Funding Package and Direct Compensation

This section applies only to students in the PhD program in Biomedical Sciences or Neuroscience, and to students in the MD/PhD program.

Students in the PhD and MD/PhD in Biomedical Sciences or Neuroscience programs will receive a comprehensive funding package, which includes direct compensation, tuition remission, and a student health insurance plan. (Note that this direct compensation is sometimes referred to informally as a “stipend.”)
Exceptions to this financial support package occur when a student has an external award in place that provides for such fundings, in which case funds from the external source may replace part or all of the institutionally-provided financial package.
Continuation of the financial package is contingent upon maintaining satisfactory progress in the program at all times. The absence of such progress may result in discontinuation of financial support and dismissal from the program.
For PhD program students, direct compensation will end on the day the student’s dissertation is deposited, and health insurance coverage will end on the last day of the term in which the student deposits. For MD/PhD students, direct compensation will end on the day the student receives their final degree.
In the case of a research mentor change requiring a new rotation (as outlined in Part II, Chapter 1 “PhD in Biomedical Sciences and Neuroscience"), the mentee will receive up to 3 months of stipend support from the GSBS to pursue rotations prior to selecting a new laboratory.

During a student’s early training, during which time students are completing general program requirements and selecting a research mentor and Multidisciplinary Training Area, the student’s funding package is supported through general Graduate School funds. (The Graduate School funds 100% of the package during the student’s first year and 75% during the second year, unless the student is supported by a training grant or individual fellowship.)
For the remainder of the student’s time in the PhD program, the student’s research mentor (PI) is responsible for identifying the funding source(s) of the student’s funding package. Research mentors who encounter unexpected difficulty in supporting a trainee’s funding package may contact the Graduate School at gs-admin@mssm.edu about its bridge funding policy.
Students are strongly encouraged to work closely with their research mentor to identify such funding, especially by applying for individual fellowships from extramural sources.

Students who apply for and receive an NIH “F” grant, or who receive a federal or non-federal fellowship of comparable stature (e.g. AHA, HHMI, , will receive from the Graduate School an additional $2,000 annually, for the period the award is in effect.
Research mentors are encouraged to match this $2,000 with an additional $2,000 if lab funding allows. (Matching funds from research mentors must come from a funding source that permits such payments.)
Students who receive such fellowships should email the Graduate School at gs-admin@mssm.edu to request such payment, attaching the notification of the award and cc-ing their faculty research mentor.

Last updated 5 months ago