To: Chairs, Directors of Graduate Study, Graduate Program Administrators, and Graduate Students
From: Andrew G. Campbell, Dean of the Graduate School
Subject: 12 months support for Humanities and Social sciences PhD students
Brown University is deeply committed to academic excellence and to providing the financial support that creates the conditions for graduate students to achieve scholarly excellence. To continue to recruit, retain and reward the most talented and promising graduate students, the Provost has given the Graduate School provisional approval to proceed with a new plan for enhanced fellowship packages for graduate students in the Humanities and the Social Sciences, aligning their level of support with that of their peers in the biological and physical sciences.
Pending approval of the University Resources Committee’s (URC) budget proposal by the Brown Corporation, beginning July 2017, all PhD students in the Humanities and Social sciences who are supported through the Graduate School’s financial plan will receive 12 continuous months of financial support, up to $30,000 per year. This increase will be provided by the Graduate School for the first five years of graduate degree training to students who are making continuous, documented progress towards completing their degrees, and where no other source of funding exists to reach this level. Graduate programs may want to plan accordingly for the AY2016-17 admissions season and for their current students.
This enhanced support will position Brown to compete for the most accomplished students; provide our graduate students with the resources and benefits they need to excel
at Brown and complete their studies in a timely way; and help reduce students’ need to assume new loan obligations or complement their stipends by seeking additional (often external) employment. The goal is to allow all PhD students to focus on their training throughout the calendar year. This increased funding, along with anticipated enhancements in the training and advising of our graduate students, should position Brown to offer the very best graduate programs available in an array of different fields.
We will confirm this information following the February Corporation meeting, which includes action on the University’s proposed FY2018 budget.
Please contact me with any questions you may have.