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Princeton will significantly increase stipends to support graduate students

By
Emily Aronson, Office of Communications
on Jan. 25, 2022, 10:39 a.m.
Image by Qihong Lu

Princeton University will increase graduate fellowship and stipend rates by an average of 25% to about $40,000 for doctoral candidates during the 10-month academic year. It is the University’s largest one-year increase in graduate student stipend rates.

“Even with Princeton’s longstanding support for and sizable investment in graduate education, the coming year’s increases are remarkable,” said Cole Crittenden, acting dean of the Princeton Graduate School. “The increases in stipend rates will ensure Princeton continues to attract and retain the very best graduate candidates from all backgrounds and from all over the U.S. and the world. Our ability to support graduate students as they push the boundaries of scholarship and research in new and exciting directions is a Princeton priority.”

Princeton guarantees funding for its enrolled, degree-seeking Ph.D. candidates for all years of regular program enrollment. Ph.D. candidates receive a combination of funding to cover tuition and fees, as well as a base stipend to cover estimated living expenses. Crittenden said graduate stipends were already competitive and that rates had increased annually.

“Our graduate students are engaged in important learning and research, and we do not want promising scholars in any discipline to decide not to pursue graduate study because of their personal financial situation,” Crittenden said. “This is important in all cases, but it is especially important for students who may be the first in their family to attend college as well as for graduate students who may have dependents.”

For the upcoming 2022-23 academic year, the 10-month stipend rate will increase for doctoral candidates in the school’s four divisions — the natural sciences, engineering, humanities and social sciences — as follows. Two-month summer funding is also available to all Ph.D. students through various sources.

Natural Sciences and Engineering:

  • Assistantship in Research (AR) stipend will increase from $31,720 to $40,000.
  • Assistantship in Instruction (AI) stipend will increase from $34,800 to $42,000.
  • University First-Year Fellowship will increase from $31,720 to $40,000.

Humanities and Social Sciences:

  • Assistantship in Instruction (AI) stipend will increase from $34,800 to $42,000.
  • University Fellowship will increase from $30,475 to $38,000.

The stipend increases will be funded through a combination of sources, including central budget funds supported by Princeton’s endowment. 

Robust stipends are among the many benefits available to Princeton doctoral students.

“The faculty advisers, support staff, research facilities, libraries and other resources for graduate students at Princeton are hard to beat,” Crittenden said. “We continue to be a leader in family-focused initiatives for graduate students. We offer University housing to a very large percentage of our graduate students, and when the Lake Campus graduate housing facilities are completed, we will be able to offer housing to any enrolled graduate student who wants it, just as we do to our undergraduate students.”

The range of Princeton’s resources allows students to focus on their studies and research. 

“The decision about where to pursue graduate studies should always be first and foremost about the people a graduate student will learn from and work with,” Crittenden said. “Our faculty and staff are unmatched in their devotion and commitment to graduate education and to graduate students.”

In addition to increases in graduate student funding, Princeton also has been a leader in its undergraduate financial aid program. More than 10,000 undergraduates have benefited from the University’s no-loan financial aid program since it was adopted in 2001. Princeton provides aid in the form of grants, which do not need to be repaid, and 83% of Princeton seniors graduate debt free. Approximately 61% of undergraduates receive financial aid and more than 22% of the Class of 2025 are eligible for federal Pell Grants for low-income students — reflecting the University’s enduring commitment to attract, enroll and support extraordinary students from all backgrounds.

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