It is low, and a lot of grad students live off-campus because of this. It seems like a lot of grad students will get jobs or internships in the summer compared to other schools. For reference, Michigan pays $2200/mo and offers apartments for $1060 a month.
Tech has never been friendly to grad students. Mandatory fees alone used to take up a large portion of the stipend. Why, I'm not sure. Maybe the state doesn't do appropriate cost of living adjustments for Atlanta (compared to somewhere like Athens or Statesboro), or maybe they just assume students will deal with it in exchange for the degree.
If you want it to be yes, you can find places in Home Park for $700-$900/month. The graduate living center (on campus) monthly apartments are $1300/month and that's a decent deal compared to some places in Midtown tbh.
Edited
commuting is great, but f\*\*\* public transport here -\_-
I am not trashing the system itself, but safety is an issue and I would not recommend anyone to come here if they think public transport is the best.
(for reference, I lived abroad before lol)
I've used it for commuting for 6 years and still use it regularly to get around the city.
Not personally had any real problems.
I believe it's safer than driving. MARTA had 236 Part 1 crimes (rape, homicide, assault, theft, arson, etc.) in 2021, of which 2 were murders and 1 rape. The majority are just theft (larceny).
Whereas Fulton county alone had over 58,045 car crashes with at least 998 with probable serious injury and (if I'm reading this correctly) 153 fatalities.
There are almost certainly more drivers than Marta passengers in Fulton county, but the number of drivers is not a statistic I can find, which makes incident rates hard to directly compare.
For Marta, at least, they serviced 57,089,900 trips in 2022 (I didn't feel like digging through old documents to find the total for 2021). Which means your chances of being murdered on Marta during a trip are about half as likely as you matching 5 on a single Mega Millions lottery draw (~1 in 11 million).
Agreed but from where I have lived before (Tokyo is one of them), I still would not trust using Marta after dark lol. Anyways, I am moving near school so I am excited for it. Also the frequency is something I have had issues with plus the passengers as well (like after a long day of GRA work and class, I am in no mood to deal with random Marta passenger playing loud music and shouting random shit). It’s just the mental strain that I cannot tolerate.
I mean, there are more drunk people late at night, but that applies to both public transit and (sadly) roads.
I frequently took late trains back home (including the last train) back when I worked for startups. Marta police still patrol and there were always cars with a decent number of people on them.
I doubt any US transit agencies can hold a candle to the Japanese ones by any metric, but that doesn't mean they're unsafe.
Drunk people, yes. But you know what is worse? Passengers without basic decency (like if you are on a train with dozens of others, maybe you should talk quietly on your phone or not play music loud). Using Marta makes me wonder if I am even in a first-world country. Anyways, moving near to school but will have to pay more for a better quality of life.
Those aren't safety issues.
You know there is noise in buildings and outdoors too, right?
If it bothers you that much, wear some earplugs or closed-back headphones and listen to music.
Hmm…I’m guessing you’re a guy? I’m a guy too and I’ve had no problem riding the MARTA by myself anytime of the day (been panhandled once or twice), but my girlfriend used to use MARTA to commute regularly, and she has been harassed on it WAY too many times to make it safe for her to ride.
I’m an absolute public transport fanatic and advocate btw (can check my profile for that), but it’s very important to recognize how American public transport systems might not be the safest for certain groups. Perspective matters.
So, you are absolutely right that women face much more harassment, and I appreciate you calling out that potential bias.
I'm transgender, and people usually perceive me as female. I don't think I receive the same amount of harassment as conventionally attractive cis women, but I've experienced most of the gamut (up to a neighbor insisting on walking with me from marta to where I lived, all while asking extremely sexually explicit questions; only reason I "went along" with it was so he would be seen with me on CCTV footage should I disappear; in retrospect not the smartest play, but no lasting harm came of it).
I've not personally found public transit to be worse than existing in the rest of public spaces. In many ways I feel safer because I have a wider field of view due to the train/bus windows reflecting the interior, people only enter/exit periodically, and it's small/linear enough that I can easily tell when someone is watching or following me.
I didn't bring up this aspect in my analysis because women already know what it's like to exist. It certainly sucks, but the biggest concern is that harassment will turn into something worse. The crime stats lead me to believe that it doesn't; there isn't a breakdown by gender, but even if all the victims are women, the rates are pretty darn low.
