Where you Study Could Affect the Size of Your Stipend

Hover your mouse on each dot and take a look at the stipend each university offers to their English PhDs. Larger circles represent higher stipend amounts.

When the National Institute of Health announced a funding cut of $4 million, several universities responded by suspending doctoral admissions.

But this is not new. For PhD students in non-STEM fields, the financial burden started long ago.

A study by Professor Eric Weiskott of Boston College examined stipends across 135 universities ranked by U.S. News and World Report in 2022, revealing sharp disparities tied to location. Among these, 80 offered a doctoral degree in English, but three declined to release their data.

The stipend difference between private and public universities is significant. In the 2021-2022 academic year, the median stipend for English PhD candidates at private universities barely reached $30,000, while public universities offered nearly $10,000 less to their doctoral students.

The east coast has the highest density of English PhD programs, meaning students from states such as Massachusetts, Connecticut, or New York benefit from both higher private university stipends and a greater number of institutional options. An English PhD candidate in states like Kansas or Arizona, however, are likely attending a public university with lower baseline funding while also competing for fewer academic opportunities overall.

But this advantage can be misleading when cost of living enters the equation. Geographic proximity to expensive metropolitan areas can put students under financial pressure.

While located in central New Jersey, Rutgers University sits within commuting distance of New York City, which has the highest cost of living in the United States. According to Professor Weiskott's research, more than one quarter of current Rutgers English graduate students actually reside in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, or adjacent Jersey City. These students receive a $31,000 stipend while living in the same expensive housing markets as their counterparts at Columbia University, who receive approximately $41,000.

Here is a chart that shows how doctoral students, especially those in Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences have long endured the lowest stipends, barely enough to cover basic living expenses.