Awards and Financial Assistance
University Awards. Two principal sources of graduate student financial support at Princeton University are University-sponsored fellowships and service awards. Applicants and continuing students also are encouraged to apply for support by external agencies and programs.
University fellowships generally are granted to all entering doctoral candidates for their first year of study, thereby freeing them from the need to conduct research activities or the obligation to teach in the first year. In some cases, the first-year University fellowship is replaced by an external fellowship (such as a Mellon Fellowship or a National Science Foundation [NSF] award) or by company sponsorship; in others, students may be admitted on a self-paying basis.
After the first year of study, it is common for the first-year University fellowship to be continued in the humanities, the social sciences, the School of Architecture, and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. In engineering and the natural sciences, it is standard for students to have their financial support replaced by assistantships in teaching and/or assistantships in research, or some combination of these two service awards. In the humanities and social sciences (including the School of Architecture and the Woodrow Wilson School), there are also opportunities in later years of study for teaching assistantships plus the occasional assistantship in research.
Master’s candidates often are not provided full fellowship funding in either their first year or in continuing years of study. These applicants are required to complete the Financial Resources Form in the Guide to Graduate Admission. Students who apply to a master’s program will not have their application considered without providing full information on the Financial Resources Form.
Fellowships. These awards are meant to assist students in devoting themselves full time to graduate study. They include University-funded fellowships, fellowships sponsored by corporate foundations and private donors, and various government-supported fellowships and traineeships.
Fellowships from University funds in 2007-08 range from $17,025, representing an award of one half tuition and one half of the required SHP fee, to $63,050, representing full tuition, the SHP fee and the maximum maintenance allowance for the year. Maintenance allowances are taxable and are paid in 12 monthly installments, beginning with the last business day in September. Fellowship amounts in excess of tuition and the SHP fee are taxable.
The Graduate School can cancel or reduce a student’s fellowship award if the student fails to maintain satisfactory academic standing. The Graduate School also can raise or lower maintenance allowances in accordance with the recommendations of the departments, the financial needs of students, and the availability of funds.
Students receiving a fellowship from a non-Princeton source are expected to accept that award and to notify immediately in writing the Office of the Associate Dean for Administrative Affairs. A non-Princeton award may be held concurrently with a University award, although Princeton reserves the right in all such cases to adjust the monetary value of its fellowship award according to Graduate School policies. Full tuition grants from outside sources in all cases replace a Princeton tuition award. The University will not permit students to waive out of its mandatory SHP.
Service Awards. Assistantships in instruction (AIs) and assistantships in research (ARs) are service awards offered to continuing students. Assistantships in research are given principally in engineering and the natural sciences, and can be offered as full appointments or as fractions of full appointments. In either case, an assistantship appointment always replaces a previously awarded University fellowship.
Aid applicants and continuing students are automatically considered for any available assistantships by their department. Negotiations concerning the appointment of an assistant are carried on by the department directly with the student.
Assistantships in Instruction. Depending upon the teaching needs of their department, AIs may be involved in some combination of classroom teaching, laboratory supervision, and grading in undergraduate courses. (Graduate students are not regularly appointed to teach in graduate-level courses.) A full appointment of six semester hours per term usually requires at least 18 hours of work per week: six contact hours plus up to 12 hours of preparation. In 2007–08, AIs on full, six-hour appointments for each of the two terms of the academic year receive compensation of $22,000 if they have not passed the general examination, and $23,750 if they have. Students holding non-Princeton fellowships may be appointed as AIs, and are paid at standard assistantship rates. In such cases, a teaching assistantship cannot exceed a six-semester-hour appointment per year. Such supplementation is not encouraged, and departments should plan to use teaching services of students when they are not holding such fellowships. Compensation of AIs is taxable. Students enrolled in absentia may not hold teaching assistantships.
When a department requires less than full-time teaching assistance, partial assistantships in instruction may be offered, and the compensation is prorated according to the amount of time devoted to teaching. An assistantship in instruction always replaces, in full or in part, a previously awarded University fellowship maintenance allowance.
Assistantships in Research. Assistants in research (ARs) are normally expected to devote approximately 20 hours per week to the research activities of the principal investigator with whom they are working. In 2007–08, ARs on full appointment for the academic year receive stipends of $21,000 if they have not passed the general examination, and $22,000 if they have. This compensation is taxable. The hours worked are arranged by the department, but they are arranged in such a way as to constitute an integral part of the student’s training. The student is expected, in addition, to carry a full program of study.
Less-than-full-time assistantships in research may be offered, and the compensation is prorated according to the amount of time devoted to research. This compensation is taxable.
Summer Support. Provision for summer support during all years of study is offered to all Ph.D. students in humanities and social science departments. Students in engineering and the natural sciences are normally supported through their department.
Educational Loans. Since it is not possible to support all students with full tuition and fellowship or assistantship grants, every student who is a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident may apply to borrow up to need under the terms of the Federal Stafford Loan Program after admission and thereafter to a maximum of $20,500, and/or under the Perkins Loan Program to a maximum of $6,000. Participation is limited to students who meet the federal eligibility criteria at the time they submit their loan application.
Ford Foundation Engineering Loans. Students in engineering and science who intend to pursue teaching careers may be eligible to borrow up to $3,000 under the Ford Foundation Engineering Loan Program.
Short-Term Loans. Loans also are available to assist students with short-term financial need. Generally, a short-term loan is authorized to meet an immediate financial need and must be repaid within the same academic year. International students are eligible for short-term loans and the Ford Foundation Engineering Loan Program.
For additional information on these loan programs, students should contact the Graduate School, 104 Clio Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544; call (609) 258-3028; or visit the Graduate School’s Web site at gradschool.princeton.edu/financial/loans/.
Federal Work-Study Program. Graduate students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents and who plan to work on campus during the academic year or in the summer may apply for funding through the Federal Work-Study Program. To be eligible for participation in this program, a student must (1) show financial need as measured by a need-analysis form and (2) maintain satisfactory academic progress while employed.
Among eligible students, preference is given to students who show the greatest need. Participation also depends upon the annual allocation of work-study funds received by the University from the U.S. Department of Education. Students may work to earn the difference between Princeton’s estimate of their educational cost and other financial aid and resources that are available. Payment is on an hourly basis, and work must be approved by the Graduate School.
Newly admitted graduate students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents may apply for the Federal Work-Study Program after they have accepted Princeton’s offer of admission. Interested students may contact the Office of the Associate Dean for Student Life, 111 Clio Hall, for further information and application materials.
Students not eligible for work-study funding may still work, under the general guidelines of the section on employment below.