2008-9 BEST GRADUATE STUDENT STIPENDS - Graduate Student Stipend Comparison - what PhD programs in biological sciences pay their graduate students

	AMERICA'S BEST GRADUATE SCHOOL STIPENDS 2008-2009 EDITION SALARIES FOR PhD CANDIDATES IN THE BIOLOGICAL & BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES

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Last update: 10.26.09 23:15 EST. Get updates on Twitter: @wendypedia or twitter.com/wendypedia

This is the 2008-2009 edition of America's Best Graduate School Stipends - or How Much Money It Takes to Lure Aspiring Biomedical Scientists into a PhD Program.

Last year, Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City became the first school to report a base stipend over $30,000. This year, Gerstner Sloan-Kettering and Rockefeller join Weill Cornell in the elite $30k club - at roughly $31,700 each. ~~However, Gerstner Sloan-Kettering takes the top spot with a free MacBook Pro upon arrival!~~ Rockefeller's base stipend is slightly lower than its Manhattan cohorts, but it takes the top spot with heavily subsidized housing and a generous $2,500 annual research allowance (which increases to $3,000 in the third year). Besides consistently setting the bar for the highest stipends, these schools also offer graduate housing that is generously subsidized - making the cost-of-living for students considerably lower than other Manhattanites. In a surprise move, Boston University Medical Center increased its base stipend from $28,000 in 07-08 to $30,000

Usually placing just behind the NYC schools, Harvard University has consistently raised its base stipend about $1000 per year since I started tracking grad student salaries. This year, industry analysts - well, just myself really - thought that Harvard would surely join the $30K club as well. However, my alma mater is still hovering under the $30K mark at $29,500. This represents a mere 1.7% raise; in the meantime, the Consumer Price Index rose a whopping 5.6% from July 2007 to July 2008 - the largest inflation increase in 26 years, according to the U.S. Labor Department. With the the soaring gas prices (not that PhD students in Boston can afford cars or anything), 1000+ Harvard PhD students might be a tiny bit disappointed. Maybe next year!

Below is a list of 2008-09 stipends for PhD programs in the biological and biomedical sciences,¹ with adjusted stipends² and fringe benefits³ (these are taken into consideration for tie breaks). If necessary, further tie breaks are purely subjective. Stipend information continues to trickle in slowly, so I'm continuing to compile data for the current academic year as well as the upcoming 2009-10 year. Do you have stipend information to report? Please email me at wendychao (AT) post.harvard.edu. This site will be updated regularly.

2008-2009 PhD STIPENDS IN THE BIOLOGICAL AND BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES

