Wash U Graduate Program in Mathematics : Financial Aid

All current full-time students in our Ph.D. program are being financially supported. Aid usually consists of one of the following:

• A University Fellowship: a stipend of $17,000 for nine months (in the 2007-2008 academic year) plus a full-tuition scholarship. For first year students, these fellowships require no duties; all first year students receive a University Fellowship.
• A Teaching Assistantship: A stipend of about $17,000 for nine months (in the 2007-2008 academic year) plus a full-tuition scholarship. Associated with these assistantships are departmental duties requiring up to twelve hours a week. (Those who are not native English speakers will be required to demonstrate proficiency in English.) Following the first year of support with a University Fellowship, a student who performs satisfactorily will usually continue receiving a comparable level of support in the form of a Teaching Assistantship.
• In addition, all students not receiving twelve month support are eligible for summer support of up to $3,000 per student.

If you qualify for financial aid, and if you make normal progress toward your degree, the aid will usually be renewed for a total of five years.

Other forms of aid are:

• Research Assistantships: These carry no teaching responsibilities.
• Dissertation Fellowships: For Ph.D. candidates in their last year of graduate work. These carry no teaching responsibilities.
• NSF support.

A Research Assistantship is usually given to a student for one semester in the year after completion of the written qualifying exam. Final-year students who are concentrating on the writing of their dissertations may be eligible for either Research Assistantships or Dissertation Fellowships.

NSF support comes from an adviser's research grant, and a student being supported this way has no teaching duties.

Additional opportunities are available for women interested in becoming college or university professors:

Mrs. Spencer T. Olin Fellowships: Open to any female graduate or prospective graduate of an undergraduate institution in the United States. Women who graduated can compete for one of the more generous aid programs in the United States. Each fellowship provides a living expense stipend plus full tuition. Each award can be renewed until the doctoral program is completed or for a maximum of four years. Application forms for this fellowship are available by writing to the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.

Other than what has been mentioned above, we have no separate application form for financial aid. To be considered for such aid, you need only check "yes" after the financial aid question on the standard application.

We will be glad to provide more information about any or all of these options. At this juncture, the important point to recognize is that means of financial support should not be a major concern when you are considering graduate study towards a Ph. D. in the Washington University Math Department. Generally speaking, if you are admitted, you are supported. Note also that not only is the financial support we give on the high end of what other universities offer, but St. Louis is a fairly inexpensive place to live.

Duties starting in your second year might include proctoring exams, grading papers, tutoring calculus students and leading discussion sections. Later on, graduate students teach their own classes in the University's summer and continuing education programs. We make an effort to require only a reasonable amount of time for such duties, so that students are free to focus as much as possible on their studies.

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