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by mchahn 2856 days ago
I assume this refers to a PHD. The masters degree I got is also post-grad.

I'm not sure if anyone else covered it but you have to have a certain amount of money to get a PHD. I was approved to enter a doctorate program at Stanford. I couldn't afford it so I went to HP to earn some money. After the five-year approval expired I was disappointed that I could never afford it. (We're talking astronomical numbers here).
2 comments
analog31 2856 days ago
When I was a student 30 years ago, the rule of thumb was: Don't get a graduate degree unless someone else is paying for it. In my field (physics), a first or second tier school would provide free tuition plus a stipend if they expected to get any students.

Don't know how things are now, or how they are in other fields.

Now, of course free wasn't exactly free, because studying in grad school was potentially at the expense of working a regular job. That's another topic.

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Fomite 2856 days ago
Yep. If they're not funding you, it's both a bad idea and a soft reject.

Hell, last I looked, Standford won't even let you self-fund all the way through, at least in my field.

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yontherubicon 2856 days ago
What?

Doctoral programs pay you through stipends. You shouldn't have to pay for any doctoral program, ever.

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mchahn 2856 days ago
Hmm. When I told the professor trying to "hire" me that I couldn't afford it there was no mention of a stipend. Could it have been different in the 1970s?

Pricing on Stanford website (https://registrar.stanford.edu/students/tuition-and-fees):

Each graduate Engineering unit above 18 is $1200.

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mxwsn 2856 days ago
I'm currently doing a Ph.D. It's standard practice for nearly all PhD programs for the advisor to support a minimal stipend ($15-40k or so depending on the field and university) which goes directly to me, plus university tuition (up to $50k/yr depending on the university) which my lab directly pays my instutition. I only see the tuition bill and that it's paid for me.

Notably, this typically isn't the case for Masters programs, which are cash cows for universities like Stanford and charge $40k/yr+ for students.

Like the other commenter said, any Ph.D. program that isn't covering your tuition and providing a reasonable stipend has huge red flags all over it. They aren't the norm, either.

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