rank	school	program¹	city/state	stipend 2008-9	adjusted 2008-9²	extra funding ³
1	Gerstner Sloan-Kettering	Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences*	New York (Manhattan), NY	$31,680	$31,680	Subsidized housing; MacBook Pro or PC equivalent, $250 book allowance for 1st year students, $500 for relocation, membership in the NY Academy of Sciences, $5000 bonus for students with external funding
2	Weill Cornell Medical College	Graduate School of Medical Sciences*	New York (Manhattan), NY	$31,677	$31,677	Subsidized housing
3	Rockefeller University (BEST STIPEND)	The David Rockefeller Graduate Program*	New York (Manhattan), NY	$31,000	$31,000	Subsidized housing; annual research allowance of $2,500 (increases to $3,000 in year 3); $1,000 for relocation, membership in the NY Academy of Sciences, $5000 bonus for students with external funding
4	Boston University Medical Center	Division of Graduate Medical Sciences*	Boston, MA	$30,000	$38,675	$1,000 bonus for years post-qualifying
5	Harvard University	Harvard Integrated Life Sciences Program (HILS)*	Cambridge, MA	$29,508	$38,041	Select programs (such as Molecular and Cellular Biology) offer free laptops to 1st-year students
6	Columbia University	Biological Sciences*	New York (Manhattan), NY	$29,333	$29,333	Subsidized housing; $500 for relocation
7	Columbia University Medical Center	Coordinated Doctoral Programs in Biomedical Sciences*	New York (Manhattan), NY	$29,328	$29,328	Subsidized housing; $2,000 bonus for students with external funding
8	Yale University	Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS)*	New Haven, CT	$29,000	$48,014	$350 textbook allowance first year; $4,000 bonus for students with external funding
9	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Microbiology Graduate Program	Cambridge, MA	$29,000	$37,386
10	Stanford University	Graduate Studies in Biosciences (GSBS)*	Palo Alto, CA	$28,500	$20,000
11	University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine	Biomedical Graduate Studies (BGS)*	Philadelphia, PA	$28,000	$49,900	Select programs (such as Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics) offer $1500 towards a computer
12	Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University	Graduate Programs in the Biomedical Sciences*	New York (Bronx), NY	$28,000	$28,000	$1,000 for relocation; guaranteed subsidized housing
13	University of Massachusetts Medical School	Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences*	Worcester, MA	$28,000	$45,945
14	Tufts University Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences	Biomedical Sciences*	Boston, MA	$28,000	$36,097
15	California Institute of Technology	Biology Graduate Program*	Pasadena, CA	$27,500	$29,963	$2,200 yearly allowance for research supplies; separate funds to cover travel to scientific meetings
16	Tulane University	Biomedical Sciences (BMS)	New Orleans, LA	$27,500	$49,967
17	Princeton University	Graduate Program in Molecular Biology	Princeton, NJ	$27,500	$30,612	$4000 bonuses for students with external funding
18	The Scripps Research Institute	Doctoral Programs in Chemical and Biological Sciences	La Jolla, CA	$27,000	$30,260	$3,000 bonus for students with external fellowships
19	New York University	Sackler Institute of Biomedical Science*	New York (Manhattan), NY	$27,000	$27,000	Subsidized housing
20	University of Connecticut Health Center	Biomedical Science*	Farmington, CT	$27,000	$36,154	Students pay some fees
21	University of California, Berkeley	Microbiology and Plant Biology	Berkeley, CA	$27,000	$26,010	Up to 25% stipend bonus for students with external fellowships (for total annual stipend of up to $33,750); county bus pass
22	University of California, Berkeley	Neuroscience Graduate Program	Berkeley, CA	$27,000	$26,010	N/A
23	University of California, San Francisco	Herbert W. Boyer Program in Biomedical Sciences (PIBS)*	San Francisco, CA	$27,000	$23,727	Benefits may vary by program; e.g. Neuroscience Graduate Program offers limited travel funds &free gym membership
24	Johns Hopkins Medical Institute	School of Medicine (SOM) Graduate Programs*	Baltimore, MD	$26,855	$48,272	$500 travel allowance first year
25	University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center	Molecular and Cellular Biology*	Seattle, WA	$26,664	$33,233	Free laptop (MacBook or PC equivalent) upon arrival
26	University of Washington	Genome Sciences	Seattle, WA	$26,664	$33,233
27	University of Washington	Biomolecular Structure and Design	Seattle, WA	$26,664	$33,233	Students required to pay an approximate $800/year "Activities Fee"