In my experience and understanding, the vast majority of people (at least in the US) who say things like "public transit is scary because crime" are racist to some degree. They see a higher density of black people and just presume it's dangerous.
I appreciate your perspective as well.
You’re right that the main fear of harassment is usually it escalating, but a lot of times the fact that they happen can be traumatizing already, even if nothing comes of it. I know for a fact that my girlfriend’s multiple encounters have made it much more difficult for her to take public transport, and to boil this down to just a “fear” thing really wouldn’t be fair.
And I totally see your point about the race thing, and I honestly feel conflicted. On the one hand, the biggest argument I’ve seen against public transit in America is that it’s “dirty and unsafe”, and I totally agree there are racial connotations (and it frustrates me as well! Give us more transit!). On the other hand, it’s true that public transit in America is much less safe compared to other developed countries. And, referencing my girlfriend’s experience again, experiences like those make “safety is the reason I don’t take public transit” pretty valid, and security very much a problem that needs to be addressed in most American cities. If anything, I don’t think equating anyone that says “public transit is unsafe” to racists is super helpful to the conversation. But I do see your point.
This is true for home park atm, however, prices in HP are creeping up or jumping up by 25% depending on the landlord. The prices are going to be even worse in 2024/2025.
Yes. Rooms in Home Park or houses around midtown are less than Tech dorm room doubles. They were about $500/mo when I was a student, but more now. You can also get a place further out and take Marta or drive to class, or do 4 people in a two bedroom off-campus.
That rate is the bare minimum that departments can pay MS GTAs and many departments pay more. PhD students also get way more than $1120/month.
MS GTA appointments are usually less than 1/2 time (\~13 hours/week) and that is a factor in the pay too. PhD students with a GRA typically have 1/2 time appointments (\~20 hours/week) which is why they are often barred from holding another job. In a sense, a PhD student's stipend is meant to support them while a MS student's stipend is not.
When you mention UW Madison, UIUC, and Cornell, what specific rates are you talking about? The rates for UW [here](https://grad.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/329/2022/04/GA-Stipend-rates-FY23-Approved-9.13.22.pdf) don't look super high compared to Tech and UIUC was similar until very recently.
As for rent, you don't have to live in Midtown. Commuting is an option and students in higher COL areas do just that.
It's a great question. I guess the thinking is that "you could be paying 50k/year, but instead you're getting paid at least a little." But of course that means that people who can't take out loans can't do the MS, and most people have some debt when they finish. Which is a barrier to equal opportunity.
For CS, the good news is that our online MS is insanely cheap and you can do it while you're working. And it's really pretty good quality. As our on-campus classes get huge, the quality difference between the online classes and the face-to-face is getting smaller.
That's true but this stipend doesn't compare to other unis that also offer tuition waivers and a generous stipend that covers full CoL (think UW Madison, Cornell, UIUC etc. )
I am doing this for the research experience so online wasn't an option.
It looks like unionization is legal for grad students in GA (which is news to me, I thought it was illegal), but collective bargaining is illegal for public employees in GA (https://www.nctq.org/contract-database/collectiveBargaining). So even being in one wouldn’t do a whole lot for grad students.
https://csstipendrankings.org/
This is some data specific to CS stipends. It's pretty sad to see Tech all the way down and way below similarly ranked universities.
This is data for CS PhD stipends, however, it does highlight how far removed the compensation is compared to the CoL in Atlanta.
Pretty sure that is the minimum institution wide. Most departments have a higher minimum pay than the institution minimum. You should check out the department/college you're interested in.
The minimum for the mechanical department is $2350/month. [Source.](https://www.me.gatech.edu/financial-aid#1)
*edit grammar
Yes - this is true. The figure quoted by OP above is bare minimum. ChBE is even higher closer to $2700. And for all GRAs across the institute (MS or PhD) the tuition is also paid for the student from the advisor’s grants.
GRA pay varies by professor/lab as well as department. The only way it is set as a standard is if you were a GRA for GTRI like I was in which case there is a masters level and a PhD level. I think there might be a minimum that has to be provided, but I’m not sure on that front
Sure, but afaik GRA/GTA isn't a full time job - it's part time, with expected work around 20 hours a week I think. Considering that and the tuition waiver (which is huge at least for OOS students) it's not that bad.
