While graduate students have not made any visible effort to protest the amount of compensation they receive for their work for the University, a discrepancy remains between the stipends they receive here compared with those of peer universities.
According to Eaton Lattman of the Department of Research and Graduate Education at Hopkins, "Low graduate stipends are the most common complaints that the Dean's Office hears from departmental chairs."
He also went on to agree that the money is often not sufficient for graduate students, but said that "providing significant increases in stipends is a long-term project. There is not much that we can do for them instantly."
Graduate students receive stipends for their work as a teaching or research assistant, and the amount they receive varies by department.
According to Lattman, stipends range from around $13,500 for those in the humanities to around $21,000 for those in the sciences.
Tuition at every graduate school is paid for by the University, fellowships and outside scholarships. Health insurance is included for all Hopkins graduate students as well.
Compensation at other universities was found to be slightly higher. Columbia University humanities students receive an annual stipend of $17,000, while science students receive $25,000. Current data for Yale University was that the minimum stipend was $18,000.
However, one heavily weighted factor when deciding on the stipends offered to graduate students is the cost of living of the area surrounding the University in which they study.
The cost of living in Baltimore, compared to the locations of several peer universities is much lower.
According to the City of Baltimore, the average income of Baltimore City residents is $32,000. New York City's cost of living is 99.8 percent higher than Baltimore, while in New Haven it is an increase of 20.4 percent.
The opinions of graduate students themselves are split.
Kristine Amari, a first-year computer science graduate student at Hopkins, makes $15,000 from her stipend.
Brendon Bagley, a first-year student in the biophysics department, receives a stipend of $24,500 before taxes and is not required to TA a certain number of classes, although he receives more money if he does.
Amari and Bagley both have yet to take on other jobs. "The stipend is sufficient for approximately $600 a month (with car note and cell phone and groceries plus minimal savings)," says Bagley.
He added, "The stipend is competitive and the benefits are good."
Amari says that she feels "lucky, as many schools don't have stipends available to masters students, only Ph.D. students." Bagley's friends in the physics departments at other schools receive around $14,000 for a nine-month period.
Adam Ruben, a biology graduate student receiving $24,500 in stipends, said that some of his friends make the minimum of $13,500 and people who started at Hopkins before the minimum was set. receive even less.
"I'm okay," says Ruben, "but the stipends at the low end of the spectrum are terrible. They are not enough to live upon. Some people are spending more than half of their stipend upon rent."
Lattman said the discrepancy between the departments here at Hopkins is due to a variety of factors.
"Some science departments have federal training grants that pay stipends, and the stipend level is set by the agency. In other departments the stipends are based on the stipends from the previous year, with as large an increase as we can afford."
Accoring to Lattman t is important to note that, "students supported by training grants do not necessarily have to TA."
"In other departments the number of semesters of TA work required depends on the teaching needs of the department. TAs teach more," he said.
"When the department has a lot of large undergraduate courses. Students are supported by research assistantships when there is no TA role for them." Both positions provide stipends for the graduate students.
The Graduate Research Organization, according to Lattman, "has been very creative in suggesting ways in which our current budge can be deployed more effectively."
Ben Tilghman, co-chair of the GRO, said, "The deans, the provost and many other members of the administration are all eager to hear our concerns and often come to us for our thoughts and assistance on various issues."
Ultimately, Lattman said that "raising money for graduate education will be a very high priority for the next development campaign."
At other universities, the issue of low stipends has lead to much dissatisfaction among graduate students.
At Columbia University and Yale University this past April, graduate students organized a strike to demand the right to unionize. With more than 250 graduate students refusing to teach at Yale University, 450 classes were affected.
Both universities worked with the graduate students to come up with a solution to their demands, and the strikes ended.
The main goal of unionization was not met at either school. This is due to a ruling by the National Labor Relations Board in 2004, which makes unionization illegal at private universities.
At New York University, where teaching assistants are recognized as a union, graduate students authorized a strike for Nov. 9 in response to a renewed contract they recieved from the University which was found to be unsatisfactory.