28	University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey/Robert Wood Johnson Medical School/Rutgers University	Molecular Biosciences*	Piscataway, NJ	$26,500	$36,887	$2000 bonus for students with external funding; $5000 education bonus for some students selected for Society of Scholars; travel awards
29	University of Michigan Medical School	Program in Biomedical Sciences (PIBS)*	Ann Arbor, MI	$26,500	$44,148	$500 for relocation
30	University of Michigan Medical School	Bioinformatics	Ann Arbor, MI	$26,500	$44,148
31	University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey	Graduate Program in Molecular Pathology and Immunology	Newark, NJ	$26,500	$41,648	Campus housing available; cash incentive to top recruits (4 per year)
32	Northwestern University	Interdepartmental Biological Sciences Graduate Program (IBiS)*	Chicago, IL	$26,250	$34,150	$500 for moving expenses; free laptop first year; ; 10% stipend bonus for students with external funding
33	Northwestern University	Integrated Graduate Program (IGP) in the Life Sciences*	Chicago, IL	$26,250	$34,150	$500 for moving expenses
34	Brown University	Division of Biology and Medicine*	Providence, RI	$26,000	$42,026	$1800/yr bonus for students with external funding that is ≥80% of base stipend; $500 conference funding years 2-5; $1500 competive awards for international conferences & training; free RI bus service. Some programs (such as Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Health Services Research) offer free laptop for incoming students.
35	Brown University	Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Health Services Research	Providence, RI	$26,000	$42,026	Free laptop for incoming students
36	Baylor College of Medicine	Biomedical Sciences*	Houston, TX	$26,000	$49,880	$2,000 bonus for students with external funding
37	University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston	Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences*	Houston, TX	$26,000	$49,880
38	University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center	Division of Basic Science (DBS)*	Dallas, TX	$26,000	$46,019	Campus housing available; bonus for students with external funding
39	Duke University	Department of Immunology	Durham, NC	$26,000	$45,612	N/A
40	University of California, Davis	Molecular, Cellular & Integrative Physiology	Davis, CA	$26,000	$28,439
41	Rice University	Biochemistry & Cell Biology Graduate Program	Houston, TX	$25,500	$48,921	Signing bonuses available; recipients of the Presidential Fellowship get additional $5,000 in stipend; students pay 30% individual health insurance.
42	Dartmouth College Hitchcock Medical Center	Program in Experimental and Molecular Medicine (PEMM)	Lebanon, NH	$25,500	$40,997
43	Mayo Clinic	Mayo Graduate School*	Rochester, MN	$25,480	$44,546	Paid travel to scientific meetings; adoption reimbursement
44	State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate	School of Graduate Studies*	Brooklyn, NY	$25,385	$25,385	Student pays approx. $12/month health insurance premium
45	University of Rochester Medical Center	School of Medicine and Dentistry Graduate School*	Rochester, NY	$25,000	$51,946	$2,000 annual bonus for students with external funding; some signing bonuses
46	Carnegie Mellon University	Biological Sciences*	Pittsburgh, PA	$25,000	$48,677
47	University of Virginia	Biomedical Sciences Graduate Programs*	Charlottesville, VA	$25,000	$39,587	Up to $3,000/year bonus for incentive/merit scholarships; annual travel allowance (varies by program). The Jefferson Fellowship offers 5 years @ $30K + $7500 for research funding (W@W)
48	University of Utah	Molecular Biology Program and Biological Chemistry Program	Salt Lake City, UT	$25,000	$42,019	$1,000 1st year bonus that students can use for whatever they like (e.g., season pass at Alta!)
49	University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston	Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences*	Galveston, TX	$25,000	$48,045	Varies by program
50	University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Medicine	Biological and Biomedical Sciences Program (BBSP)*	Chapel Hill, NC	$25,000	$32,278	$1,000 for relocation
51	University of Maryland, Baltimore	Graduate Program in Life Sciences (GPILS)*	Baltimore, MD	$25,000	$44,937	$1,000 stipend increase after passing qualifying exam
52	Temple University School of Medicine - Fels Institute for Cancer Research & Molecular Biology	Molecular Biology and Genetics Graduate Program	Philadelphia, PA	$25,000	$44,554
