Financial Support

Financial Support

Population Biology Compensation Plan

Effective Fall 2007, the Population Biology Graduate Group adopted the following graduate student compensation plan:

The Population Biology Graduate Group offers five years of support in the form of Teaching Assistantships (TAship), Graduate Student Research assistantships (GSRs) and Block Grant/Fellowships, assuming continued satisfactory progress to degree.

The combination of resources will produce a quarterly stipend (living allowance) of no less than $5,000 per quarter for an annual support package of no less than $20,000.*

* This is only the minimum. Students may earn more per quarter depending on other student employment or fellowship opportunities.

 

First-Year Students

First-year students receive academic year support in the form of Teaching Assistantships (TAship*), Graduate Student Research assistantships (GSRs), Block Grant/Fellowships, and non-resident tuition (NRT) when applicable. Registered students are automatically enrolled into the graduate student health insurance program (SHIP**) as a benefit of employment and/or active registration status. Please note: In years where the program has additional funding, we reduce the number of assigned TAships and increase the quarters of fellowship. In more recent years, the program has removed the need for first-year students to TA and has instead implemented block grant/fellowships.

A student's First-Year Mentor/Major Professor will provide summer stipend support.

*One of the components of in-state fees is called "local fees". Local fees are not covered by TA and Reader positions. The estimated amount for AY18-19 is $281 per academic quarter. This amount is subject to change until the state budget is confirmed. Projected Fee Schedule.

** Students who were enrolled full-time in Spring will automatically receive health insurance coverage for Summer.

Note: Advancing first-year students are expected to file for California Residency immediately following Spring quarter of their first year. Establishing California Residency will eliminate (NRT) non-resident tuition in future years.  

Students in Years Two through Five

Students in years two through five will receive academic support in the form of Teaching Assistantships (TAship*), Graduate Student Research assistantships (GSRs) and Block Grant/Fellowships. Registered students are automatically enrolled into the graduate student health insurance program (SHIP**) as a benefit of employment and/or active registration status. Please note: In years where the program has additional funding, we reduce the number of assigned TAships and increase the quarters of fellowship.

Effective the Fall 2007 Cohort, a student's Major Professor will provide summer stipend support. (Summer support for those cohorts older than 2007 are by arrangement with their Major Professor.)

*One of the components of in-state fees is called "local fees". Local fees are not covered by TA and Reader positions. The estimated amount for AY18-19 is $281 per academic quarter. This amount is subject to change until the state budget is confirmed. Projected Fee Schedule.

** Students who were enrolled full-time in Spring will automatically receive health insurance coverage for Summer.

Note: The program will not cover (NRT) non-resident tuition beyond the first year.  

Students in Years Six and Higher

The normative time degree for the Population Biology Ph.D. is five years. Therefore, beginning in year six, students are responsible for securing their own funding. Fortunately, there are many funding opportunities within UC Davis that help make this possible. The most common types of funding during this time:

Major Professor Funding: As a research institution, many of our faculty have a variety of grants that provide funding for graduate student researchers (GSRs). Students are encouraged to approach their Major Professor to learn more about this option (if available).

Teaching Assistantship, Readership and Graduate Student Researcher Positions: Student employment of 25% or greater includes in-state fee remission.** During the academic year (Oct - June), students are permitted to work up to 75% time as TA's, readers, and graduate student researchers (GSRs). Please refer to Campus Support and Additional Resources for more information.

Fellowship (External and Internal): Students are encouraged to seek fellowship opportunities both internal to UC Davis and externally. The types of fellowship opportunities to look for include dissertation awards, research fellowships, and travel awards. Both the Office of Graduate Studies and the Population Biology Graduate Group will send announcement of fellowship opportunities throughout the year.

**One of the components of in-state fees is called "local fees". Local fees are not covered by TA and Reader positions. The estimated amount for AY18-19 is $281 per academic quarter. This amount is subject to change until the state budget is confirmed. Projected Fee Schedule.

International Students

As with domestic students, international students receive the same funding support during the first year which includes remission of in-state fees, non-resident tuition (NRT) and stipend support (living allowance). The program will not cover NRT after the first year.

International students who can not establish California Residency due to visa regulations will be responsible for payment of NRT beginning in year two unless prior arrangement is made with a Major Professor or the student has alternate resources to cover the cost.  There are though newer campus programs which may alleviate payment responsibility by the student.

NRT is waived for three-years once an international student advances to candidacy. Once the three-year waiver is complete, NRT will be reinstated and the responsibility of payment is placed on the student (unless other financial arrangements are in place, or if there are campus programs to assist with payment of NRT).

To learn more about attending UC Davis, please visit Services for International Students and Scholars (SISS). Please note that all international graduate students are required to prove their financial support if admitted to UC Davis.

For funding opportunities, please visit the Fulbright Fellowship website: https://foreign.fulbrightonline.org/about/foreign-fulbright.

To learn more about financing your education in the U.S., visit eduPASS.org.

 

Teaching Assistant and Reader Opportunities

Teaching Assistants (TAs) and Readers are full-time graduate students hired to perform a variety of classroom and/or administrative related services under the supervision of a lead instructor.

Benefits of Employment:   Stipend, fee remission (less local fees), health insurance, interaction with subject matter experts, and the opportunity to engage undergraduate students in one of the leading teaching and research environments within the UC System.

Please note that TAships and Readerships do not cover non-resident tuition.

Visit the following for Teaching Assistant and Reader position application sites and/or for information:

  • Department of Evolution and Ecology's teaching assistant and reader website for EVE Department specific TA and Reader application instructions.  The Department of Evolution and Ecology administers all EVE course TA and Reader positions, as well as those for BIS 2B.
  • College of Biological Sciences teaching assistant positions (other than those offered by the Department of Evolution and Ecology) are available to apply for here:  https://www.mcb.ucdavis.edu/jobs/.     
  • Visit other, related departments for teaching assistant and reader opportunities and applications as well:  Animal Science, Entomology, Environmental Science and Policy, Mathematics, Plant Sciences, Statistics, Wildlife/Fish & Conservation Biology, etc... 
  • See this Graduate Group in Ecology listing as well for teaching assistant departmental assistance:  https://ecology.ucdavis.edu/funding/departments_ta_positions.html.  

 

GLOBAL LEARNING HUB - UC DAVIS

Visit the campus Global Learning Hub site for information on graduate student funding resources that are now available through the Global Learning Hub here.

 

Additional Graduate Student Support

A variety of support is also available,  through both the College of Biological Sciences and the University.

 

Visit the Graduate Studies Financial Support page for more information