Hull Lab University of California, Davis
Hull Lab UC Davis
Graduate student funding
***This section is based on graduate student experience and is intended to give prospective students an idea of funding opportunities utilized by Hull lab students. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list or to provide any official information.***
The costs graduate students should be aware of and discuss include living expenses, tuition, healthcare, research expenses, conference and professional society fees, grant application fees, conference travel, professional development and workshops, and publication costs.
To fund living expenses and tuition, most students rely on quarterly teaching assistant positions. Research costs are often funded through partnerships or applying for various small grants. Other expenses may be paid by individual students.
Funding sources available to students in the Graduate Group in Ecology:
https://ecology.ucdavis.edu/funding
The Ecology graduate group awards a limited number of fellowships to cover living stipend and tuition for selected students in the graduate group. The total number of fellowships offered each year varies by available funding.
Animal Science departmental graduate student research, salary, tuition, travel support:
Graduate students in the Hull lab are qualified to apply for the Jastro research grant.
Teaching assistant, readership, and research assistant positions:
https://ecology.ucdavis.edu/tagsr-information
No guaranteed positions available through the Department of Animal Science, Ecology Graduate Group, Avian Sciences Graduate Group, or the Hull lab. TA /reader/GSR positions are secured by individual students in the lab and can occur in any department campus-wide. Applications and deadlines vary by department. TA/reader positions are quarterly and are offered for 9 months of the year. Summer TA/reader positions for 6 weeks are available in summer session 1 and 2 and the salary is scaled.
Summer support:
Graduate students are not required to pay tuition during summer unless they are enrolled in classes, however, they often still need to find a way to pay for living expenses during this time. Typically, paying for the student healthcare plan in spring allows coverage to last through summer. For summer TAships/readerships see above.
Federal student loans:
https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans/subsidized-unsubsidized
Federal loans are available to qualified students through filling out the FAFSA for living and tuition expenses. These loans are unsubsidized and begin accumulating interest immediately after the quarter they are received. Repayment of any student loan is deferred while the student maintains full-time status. Qualified students may also receive campus fee grants.
Undergraduate research awards:
https://urc.ucdavis.edu/awards
There are several awards available through the university that undergraduates can apply to for costs associated with independent research projects.