53	University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine	Program in Biomedical Sciences (PIBS)*	Miami, FL	$25,000	$29,929	Students pay 20% health insurance premium
54	University of Pittsburgh - Graduate School of Public Health	Infectious Diseases & Microbiology (IDM)	Pittsburgh, PA	$24,650	$47,995	Free city bus service
55	University of Texas, Austin	School of Biological Sciences*	Austin, TX	$24,500	$41,920	$1,000 1st year bonus; $500 for relocation
56	Oregon Health & Science University	Graduate Studies in the Biomedical Sciences*	Portland, OR	$24,500	$36,943	$2,000 stipend increase after passing qualifying exam
57	University of Minnesota Twin Cities	Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics (BMBB) and Molecular, Cellular, and Structural Biology (MCSB)	Minneapolis, MN	$24,500	$39,457
58	University of Colorado Denver, School of Medicine	Basic Biomedical Sciences Programs*	Aurora, CO	$24,500	$43,796	Additional benefits vary by program
59	Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh	CMU-Pitt PhD Program in Computational Biology	Pittsburgh, PA	$24,500	$47,703	N/A
60	Emory University	Graduate Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences (GDBBS)*	Atlanta, GA	$24,500	$35,916	$2000/yr bonus for students with external funding; Woodruff Fellowship: 5yr @ $5,000/yr + fees; Emory Graduate Diversity Fellowship: 5yr @ $4,500/yr + fees; Division Scholar Fellowship: 5yr @ $2,000/yr + fees
61	University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences	Biomedical Graduate Programs*	Little Rock, AR	$24,000	$49,176
62	University of Pittsburgh	Biological Sciences	Pittsburgh, PA	$24,000	$46,729
63	University of Illinois at Chicago	Graduate Education in Medical Science*	Chicago, IL	$24,000	$31,223	Additional benefits available in thesis lab; partial fee waiver
64	Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center	School of Graduate Studies*	New Orleans, LA	$24,000	$43,608
65	Temple University School of Medicine	Biochemistry	Philadelphia, PA	$24,000	$42,771
66	University of Arizona	Graduate Program in Pharmacology	Tuscon, AZ	$23,825	$41,300
67	University of Mississippi Medical Center Graduate School	Anatomy	Jackson, MS	$23,793	$58,035
68	West Virginia School of Medicine	Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs in the Biomedical Sciences*	Morgantown, WV	$23,000	$42,453
69	University of Wisconsin-Madison	Neuroscience Training Program	Madison, WI	$23,750	$41,804	N/A
70	Case Western Reserve University	Pharmacology	Cleveland, Ohio	$23,500	$49,391	$750 allowance 1st year for computer; allowance for supplies
71	Dartmouth College	Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Graduate Program	Hanover, NH	$23,364	$30,737	$2,000 annual allowance for travel to scientific meetings
72	Virginia Commonwealth University	School of Medicine Graduate Programs*	Richmond, VA	$23,100	$43,714	Additional support varies among ndividual programs in the School of Medicine. For example, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology offers $2,500 bonus for exceptional students
73	Colorado State University	Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Neuroscience Program	Fort Collins, CO	$23,000	$39,914	$2,000 for relocation; campus housing available; up to $600/year for conferences/special courses
74	University of New Mexico	Biological Sciences Graduate Program (BSGP)*	Albuquerque, NM	$23,000	$39,501
75	Albany Medical College	Graduate Studies Program*	Albany, NY	$23,000	$36,117
76	University of Maryland	Biology (BIOL) - Biological Sciences (BISI) admitting fall 2010	College Park, MD	$22,779	$33,818	Stipend increases to $23,714 G2 or for students with master's degrees; $24,212/year after candidacy
77	University of South Florida Moffitt Cancer Center	Cancer Biology PhD Program	Tampa, FL	$22,600	$39,300	Travel awards up to $1,000; books for core courses; annual stipend increase of 3% minimum; bonuses for students with external funding
78	Penn State University	Graduate Programs at Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences*	Hershey, PA	$22,270	$39,984
79	Wake Forest University	Biomedical Sciences*	Winston-Salem, NC	$22,181	$45,405	Free laptop; student pays 28% of single person coverage
80	Texas A&M University	Department of Biology	College Station, TX	$22,020	$47,317
