MSTP stipend amounts??

[mosquito]

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hey all, hope everyone is having a relaxing and enjoyable summer.
wondering if people would post stipend amounts for each school (if known) or if there is a link to stipend amounts. i'm aware that stipend $$'s vary on the nature of location (more money for living in nyc v. iowa). but just hoping to start a link.

i found on columbia site that MS-1 starts at 25,000$
and i think ucsd is at 15000$ ??
seems like quite a discrepancy to me...
thanks in advance

 

[BandGeek]

The University of Cincinnati had a link comparing stipends, but I don't know how up to date it is.

 

[surge]

I'm pretty sure (not 100%, though) that UCSD went up to $19,000.


Anyway, here at Yale, as MS1s we start at $20,000 ($19,987) and jump to $24,000 when we enter grad school.
It's not bad for New Haven, although I might have to rethink that Lexus I was going to buy....

 

[Neuronix]

Penn's is $23,000/year. I was also considering Northwestern, which I think was $22,500/year (UChicago is the same). Note that Philadelphia has a several percent wage tax that Chicago doesn't have, so that skews the numbers a bit. I think the lowest I found was Pitt at $18,500, though I did not apply to UCSD.

 

[Doctor&Geek]

Our stipend here at UAB was $18,146, which is line with the rest of the graduate student population. Starting in August, our pay increases to $21,000 a year.

Even then, Birmingham is also an inexpensive place to live - I'm paying $400/month, and I still have a hefty amount of money sitting in savings, which won't be the case elsewhere. This just goes to say that because living expenses can balloon 4 or 5 times in other cities (i.e. NYC or SF), the differences in stipend probably won't cover. Consider cost of living first, then stipend, if you're considering stipend at all (which really you shouldn't).

Yours,

Jason

 

[jmed]

North Carolina is $20,000
CWRU is ~$24,000 I think

 

[randywei]

University of California, Irvine is 23,500 per year. 🙂

Einstein is 25,000 per year.

Iowa is 21,000 per year.

 

[dark_scientist]

Here at Mayo it's 21,600

University of Minnesota was around that as well.

 

[Primate]

Hey Neuronix (and other interested parties),

Check with your accountant about the wage tax. I believe there is an exception for students. Check to be sure you qualify, though.

 

[Neuronix]

Originally posted by Primate
Check with your accountant about the wage tax. I believe there is an exception for students. Check to be sure you qualify, though.

Thank you for letting me know about this Primate. I've been reviewing the tax legislation. Here's what I found. This likely deserves another thread, so I will move it if necessary.

Philadelphia City Tax - You are required to pay the tax if a service is required of you. Under federal guidelines (this is not explained by the city), a service includes any teaching requirements and any laboratory work for a PI. To me, this means that this tax is owed during graduate school and not during medical school. HOWEVER, the city Philadelphia requires by law that employers take this tax out of the salary of any employee. Therefore, if the University does not take this out of our salary, then it should not be owed. Do you remember if it was taken out of your salary during grad school or if you paid it?

PA State Tax - Graduate students are exempt.

Federal Tax - All stipend is taxable minus required educational expenses. For salary under $25,000, that's a tax rate of 15% minus deducations.

I don't have an accountant and I'm not about to get one. I wish someone around here would help you with these sorts of questions, but I can understand why they don't.

 

[surge]

Originally posted by Neuronix

Federal Tax - All stipend is taxable minus required educational expenses. For salary under $25,000, that's a tax rate of 15% minus deducations.

This is probably the most correct way to think about it. I was trying to figure it out myself, and it's exactly what I came up with.

Also, keep in mind that you can EITHER claim the educational expenses as a deduction OR claim the standard deduction. Unfortunately, NOT BOTH. So, unless your expenses are over $4,800 (which is the standard deduction for 2003, I believe - does anyone know if this is correct?), you are better off claiming the standard deduction instead the educational expenses (which would fall under itemized deductions).

So, for my stipend of

$19,980
- $4,800

=$15,180 taxable income, so according to the 2002(!) tax table,
= ~ $1,976 in federal taxes

Which means that I get to live on about $19,980-$1,976

=~ $18,004, or /12

=~$1,500.33 a month.

