Binghamton University covers broad-based fees for eligible PhD students

Beginning this semester, Binghamton University is providing scholarships to cover broad-based fees for PhD students who are full-time and fully tuition-funded.

Broad based fees are those that provide access to activities and services and are assessed to all students. They are not user fees, but are for services that are necessary for students to be successful.

“PhD students are a vital part of the research, scholarship and teaching missions of the University,” Stenger said. “Their significant contributions to our growing research productivity and reputation can’t be overstated and have helped Binghamton attain ‘R-1: very high research university status’ by the Carnegie Classifications.”

These PhD students have multiple demands on their time, noted Executive Vice President and Provost Donald Nieman. “They teach, oversee labs, hold office hours and work alongside faculty in the production of new knowledge, all while working on their own research and scholarship and juggling a family life,” he said. “We understand that being a PhD student is challenging and can be stressful and it is time that the financial burden of broad based fees be removed from them.”

Moving forward, all full-time, fully tuition-funded PhD students will receive a scholarship equal to the total of the broad based fees, applied directly to their bill. The scholarship will be applied after the student has completed their registration for the coming semester.

Binghamton annually awards around 150 doctorates and currently has more than 800 PhD students working 20 hours per week and receiving full tuition funding who are eligible for the scholarship. This increased financial support can help these students reduce their time to degree, Stenger said.

To date, 800 eligible students have received scholarships, totaling $429,974.

“Over the past five years, the University has invested $2.3 million each year to increase PhD stipends, while adding $500,000 per year to support additional Provost Summer Fellowships,” Nieman said. “The University will absorb the cost of these scholarships to cover broad based fees, and the expense will be added to our University budget for subsequent years.”

This is a significant cost and will require the University to draw from its reserves and, in the future, reapportion funds currently used for other purposes, Stenger added. “The New York State Legislature and SUNY are looking for ways to address this problem at the state level and we are hopeful that these funds may be provided through the legislative process in the future. In the meantime, we will continue to provide this support for our PhD students who are so vital to our mission.”