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Family Focused Initiatives

The Graduate School has a continuum of programs and policies in place to ensure that graduate degree candidates can meet the needs and demands of personal and family life while successfully pursuing their academic programs. Family focused initiatives include:
  • Childbirth Accommodation and Adoption Policy
This policy has two parts, as it seeks to acknowledge the demands on and accommodate the needs of graduate degree candidates who give birth. It also provides relief to graduate degree candidates faced with the additional time demands of being the primary caregiver for an infant during that critical first year of life. For graduate students who give birth, 12 weeks of maternity leave are provided during which the birth mother continues to receive financial support, and teaching and other academic obligations are suspended. While applications are required, the benefit is automatic. Also, birth mothers or primary caregivers who are pursuing doctorates will be eligible for an extension of academic deadlines that provides for one additional term of financial support to complete their studies for each child they give birth to or adopt. More information is available on the Childbirth Accommodation and Adoption Policy website.
  • Student Child Care Assistance Program
This program provides taxable grants, based on total, annual household income, to eligible graduate degree candidates with pre-kindergarten children to help them meet the cost of child care.  The grants are portable and can be used to pay for a wide range of possible arrangements from in-home care to licensed day care centers. The maximum grant for one eligible child is $5,000; the maximum grant for more than one eligible child is $10,000. To be eligible, the full-time student may be unmarried or may have a spouse or partner who is employed at least 50% time, is a full-time student matriculated in a degree or certificate program, or is eligible for and seeking at least 50% employment. More information, including additional details about the eligibility criteria, is available on the Student Child Care Assistance Program website.
  • Work Options Backup Care
When a disruption in normal caregiving arrangements interferes with their work or study obligations, graduate degree candidates responsible for the care of a child, adult or elder can pay $4 per hour for in-home care, for up to 3 dependents, or $2 per hour for per dependent for center-based care. The person requiring the care does not have to reside with the graduate student. More information is available on the Work Options Backup Care website.
  • Carebridge
Work-life counselors offer assistance addressing personal issues related to stress, depression, drugs, alcohol, abuse, personal finances, relationships, marriage and parenting. They also help graduate degree candidates find child care arrangements that meet their needs. More information is available on the Carebridge website.
  • Lotsa Helping Hands
Princeton University has contracted with Lotsa Helping Hands to provide graduate degree candidates with a no-cost, confidential Web-based tool during times of need to build a community, known as your own "circle of community." You or your family members can coordinate responsibilities, assist with organizing one's activities of daily living, and communicate with your family, friends and neighbors. Are you caring for a loved one or are you responsible for the well-being of an elderly family member? Perhaps you are a parent of a newborn. Do you need a simpler way to communicate with your family or community about the health of your loved one? Read more about Lotsa Helping Hands at the Human Resources website .

  • Dependent Care Travel Fund for Graduate Students
Initiated with a $10,000 grant from the Elsevier Foundation to help graduate degree candidates and postdoctoral fellows in the sciences and engineering, the Graduate School funds this program also for the humanities and social sciences. Graduate students pursuing research at Princeton can apply for funds to pay for dependent care on site or at home while they attend academic conferences or similar events. This program meets the needs of students and postdocs to present research that is crucial for the development of their careers. More information is available on the Dependent Care Travel Fund website.
  • Mortgage Program
Through a partnership with Countrywide Home Loans, graduate degree candidates can buy homes in any state for reduced costs. Students are able to choose from many different programs at competitive interest rates based on their income, credit and funds available for down payment. More information is available on the Mortgage Program website.