Oh. My. God. 😱 I will be poor. 😀

 

[Primate]

Aside: in Philly, you don't have to pay the wage tax on work done towards a PhD (as opposed to TAing for $). You do pay state and federal, but only on the stipend (not the tuition/fees). Again, check with a pro (standard disclaimer) to be sure.

With kids (aka deductions, to accountants), we pay like $7 a year total. Course, kiddies aren't cheap either. 😱 Some would say that so little in tax liability is a good thing. Myself - can't wait to owe a TON (cuz that means I'm making COIN, baby). Prolly not gonna happen as an MD/PhD, though. Oh well 😛

I think no one talks about it because they don't want to be liable ('course, since I disclaimed it as hearsay, I'm off the hook).

P

PS - do others pay on just stipend? No one pays on tuition, do they? curious.

 

[surge]

Originally posted by Primate
PS - do others pay on just stipend? No one pays on tuition, do they? curious.

Yeah, everybody pays just on the stipend. Tuition is not taxable.

 

[DarkChild]

cornell first years get 20866.
second years i think are about 1K higher.
3-7 are 23000 but if you get outside funding, it'll be bumped to 26000 - with the idea being to encourage students to learn to write proposals...
(or thats what they tell us the cheap ba$***** )

 

[Neuronix]

Originally posted by Primate
You do pay state [of PA tax].

http://www.revenue.state.pa.us/revenue/cwp/view.asp?A=238&QUESTION_ID=171167

"(3)_ Fellowship awards or fellowship stipends made to a graduate student enrolled in a graduate degree program at a university chartered by a state or foreign country on the basis of need or academic achievement for the purpose of encouraging or allowing a recipient to further his educational development are not taxable._ When the fellowship awards or fellowship stipends are made as compensation for past or present employment or in expectation of future employment services they are taxable."

"(4)_ Fellowship awards and fellowship stipends are taxable compensation for services if the recipient is required to apply his skill and training to advance research, creative work or some other project or activity, unless the recipient can show that he is a candidate for a degree and the same activities are required of all candidates for that degree as a condition to receive that degree."

The conclusion on that page:
"The $10,292 research assistantship_received [for a M.S. or Ph.D.] in exchange for research will not be taxable for Pennsylvania personal income tax purposes, pursuant to the above regulations, so long as the research she conducts is required of all degree candidates."

This is further echoed here:
http://www.revenue.state.pa.us/revenue/lib/revenue/rev-614.pdf

Q. What is the criteria for excluding a fellowship award or stipend from taxable compensation?

..., or

(c) The recipient is a candidate for a degree, and the same activities are required for all candidates for that degree as a condition to receiving such a degree.

There's a few other places on the department of revenue site that say similar things. This all leads me to believe that we don't owe PA state tax.

Oh, and about external funding increases to stipends. The policies on that vary widely from school to school, just like the policies on loans. At some schools, you get nothing if you get external funding, the program takes it all. At other schools, you get some "Travel funding" or "computer funding", but no increase to your salary. At other schools, you get a fixed salary increase no matter how much stipend you get. Then at other schools, you qualify for an increase depending on how much money you get in external funding (up to a certain cap, varies).

 

[pathdr2b]

Okay everyone, please don't "hate", but if I do my dissertation at the NIH/NCI, my stipend will be ~ 33K thanks to my previous tenure there and the fact that my stipend is based on having an MS degree and years of previous research expereince. And for the record, this is NOT some special URM thing and anyone with my expereince, education, and a prior NIH/NCI appointment would be eligible( although the home institution must agree , I think).

This fall, I'll only get ~29K as a predoc, again a nice little hook-up with NIH !!!!

So the moral of the story is do your dissertation research at NIH !!!!

PS- MSTP'ers are NOT eligible for these stipend amounts since their funding comes from another NIH pot of money.

 

[Neuronix]

That's pretty nice. I wonder though... Is your medical school being funded as well? If so, what school will pay your MD and MD stipend then allow you to do your PhD at the NIH? I've heard that most schools forbid that, but I'm sure you know better than I do.

