellowships are much more rare, but those lucky enough to get one have tuition and stipend paid for while pursuing their own research projects (which gives them more opportunity to publish as the lead author and get a head start on their dissertation).
As an example, I just took a look at Stanford's Physic's department's site: https://physics.stanford.edu/graduate-p ... al-support:
All of our incoming Physics Ph.D. students are supported financially by Research and Teaching Assistantships, which provide a salary during the academic year and a tuition allowance for 10 units per quarter.
Note that this sort-of financial support is different from a 'fellowship'. With a teaching/research assistant position, you basically have a job (typically 20 hours per week) and what you do is completely directed by and for the benefit of the the university. Fellowships are much more rare, but those lucky enough to get one have tuition and stipend paid for while pursuing their own research projects (which gives them more opportunity to publish as the lead author and get a head start on their dissertation).
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Re: Grad Student Aid in UK/USA for non EU/USA Residents
The rule of thumb for most US PhD programs is that if the graduate program doesn't offer full financial support (tuition waiver and stipend to live on), they don't really want you and you shouldn't accept their offer of admission. As far as I know this applies to foreign as well as US students. This is only true for PhD programs. Masters and professional degree programs are completely different, they don't generally give much financial aid.
De gustibus non disputandum est
Re: Grad Student Aid in UK/USA for non EU/USA Residents
Indeed my own situation was admission to an MSc program (and I did not get offered any financial aid or teaching/research assistantship at Stanford for the first year) way back in 1966. In the UK I was offered both financial aid and an entry into PhD1 without having to do an MSc but it was at my undergrad university. At age 21 I yearned to see the world... At the time both myself and family had nil financial resources. I do not know how much has changed since those days but at the time I did not hear of anyone who went straight from a BSc (no work experience) into a formal PhD1 designation at top US or Canadian universities (it was more common in the UK though). I did come across only one person in the late 1960s with only a BSc but also several years research employment who got admitted straight to a PhD program at my Canadian postgrad school. In a very few cases some MSc students were allowed to skip writing a formal MSc thesis and register for a PhD after a year formally registered for an MSc. Basically MSc1 then PhD2 but even that was very rare. Anyway it's encouraging to hear that these days places like Stanford often (sometimes?) waive tuition fees even for foreign students from MSc1. Actually if the fees are waived only after the completion of the first year then that's also great news. Recall I have two entering into MSc1 simultaneously; a double whammy I am not too worried about any subsequent PhD studies post their MSc's. If either kid is not good enough to be offered a reasonably hefty research/teaching assistantship then he/she should go get a job
I only learned about the differences between "fellowships" and bursaries recently. I gave an endowment a couple of years back to my postgrad alma mater in Canada to launch what I expected to be a single MSc fellowship. Lo and behold. The university sent me a whole bunch of names (about 5 annually) who got the funds from my endowment. Seems they preferred to split up the annual proceeds from the endowment into "bursaries". Noting my surprise at waaay more than only one annually, the lady then explained the differences. One lives and learns... Perhaps I should have deferred my endowment for a few years and paid for my own kids first
I only learned about the differences between "fellowships" and bursaries recently. I gave an endowment a couple of years back to my postgrad alma mater in Canada to launch what I expected to be a single MSc fellowship. Lo and behold. The university sent me a whole bunch of names (about 5 annually) who got the funds from my endowment. Seems they preferred to split up the annual proceeds from the endowment into "bursaries". Noting my surprise at waaay more than only one annually, the lady then explained the differences. One lives and learns... Perhaps I should have deferred my endowment for a few years and paid for my own kids first
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Re: Grad Student Aid in UK/USA for non EU/USA Residents
What cadreamer said (in sciences and engineering, in the US).
Make sure to apply for the Ph.D. We regarded the MS program as a cash cow, happy to take non-US students for the money.
For the Ph.D. programs- there was a small preference for US students, with many many non-US admitted to fill the empty slots. (US students are not into math/ science and working years for an advanced degree, so the supply is small). Expect to get full support- tuition and stipend- if it's a program that you belong in.
Make sure to apply for the Ph.D. We regarded the MS program as a cash cow, happy to take non-US students for the money.
For the Ph.D. programs- there was a small preference for US students, with many many non-US admitted to fill the empty slots. (US students are not into math/ science and working years for an advanced degree, so the supply is small). Expect to get full support- tuition and stipend- if it's a program that you belong in.
Re: Grad Student Aid in UK/USA for non EU/USA Residents
OP,
Do not know about other states in the USA. But, in Texas, if you are offered Teaching Assistantships or Research Assistantship, you pay in-state tuition. Or, if you are offered at least $2,000 merit scholarship, you pay in-state tuition.
In summary, as per STEM in the USA, the Ph.D. student will be offered something. Or else, they do not want you. This is independent of whether you are US resident or foreign student.
KlangFool
Do not know about other states in the USA. But, in Texas, if you are offered Teaching Assistantships or Research Assistantship, you pay in-state tuition. Or, if you are offered at least $2,000 merit scholarship, you pay in-state tuition.
In summary, as per STEM in the USA, the Ph.D. student will be offered something. Or else, they do not want you. This is independent of whether you are US resident or foreign student.
KlangFool
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Re: Grad Student Aid in UK/USA for non EU/USA Residents
In my experience, anyone intending to do a PhD in a STEM field at a top University in the US applies to the program directly from the undergraduate degree as an intended PhD candidate. If they accept you for PhD program, the research or teaching assistantship will begin on day 1. Whether you get a Masters on the way and whether or not you do anymore than just fill out a form to get it will depend on the program. The Masters ONLY program is a different animal.
Re: Grad Student Aid in UK/USA for non EU/USA Residents
Thanks all for clarification as to current practices. I'll impress on the kids to go whole hog and apply directly into PhD programs rather than MSc programs. They'd better sort out their long term preferences for specializations pronto! Basically next 6 months. Currently their "Physics" and "Earth System Science" covers rather expansive horizons, even though each sounded narrow enough out of high school
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Re: Grad Student Aid in UK/USA for non EU/USA Residents
How to get into a good Ph.D. programmsk wrote:Thanks all for clarification as to current practices. I'll impress on the kids to go whole hog and apply directly into PhD programs rather than MSc programs. They'd better sort out their long term preferences for specializations pronto! Basically next 6 months. Currently their "Physics" and "Earth System Science" covers rather expansive horizons, even though each sounded narrow enough out of high school
0. Know thyself. Apply to appropriately ranked schools.
1. Get good grades and GRE scores.
2. Be visible in classes where you get good grades.
3. Do a good project.
4. Get an enthusiastic letter from your project supervisor.
5. Diversify your applications because admissions depend on research contracts. Openings are small numbers and are sometimes zero.