Summer funding can take many forms, and each has different expectations. Summer assistantships include the same expectations as academic year appointment. For summer TA, GA, and RA appointments this includes 15 hours/week of service plus full-time academic progress. GRA and fellowship appointments don’t quantify time spent in research and scholarship activities but do require students to be engaged in their degree activities full-time. External internships can range from full time to a few hours per week.
Fellowships are akin to scholarships and are intended to support academic progress. Students on fellowship are expected to make full-time progress towards their degree during the summer term but are not providing a service (such as teaching) to the university.
A student must be funded over the summer if they are in good academic standing and they are:
- expected to make progress on their dissertation over the summer, or
- carrying out activities that could reasonably be considered as service to the university under the supervision of an advisor.
This funding can take many forms, including teaching assistantships, externally funded internships, graduate research assistantships, or other similar sources.
Many students seek summer TA opportunities through Cornell’s College of Continuing Education and Summer Session, seek hourly employment with a research group or administrative unit on campus, or use the summer to complete internships. Others apply for external summer fellowships that fund degree progress or research travel and can be a prestigious credential to add to a C.V.
A minimum stipend of $6,846 is considered fully funded for fellowships awardees. A minimum stipend of $10,832 is considered fully funded for enrolled students with a standard assistantship appointment.
Assistantships include an expectation of service to Cornell as well as academic progress. Fellowships have no service requirements and expectations are solely for students to work on their own degree objectives.
Some programs have no expectation for academic progress over the summer so students may use the time as a break. In those circumstances students may not receive a summer stipend unless they accept hourly employment or are offered an assistantship.
Internships can be an important opportunity to develop new skills, advance research ideas, and explore career possibilities. Doctoral students can accept paid summer internships as part of their academic program and funding plan.
Students may decline assistantships or other funding opportunities and may elect to take time over the summer as a break. However, it’s important to talk with your committee and field to understand if this will impact your degree timeline and progress. In most cases, students can seek out other summer opportunities, such as serving as a TA for a summer session course. If a student declines a funding offer the field is not obligated to find alternatives.
Contact the Graduate School gradschooldeans@cornell.edu.