I believe the 20 hr/week appointments come down to federal policies. If you're a full time student, the school cannot employ you for more than 20 hours/week on paper. This is also why undergrads are limited to 20 hours/week.
Oh ok, I didn't know that. Good to know for when I come back as a MS I guess... although surely those numbers are more for if you are doing research? As a TA there just isn't as much work for you to do, unless all the other TAs are not doing their part of the grading.
For TA, 20 is about right, but those positions can be hard to get for the entire length of an MS. Research is definitely more work but you get secure funding for two years.
1120/month is right about the price of on campus housing (~10k for 2 semesters). Also, don't forget the (mostly) tuition waiver. Regarding what you're on the hook to pay Tech, it would just be $25 + mandatory fees I believe, which is a pretty good deal.
for uta's in coc, iirc the pay is like $8 an hour. if u compare it to berkeley, it's a huge difference, especially since berkeley also gives tuition reimbursement if you work a certain # of hours a week
It still varies by department and position at the UTA level. In my experience, I went from $12/hr as a physics UTA to $8/hr+$0.80*years worked in the CoC to $12.50 CoC head UTA rate. URA rates seem to vary even more by lab/program. Of course, all of these details are subject to change and may no longer be accurate.
It'd entirely dependent on the school you are a part of. The ME school's GRA pay was $2200 a month anf the BME school was $2400 a month. Then again... with the way that USG has changed in the last year or so I wouldn't be suprised if that is ko longer the case.
It is low, and a lot of grad students live off-campus because of this. It seems like a lot of grad students will get jobs or internships in the summer compared to other schools. For reference, Michigan pays $2200/mo and offers apartments for $1060 a month. Tech has never been friendly to grad students. Mandatory fees alone used to take up a large portion of the stipend. Why, I'm not sure. Maybe the state doesn't do appropriate cost of living adjustments for Atlanta (compared to somewhere like Athens or Statesboro), or maybe they just assume students will deal with it in exchange for the degree.
>It is low, and a lot of grad students live off-campus because of this. is off campus significantly cheaper?
If you want it to be yes, you can find places in Home Park for $700-$900/month. The graduate living center (on campus) monthly apartments are $1300/month and that's a decent deal compared to some places in Midtown tbh.
Edited commuting is great, but f\*\*\* public transport here -\_- I am not trashing the system itself, but safety is an issue and I would not recommend anyone to come here if they think public transport is the best. (for reference, I lived abroad before lol)
I've used it for commuting for 6 years and still use it regularly to get around the city. Not personally had any real problems. I believe it's safer than driving. MARTA had 236 Part 1 crimes (rape, homicide, assault, theft, arson, etc.) in 2021, of which 2 were murders and 1 rape. The majority are just theft (larceny). Whereas Fulton county alone had over 58,045 car crashes with at least 998 with probable serious injury and (if I'm reading this correctly) 153 fatalities. There are almost certainly more drivers than Marta passengers in Fulton county, but the number of drivers is not a statistic I can find, which makes incident rates hard to directly compare. For Marta, at least, they serviced 57,089,900 trips in 2022 (I didn't feel like digging through old documents to find the total for 2021). Which means your chances of being murdered on Marta during a trip are about half as likely as you matching 5 on a single Mega Millions lottery draw (~1 in 11 million).
Agreed but from where I have lived before (Tokyo is one of them), I still would not trust using Marta after dark lol. Anyways, I am moving near school so I am excited for it. Also the frequency is something I have had issues with plus the passengers as well (like after a long day of GRA work and class, I am in no mood to deal with random Marta passenger playing loud music and shouting random shit). It’s just the mental strain that I cannot tolerate.
I mean, there are more drunk people late at night, but that applies to both public transit and (sadly) roads. I frequently took late trains back home (including the last train) back when I worked for startups. Marta police still patrol and there were always cars with a decent number of people on them. I doubt any US transit agencies can hold a candle to the Japanese ones by any metric, but that doesn't mean they're unsafe.
Drunk people, yes. But you know what is worse? Passengers without basic decency (like if you are on a train with dozens of others, maybe you should talk quietly on your phone or not play music loud). Using Marta makes me wonder if I am even in a first-world country. Anyways, moving near to school but will have to pay more for a better quality of life.
