UB statement regarding student protests and stipend funding

The university very much values the talent and dedication of our doctoral students. This is why the university and its academic departments have worked to steadily increase graduate student funding packages.

In 2016-17, the university’s total investment in tuition scholarships and stipends was $48.5 million, which reflects an increased investment of $7.5 million over the past three years. Today, doctoral assistants at UB receive a total funding package of about $38,000, which includes tuition scholarship, stipend and health benefits. We believe this represents a significant investment in our doctoral students.

While many of UB’s academic departments do offer graduate student assistant stipends that are on par with national averages, we recognize there are some academic departments at UB whose stipend levels are below national benchmarks.

The College of Arts and Sciences and its faculty are in the process of determining whether departments, such as the English Department, have the financial capacity to increase stipends to national benchmarks, as part of the college’s annual ongoing resource planning process.

As our efforts go forward, we will continue to share information with students and faculty regarding the stipend process and our university’s efforts to improve upon the excellence of doctoral education.  Furthermore, the university is committed to continuing to actively advocate for the removal of the part of the tax reform bill that taxes graduate student tuition.

About protests at UB

The university recognizes and respects the students’ right to protest. It is our expectation that protests occur lawfully in public spaces in accordance with SUNY’s policy on maintenance of public order. This policy is available for review at http://bit.ly/2jJwyy3.