Overview

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

• University, departmental, and program fellowships
• Assistantships in research and teaching 
• 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.  If a student holds a combination of financial support from the university, tuition and stipend components are combined to bring the student up to full support.  If an external award is received, university financial support is adjusted or coordinated to ensure the student is fully supported.

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 academic year, August 1 - July 31.

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 (August 1 - May 31).  Summer support is provided by the department at the standard university rates.

In subsequent years, a student’s department provides financial support for the academic year and the summer, typically in the form of a Research Assistantship. A student’s support may be also be provided by a Teaching Assistantship, other departmental funds, or external fellowship.

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