 

[pathdr2b]

Originally posted by Neuronix
Is your medical school being funded as well? If so, what school will pay your MD and MD stipend then allow you to do your PhD at the NIH? I've heard that most schools forbid that, but I'm sure you know better than I do.

Since I'll be transferring into an MD/PhD program, medical school will be funded as well with a stipend. However, you are correct in that many schools DO NOT allow students to do thier dissertation research at NIH, but some departments at many schools do including the immunology department at Penn. These schools are part of the graduate partnership progranm at NIH. Here's the link: http://gpp.nih.gov The stipend amounts quoted here are based on NO prior NIH research expereince.

 

[surge]

Originally posted by pathdr2b
Since I'll be transferring into an MD/PhD program, medical school will be funded as well with a stipend. However, you are correct in that many schools DO NOT allow students to do thier dissertation research at NIH, but some departments at many schools do including the immunology department at Penn. These schools are part of the graduate partnership progranm at NIH. Here's the link: http://gpp.nih.gov The stipend amounts quoted here are based on NO prior NIH research expereince.

Wow.
This is amazing (I went thru the site), and I was completely unaware of it. And, incredibely, it's open to non-US citizens, too.
Something I might seriously think about in the upcoming years.

Thanks a lot.

 

[pathdr2b]

Originally posted by surge
Wow.
This is amazing (I went thru the site), and I was completely unaware of it. And, incredibely, it's open to non-US citizens, too.
Something I might seriously think about in the upcoming years.

Thanks a lot.

I'm glad you found the info useful.

One of my main points is that in the process of getting the MD/PhD, there are many, many routes of getting to the same goal. Hands down, NIH is THEpremier research institution in the world which is why an overwhelming majority of the renowned scientists and industry/academic leaders have spent some time here. I think if you can come here either as a predoc or post doc, you'd be giving your career a tremendous boost.

 

[Newquagmire]

Man, I didn't know this thing existed either. And they do an international program with the Cam too!!! Doh. At least I have the satisfaction of knowing I have added another year to my career plans. Hahahaha...

 

[Nuel]

Originally posted by pathdr2b
Hands down, NIH is THEpremier research institution in the world which is why an overwhelming majority of the renowned scientists and industry/academic leaders have spent some time here.

As well as the venue with the highest numbers of scientific fraud cases

 

[pathdr2b]

Originally posted by Nuel
As well as the venue with the highest numbers of scientific fraud cases

Could someone please point me in the direction of the perfect research organization? Heeellooooooooo ?

 

[Nuel]

Originally posted by pathdr2b
Could someone please point me in the direction of the perfect research organization? Heeellooooooooo ?

I never said there was a perfect research organization. But I re-emphasize that it is well known that the NIH is the venue that boasts the HIGHEST, not MID-RANGE, numbers for scientific fraud cases . Of course it also boasts of itself as a premier research center. The fact is that researchers often falsify data and cook things up to get NIH /other grants. Sometimes when I read an article, I question the veracity of its content but still acknowledge material presented.

*Edited*

 

[pathdr2b]

Originally posted by Nuel
Of course it(NIH) also boasts of itself as a premier research center.

I'll try not to be offended by this

 

[Neuronix]

Originally posted by pathdr2b
but some departments at many schools do including the immunology department at Penn.

I'm sorry to bump an old thread, but I met the chair of the immunology department at Penn today and I was reminded of this thread. MD/PhD students at Penn ARE NOT allowed to do their work at the NIH under any circumstances. Graduate students (PhD only) in the Immunology program at Penn are allowed to do their thesis with selected advisors at the NIH.

Just clearing this up.

 

[pathdr2b]

Originally posted by Neuronix
MD/PhD students at Penn ARE NOT allowed to do their work at the NIH under any circumstances. Graduate students (PhD only) in the Immunology program at

MD/PhDstudents or MSTPMD/PhD students? I believe there's flexibility depending on the program you pursue.

 

[Neuronix]

At Penn all MD/PhD students (at least all the new ones) are fully-funded, so they are all under this regulation. I bet even the ones that were in the program previously who did not have full funding would full under this restriction, but of that I am not certain. Not all of our students are MSTP, as we do have foreign students covered by private funds and some students who do odd things like MD and economics PhD.