学校事情(33): 学位取得も運次第?
Wikipediaを彷徨いていると, 興味深い記事に出会った. Grad school と Ph.D.についてのエントリーなのだが, funding (お金, 資金)についての記述がわりと詳述されていてやはり誰にとっても切実なのだなぁ、と共感を覚えた.
At some elite universities with large endowments, there may be a minimum stipend established for all Ph.D. students within their first five years, as well as a tuition waiver. This stipend may consist of a scholarship for one to two years, and then guaranteed TA or RA positions. At many elite universities, these stipends have been increasing, in response both to student pressure and especially to competition among the elite universities for graduate students. Because of this competition, increases tend to be concentrated on the beginning years of the program, not on the relatively poorly funded finishing students.
「some elite universities with large endowments」.... あくまで事実として, うちの学校もその1つかとは思うのだが, これは some departments with large endowments, つまりCS, EE, Bioなどのfundingが付きやすい学科とする方が適切な気がする. 個人的観測としては、MITやStanfordなどの(私立の)人気校に入学して, 最初からRA, TA, fellowshipがつく割合というのは極端に低いと聞いたし, 実際Stanford (AA) に関してはそうだとも思う. むしろ日本では全く名前は知られていないが、アメリカ国内では定評のある学校の方がfundingが付きやすいのでは.
以前のエントリーでちらっと紹介したが, 自分のAeronautics & Astronautics (航空宇宙工学科, 非常に発音しにくく, 普段はAerospace Engineeringと簡単な言い方をしている) ではRAの獲得は, 運のしめる割合が (当社比) 70% 以上. Ph.D. candidateへ格上げしてもらうための適正試験Qualifying Exam (これが日本で言う院試といってもよいぐらい) にぶっちぎりの成績で合格してもfundingがつかないというケースも幾つかある.
- Research Assistants
- Aero/Astro research assistantships are usually considered part of a long-term commitment to doctoral-level research, so it is rare for an incoming student to receive an RA offer in this department.
そして, またwikipediaから.
In rare cases, graduate students can lose funding and be de facto terminated from the program. Depending on the structure of the department, this can sometimes even happen at the whim of an advisor. This can be devastating, and there have been instances of suicide, or murder of professors or advisors by graduate students who have lost funding and are unable to complete their degrees.
(中略) However, even students with generous funding at the beginning of their degree may find themselves struggling to find funding to conduct research away from the university or to finish writing.
学部生のころに, 理系大学院の事情についての記事や本を読んで、「アメリカの大学院はどこでもただで勉強できるのか!」と関心したのだが, (私の今の観点では)割と特別なケースばかりを見てきただけだったのかなぁ, と思う. お陰で今の私は, long-term liabilityが蓄積しまくり...
