Financial Assistance
Ph.D. Program
Teaching Assistantships
The 2025-2026 academic year salary for teaching assistants at Rutgers is $40,000.
Tuition remission and in some cases a generous medical plan is also provided. A teaching assistant works 15 hours per week while classes are in session for the fall and spring semesters. Duties include research, teaching, and computer laboratory assistance.
First-year students are asked to engage in teacher-training activities, which may continue for several semesters, especially for students whose native language is not English. Students are encouraged to teach their own section as soon as possible after they are prepared to teach. Students may also be assigned as research assistants.
A student holding a teaching assistantship is not allowed to accept paid employment outside the university during the academic year. Any additional paid employment inside the university must be approved by the program director. Fellowships from outside the university may be held concurrently.
Renewal of teaching assistantships is contingent on satisfactory performance on the job and in the program. See Renewal of Financial Aid for details.
Research Funding
Each year we make up $1,000 a year available to students to defray dissertation research expenses and expenses for traveling to conferences to present scholarly papers.
Additional funding for student research is provided by the departments and research centers associated with each program of study.
Summer Support
Students making satisfactory progress in the program have the opportunity to earn at least $4,200 each summer by working half-time for two months as a research assistant or a teacher. A student who accepts this half-time summer employment is expected to spend the other half of his or her time on academic work and not to accept other employment. In some cases, students are funded to do their own research.
Summer Scholarship
In addition to the $4,200 summer employment opportunity, we hold each year a competition for summer scholarships. Winners of these scholarships receive an additional stipend of $3,000. Winners are chosen on the basis of each student's written plan for summer research, which must be submitted by May 1. The number of winners depends on the availability of finds, which varies from year to year.