Program Benefits

The Smith PhD Initiative includes a number of components designed to offer its doctoral students an unprecedented degree of compensation, resources and benefits. These include:

Funding: Every student admitted to the PhD Program typically receives full financial support in the form of a graduate assistantship or fellowship for all five years pending satisfactory progress. Each student also receives a $1500 research stipend per year that can be used for research-related expenses, such as travel to conferences. Like the assistantship/fellowship, the research stipend depends on satisfactory progress in the program. See Financial Aid for more detail.

State-of-the-Art Facilities: Each student is provided with a carrel and computer in the PhD Program Suite. The PhD Program Suite, which opened in 2008, is in a new wing of Van Munching Hall. The suite was funded by William A. Longbrake, a 1976 doctoral alumnus. Along with the carrel and computer, students have access to a well-equipped kitchen, team study rooms, and typical office equipment. See more about what the Smith School offers.

• Faculty-Colleague Relationship: A close working relationship between faculty and Ph.D. students is a hallmark of the program.
• Recognizable Research: Students regularly present papers at national as well as regional conferences and have papers accepted in major academic journals.

The Smith School’s PhD Program, rated #38 in the world by the Financial Times (2011), has grown in both numbers and reputation over the past 10 years. The doctoral program is global and attracts a very diverse group of PhD students. At this time, there are approximately 100 students who represent 15 countries; about 69 percent are international and about 46 percent are women.