81	University of Cincinnati College of Medicine	Biomedical Science PhD Programs*	Cincinnati, OH	$22,000 to $24,000	$45,355 to $49,479	Stipends vary by program, Ohio residents eligible for Choose Ohio First program that pays a $4500 annual bonus for four years
82	University of Louisville, School of Medicine	Integrated Programs in Biomedical Sciences*	Louisville, KY	$22,000	$46,188
83	University of Georgia	Microbiology	Athens, GA	$22,000	$41,747	Partially subsidized health insurance
84	University of Arizona	Genetics Graduate Interdisciplinary Program	Tuscon, AZ	$22,000	$38,136	Additional support from competitive funding sources pay up to $30,000 total annual stipend; students pay university-imposed student fees.
85	Oregon State University	Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB)	Corvallis, OR	$22,000	$33,337
86	Miami University	Chemistry and Biochemistry	Oxford, OH	$21,900	$41,475	Students pay 1/2 of the fees
87	Washington State University	School of Molecular Biosciences*	Pullman, WA	$21,500	$37,765	$2,500 signing bonus; stipend increase to $23,130 after passing their candidacy exam in 3rd year; students pay residual semester student fees of $858.50.
88	University of Georgia	Cellular Biology	Athens, GA	$21,000	$39,850	Partially subsidized health insurance
89	University of Toledo College of Medicine	PhD Program in Biomedical Science	Toledo, OH	$20,772	$43,671	$250 for travel to scientific meetings; external support bonuses available
90	Michigan State University	Neuroscience Program	East Lansing, MI	$20,772	$40,467	$250 for relocation
91	University of Vermont	Neuroscience Graduate Program	Burlington, VT	$20,772	$31,115	Signing bonuses for outstanding applicant; external support bonuses; free city bus service
92	University of Missouri-Columbia	Biomedical Sciences Area Program	Columbia, MO	$20,772	$39,871
93	University of Vermont	Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Program	Burlington, VT	$20,772	$31,223	Student pays 25% health insurance premium
94	University of Vermont	Pharmacology	Burlington, VT	$20,700	$31,115
95	University of Massachusetts, Amherst	Molecular and Cellular Biology	Amherst, MA	$20,612	$29,144	Student pays 5% subsidized health insurance, some fees
96	University of Colorado, Boulder	Ecology and Evolutionary Biology	Boulder, CO	$20,400 (TA), $23,472 (RA), $25,212 (post qual)	$23,934 (TA), $27,539 (RA), $29,580 (post qual)	Signing bonuses available; tudents from under-represented groups receive moving expenses, guaranteed summer support and Sloan Fellowships; student pays 30% health insurance premium
97	Ohio University	Graduate Program in Biological Sciences*	Athens, OH	$19,525	$38,272	$205/quarter for general fees
98	Ohio University	Interdisciplinary Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology	Athens, OH	$19,500	$38,223
99	Clemson University	Biological Sciences*	Clemson, SC	$18,000	$34,727	Stipend increases when students transition from teaching assistants to research assistants
100	Wayne State University	Biological Sciences*	Detroit, MI	$16,586 to $17,170	$37,122 to $38,429	Recruiting Rumble / Competitive Rumble Fellowships offer subsidized housing or graduate research assistanceships; need-based housing awards available; research and travel enhancement funds available to all students who complete prospectus and candidacy requirements.
101	Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine	Basic Medical Sciences*	West Lafayette, IN	$15,288	$30,686

1. An asterisk (*) indicates that multiple programs are available; includes interdisciplinary programs and specialties such as biochemistry, bioinformatics, biophysics, cell biology, ecology, evolutionary biology, genetics, genomics, immunology, infectious disease, microbiology, molecular biology, neurobiology, neuroscience, and structural biology. Please see individual program websites for available subjects or programs.

2. Adjusted to cost-of-living in New York City (home to the highest stipend) using the cost-of-living calculator at bestplaces.net/col. These numbers are by no means definitive, and should be used for general reference purposes only. Actual costs-of-living will obviously vary depending on multiple factors - including how lavish your lifestyle is, or even which calculator you use.

3. Additional monetary funding based on available information. Tuition, insurance premiums, and fees are generally waived; only exceptions are noted (if information is available).

Information is subject to change.

Comments? Questions? Corrections? Please email me at wendychao (AT) post.harvard.edu

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