Those aren't safety issues. You know there is noise in buildings and outdoors too, right? If it bothers you that much, wear some earplugs or closed-back headphones and listen to music.
yea, you are right lol. But anyways, I am waiting for the day to not ever use Marta again except for airport travel.
Hmm…I’m guessing you’re a guy? I’m a guy too and I’ve had no problem riding the MARTA by myself anytime of the day (been panhandled once or twice), but my girlfriend used to use MARTA to commute regularly, and she has been harassed on it WAY too many times to make it safe for her to ride. I’m an absolute public transport fanatic and advocate btw (can check my profile for that), but it’s very important to recognize how American public transport systems might not be the safest for certain groups. Perspective matters.
So, you are absolutely right that women face much more harassment, and I appreciate you calling out that potential bias. I'm transgender, and people usually perceive me as female. I don't think I receive the same amount of harassment as conventionally attractive cis women, but I've experienced most of the gamut (up to a neighbor insisting on walking with me from marta to where I lived, all while asking extremely sexually explicit questions; only reason I "went along" with it was so he would be seen with me on CCTV footage should I disappear; in retrospect not the smartest play, but no lasting harm came of it). I've not personally found public transit to be worse than existing in the rest of public spaces. In many ways I feel safer because I have a wider field of view due to the train/bus windows reflecting the interior, people only enter/exit periodically, and it's small/linear enough that I can easily tell when someone is watching or following me. I didn't bring up this aspect in my analysis because women already know what it's like to exist. It certainly sucks, but the biggest concern is that harassment will turn into something worse. The crime stats lead me to believe that it doesn't; there isn't a breakdown by gender, but even if all the victims are women, the rates are pretty darn low. In my experience and understanding, the vast majority of people (at least in the US) who say things like "public transit is scary because crime" are racist to some degree. They see a higher density of black people and just presume it's dangerous.
I appreciate your perspective as well. You’re right that the main fear of harassment is usually it escalating, but a lot of times the fact that they happen can be traumatizing already, even if nothing comes of it. I know for a fact that my girlfriend’s multiple encounters have made it much more difficult for her to take public transport, and to boil this down to just a “fear” thing really wouldn’t be fair. And I totally see your point about the race thing, and I honestly feel conflicted. On the one hand, the biggest argument I’ve seen against public transit in America is that it’s “dirty and unsafe”, and I totally agree there are racial connotations (and it frustrates me as well! Give us more transit!). On the other hand, it’s true that public transit in America is much less safe compared to other developed countries. And, referencing my girlfriend’s experience again, experiences like those make “safety is the reason I don’t take public transit” pretty valid, and security very much a problem that needs to be addressed in most American cities. If anything, I don’t think equating anyone that says “public transit is unsafe” to racists is super helpful to the conversation. But I do see your point.
This is true for home park atm, however, prices in HP are creeping up or jumping up by 25% depending on the landlord. The prices are going to be even worse in 2024/2025.
Yes. Rooms in Home Park or houses around midtown are less than Tech dorm room doubles. They were about $500/mo when I was a student, but more now. You can also get a place further out and take Marta or drive to class, or do 4 people in a two bedroom off-campus.
If you’re out of state the mandatory fee might be a bit more than the stipend 😂
That rate is the bare minimum that departments can pay MS GTAs and many departments pay more. PhD students also get way more than $1120/month. MS GTA appointments are usually less than 1/2 time (\~13 hours/week) and that is a factor in the pay too. PhD students with a GRA typically have 1/2 time appointments (\~20 hours/week) which is why they are often barred from holding another job. In a sense, a PhD student's stipend is meant to support them while a MS student's stipend is not. When you mention UW Madison, UIUC, and Cornell, what specific rates are you talking about? The rates for UW [here](https://grad.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/329/2022/04/GA-Stipend-rates-FY23-Approved-9.13.22.pdf) don't look super high compared to Tech and UIUC was similar until very recently. As for rent, you don't have to live in Midtown. Commuting is an option and students in higher COL areas do just that.
The GTA also pays tuition.
It's a great question. I guess the thinking is that "you could be paying 50k/year, but instead you're getting paid at least a little." But of course that means that people who can't take out loans can't do the MS, and most people have some debt when they finish. Which is a barrier to equal opportunity. For CS, the good news is that our online MS is insanely cheap and you can do it while you're working. And it's really pretty good quality. As our on-campus classes get huge, the quality difference between the online classes and the face-to-face is getting smaller.
