Overview

In general, the types of funding provided to regularly enrolled Ph.D. candidates consist of:

• University, departmental, and program fellowships
• Research and teaching assistantships
• External financial support

Over the course of regular enrollment, it is common for a student to have their financial support provided by a combination of funding sources.  In general, if a student receives a combination of financial support from the university in a given term or year, the tuition and stipend components of their total support are adjusted proportionately.  If an external award is received, any University awards are adjusted accordingly.

While Princeton provides all of its first-year Ph.D. students with fellowship funding to allow students to devote themselves full time to graduate study, funding for subsequent years of study varies by division.  The general funding patterns for Ph.D. candidates are described below, by division.

Humanities and Social Sciences

A typical first-year student entering the Humanities and Social Sciences divisions receives a University Fellowship, which provides full-tuition and student health plan fees plus a 12-month stipend for the year beginning in September.

In subsequent years, returning Ph.D. students in the Humanities and Social Sciences departments typically continue to receive a University Fellowship as their base financial support, unless they have alternate sources of funding.

Natural Sciences and Engineering

A typical first-year student entering the Natural Sciences and Engineering divisions receives a First-Year Fellowship, which provides full-tuition and student health plan fees plus a 10-month stipend.  Summer support is provided by the department at the standard university rates for Assistantship in Research.

In subsequent years for Ph.D. candidates in the Natural Sciences and Engineering divisions, a student’s department provides financial support for the academic year and the summer, typically in the form of an Assistantship in Research. A student’s support may be also be provided by Assistantships in Instruction, other departmental funds, or external fellowships.

For more information about general graduate school funding sources, please visit the Costs and Funding page.