Compensation policies for Graduate Students
Definition of positions:
- Teaching Assistants (TA): TAs are graduate students who primarily provide classroom support, either by teaching, leading discussion sections, grading, or preparing classroom materials. TAs are typically expected to work 10 to 20 hours per week during the semester/academic year.
- Graduate Assistants (GA): GAs are graduate students who primarily complete research and/or provide administrative aid; they may also teach or provide other forms of instructional support. GAs are typically expected to work 10 to 20 hours per week during the semester/academic year.
- Research Project Assistants (RPA): Research Project Assistants are graduate student positions appointed through the Research Foundation on a salaried basis. RPA positions are typically funded through externally sponsored awards and are subject to the terms and conditions of those awards. During the academic year, RPAs may work a maximum of 20 hours per week (some expectations may apply. Contact Research Foundation HR for additional information). During the summer period, RPAs may work up to 40 hours per week. Compensation for RPAs must be equivalent to New York State–funded GATA biweekly stipend rates. Any deviations from this compensation structure must receive prior approval from the Graduate School. RPAs are eligible for tuition and fee scholarships. Principal Investigators submitting grants and contracts must ensure compliance with the Tuition Scholarship Reimbursement Policy for Grants and Contracts.
Compensation and benefits for New York State-funded GA and TA positions are governed by the Graduate Student Employee Union (GSEU), which sets a minimum stipend for employees on full assistantships of $18,000 effective July 1, 2026. This contractually-negotiated minimum applies to all graduate student positions covered by the GSEU contract.
The Binghamton University base stipend sets a higher threshold of compensation for all in-person doctoral programs that typically provide fully funded GA/TA positions with full tuition and fee scholarships. Effective January 1, 2026, the base stipend for both NY state-funded GA/TA positions and RPAs appointed through the RF is $25,000 for the academic year (10 month).
Fellowship exceptions: Doctoral students appointed to an externally-funded fellowship such as the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP), National Research Service Award (NRSA) Fellowships, or other institutional training grants (eg, NIH T32 appointees) are appointed through the RF on a fellowship line that it may be funded at a lower level than the Binghamton University base stipend. In these cases, salary supplementation through a concurrent RPA appointment is strongly recommended so that the total compensation of the Fellow meets or exceeds the base stipend of $25,000 (10 months).