Summer Funding and Employment

Doctoral students can work as regular graduate assistants or casual hourly employees, or any combination therein, for Summer Quarter. For example, a student could work as a 50% teaching assistant (TA) only. Or, they could work as a 50% TA plus work 16 hours per week as a casual hourly employee on a project. Various rules apply for enrollment and maximum hour requirements. Please see the sections below for more information.

As of the 2020-21 Academic Year, students in the GSE are expected to receive summer funding for years 1-5.  Summer funding will be equivalent to the minimum 50% level (i.e. the pre-candidacy RA-ship rate) and between 1-5 units/TGR tuition. 

GSE students admitted in 2024 or later will have an assistantship with their supervisor (and in some years a stipend) unless other funding arrangements are made. See the Funding Details table in the Financing Your Education page for more details about the new funding model. 

Summer Gap Funding

If a GSE student admitted before Autumn 2024 does not have an assistantship, fellowship, or stipend that covers them at the minimum 50% level, the University provides gap funding in the form of a stipend that will ensure the student meets this minimum guarantee. Students who have full fellowship funding from the University may not bank it in order to receive gap funding. 

Students who receive gap funding can work up to 16 hrs/wk as casual employees on work that is not predominately research or teaching. Work that is predominately research or teaching and at least 4 hrs/wk must be an assistantship, and will reduce the amount of gap funding eligible for the student.

Assistantships in Summer Quarter

Assistantships are full quarter appointments with a fixed salary based upon a student's percentage of employment (e.g., 25% TA). Assistantships require at least 1 unit (or TGR) enrollment for Summer Quarter, even when students work as an hourly employee in addition to the assistantship.

The maximum percentage for summer assistantships is the 90% level (i.e., 36 hours per week). Students can combine different assistantships to reach the 90% level, or they can blend assistantships with hourly employment. Regardless, students cannot exceed 36 hours of employment per week when enrolled in any courses for the summer.

The Cardinal Care health insurance subsidy rules are the same in the summer as during the regular academic year. See the Health Insurance Subsidy section.

Assistantship Support from Stanford (i.e., non-GSE Departments, Schools, Centers)

GSE students may work in research or teaching assistantships outside of the GSE. Pay rates are set by the hiring department or school and may be less than what the student would normally receive at the GSE. However, the University’s minimum salary levels for graduate assistantships must be met. The student is expected to discuss the relevance of this non-GSE appointment with her or his advisor. Support through other Stanford departments or schools is considered part of the GSE five-year funding period. Students who receive non-GSE funding in their first four academic years do not prolong or bank their GSE support by doing so. See the Five-Year Funding Period section for more details about the doctoral funding package.