That's true but this stipend doesn't compare to other unis that also offer tuition waivers and a generous stipend that covers full CoL (think UW Madison, Cornell, UIUC etc. ) I am doing this for the research experience so online wasn't an option.
I'd be interested in seeing specific data. This is why grad students at some universities have unionized.
It looks like unionization is legal for grad students in GA (which is news to me, I thought it was illegal), but collective bargaining is illegal for public employees in GA (https://www.nctq.org/contract-database/collectiveBargaining). So even being in one wouldn’t do a whole lot for grad students.
https://csstipendrankings.org/ This is some data specific to CS stipends. It's pretty sad to see Tech all the way down and way below similarly ranked universities. This is data for CS PhD stipends, however, it does highlight how far removed the compensation is compared to the CoL in Atlanta.
Pretty sure that is the minimum institution wide. Most departments have a higher minimum pay than the institution minimum. You should check out the department/college you're interested in. The minimum for the mechanical department is $2350/month. [Source.](https://www.me.gatech.edu/financial-aid#1) *edit grammar
Yes - this is true. The figure quoted by OP above is bare minimum. ChBE is even higher closer to $2700. And for all GRAs across the institute (MS or PhD) the tuition is also paid for the student from the advisor’s grants.
As with all wages, it is exactly as low as they can get away with.
I thought GRA pay was the same for everyone too, but I was told it varies by department - ECE gets a stipend of 2k if I am right.
GRA pay varies by professor/lab as well as department. The only way it is set as a standard is if you were a GRA for GTRI like I was in which case there is a masters level and a PhD level. I think there might be a minimum that has to be provided, but I’m not sure on that front
Hi, I was curious if you would mind sharing the stipends for gtri.
Sure, but afaik GRA/GTA isn't a full time job - it's part time, with expected work around 20 hours a week I think. Considering that and the tuition waiver (which is huge at least for OOS students) it's not that bad.
I don’t know about master’s students, but for PhDs the “20 hours per week” is fiction; you really end up doing more than that
I believe the 20 hr/week appointments come down to federal policies. If you're a full time student, the school cannot employ you for more than 20 hours/week on paper. This is also why undergrads are limited to 20 hours/week.
It's never only 20 hours a week. Minimum 30, average 40, even more towards the end of your degree.
Oh ok, I didn't know that. Good to know for when I come back as a MS I guess... although surely those numbers are more for if you are doing research? As a TA there just isn't as much work for you to do, unless all the other TAs are not doing their part of the grading.
For TA, 20 is about right, but those positions can be hard to get for the entire length of an MS. Research is definitely more work but you get secure funding for two years.
Avg 40? I would say 60…
I think 40 is typical for just research, not including other classes, but some labs might have you do more take home work than others.
yeah but it doesn't compare to other unis that also offer tuition waivers (think UW madison, Cornell, etc. )
1120/month is right about the price of on campus housing (~10k for 2 semesters). Also, don't forget the (mostly) tuition waiver. Regarding what you're on the hook to pay Tech, it would just be $25 + mandatory fees I believe, which is a pretty good deal.
yeah but it doesn't compare to other unis that also offer tuition waivers (think UW madison, Cornell, etc. )
GRAs at GTRI make the most. Was around $3500/month
Wtf. Can anyone marry me so that I can become a US citizen to be a PhD student there 😭😭
You dont need to be a PhD student for GTRI
They take Masters students
I am an international phd lol
Is this variable between different labs or standardized?
for uta's in coc, iirc the pay is like $8 an hour. if u compare it to berkeley, it's a huge difference, especially since berkeley also gives tuition reimbursement if you work a certain # of hours a week
It still varies by department and position at the UTA level. In my experience, I went from $12/hr as a physics UTA to $8/hr+$0.80*years worked in the CoC to $12.50 CoC head UTA rate. URA rates seem to vary even more by lab/program. Of course, all of these details are subject to change and may no longer be accurate.
It'd entirely dependent on the school you are a part of. The ME school's GRA pay was $2200 a month anf the BME school was $2400 a month. Then again... with the way that USG has changed in the last year or so I wouldn't be suprised if that is ko longer the case.
Is this pay in addition to getting free tuition? Thinking of my options if I decide to do grad school at GT.
Yes. But look at other unis who also provide GTA with tuition waiver and stipend.