Compensation policies for Graduate Students
Definition of positions:
- Teaching Assistants (TA): TAs are graduate students who primarily provide classroom support, either by teaching, leading discussion sections, grading, or preparing classroom materials. TAs are typically expected to work 10 to 20 hours per week during the semester/academic year.
- Graduate Assistants (GA): GAs are graduate students who primarily complete research and/or provide administrative aid; they may also teach or provide other forms of instructional support. GAs are typically expected to work 10 to 20 hours per week during the semester/academic year.
- Research Project Assistants (RPA): RPAs are graduate student positions that are appointed through the Research Foundation of SUNY. The source of funding for RPAs is typically through external sponsors and determined by projects sponsored through contracts, grants, or in combination with an externally funded fellowship. RPAs are appointed full time during an academic semester or for an entire academic-year (ten-month) with a stipend equivalent to (or higher than) New York State-funded GATA positions. RPAs are eligible for a tuition and fee scholarships and work approximately 15-20 hours/week on research. Grants and contracts submitted by PIs must comply with the Tuition Scholarship Reimbursement Policy for Grants and Contracts.
Compensation and benefits for New York State-funded GA and TA positions are governed by the Graduate Student Employee Union (GSEU), which sets a minimum stipend for employees on full assistantships of $18,000 effective July 1, 2026. This contractually-negotiated minimum applies to all graduate student positions covered by the GSEU contract.
The ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ base stipend sets a higher threshold of compensation for all in-person doctoral programs that typically provide fully funded GA/TA positions with full tuition and fee scholarships. Effective January 1, 2026, the base stipend for both NY state-funded GA/TA positions and RPAs appointed through the RF is $25,000 for the academic year (10 month).
Fellowship exceptions: Doctoral students appointed to an externally-funded fellowship such as the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP), National Research Service Award (NRSA) Fellowships, or other institutional training grants (eg, NIH T32 appointees) are appointed through the RF on a fellowship line that it may be funded at a lower level than the Binghamton University base stipend. In these cases, salary supplementation through a concurrent RPA appointment is strongly recommended so that the total compensation of the Fellow meets or exceeds the base stipend of $25,000 (10 months).