Funding

The Department of Biobehavioral Health (BBH) only makes offers to students whom it can commit to funding for full 5 years (and we expect that the PhD can be completed in 4-5 years). This funding typically comes in the form of a teaching assistant (TA) position (for below for details).

Funding on a departmental TA line is in the form of a 10-month stipend for the school year, with tuition also covered (including summer tuition, if desired) and a health insurance package. The department does not cover summer support, but there are opportunities to earn additional money over the summer (e.g., with a research position or by teaching a course).

Teaching Assistantships

Unless other funding is available and arranged, graduate students in BBH are offered admission as a teaching assistant (TA) for fall and spring semesters, at 1/2 time (20 hour, per week, per semester). If available, and as long as the student remains in good academic standing, the department guarantees this level of support for 5 years (fall and spring semesters).

Regardless of funding, all graduate students in BBH are required to complete two semesters of a supervised teaching assistantship. Graduate students in their 5th year who are funded on a teaching assistantship teach a course as the instructor of record. There are many sources of support for learning the science and art of teaching, including departmental resources and workshops specifically designed for graduate students.

Research Assistantships

If the immediate advisor has research funds available for graduate students, students may be offered admission as a research assistant, at 1/2 time (20 hour, per week, per semester). Funding as a research assistant is only guaranteed for the number of years allotted within the research grant. If the research grant funding opportunity ends, the student will be appointed on departmental funds as a teaching assistant, at 1/2 time (20 hours, per week, per semester) for fall and spring semesters (contingent upon the student being in good standing in the department). It is also often the case that if a faculty member has research grant funding available, they will support graduate students over the summer months. If not, there are many opportunities for students to obtain summer funding, such as by providing instruction for our undergraduate summer courses.

Fellowships

Fellowships are highly prestigious financial support packages that typically include a stipend, tuition remission, and a subsidy for medical insurance. They derive from University or outside awards. Unlike assistantships, fellowships are not linked with a specific work commitment. Recipients must be enrolled in degree programs and be registered full time. Fellowship recipients are not permitted to accept employment without obtaining approval from the unit and/or agency supporting the fellowship.

An example is the University Graduate Fellowhip (UGF), which is awarded by our College to select graduate students upon admission; if an incoming graduate student receives a UGF Award, they do not have a commitment to serve as a teaching assistant to the department for the first year.

Traineeships

Training grants are derived from agencies outside the University and are intended to support specific student learning experiences in core curricular areas and research methods. Institutional awards, typically under the direction of a faculty principal investigator, afford funding and special training opportunities.

Below are links to several training grants to which BBH graduate students have applied successfully:

Penn State Center for Healthy Aging “Pathways” T32

Penn State Prevention Research Center “PAMT” T32

Penn State Biomedical Big Data to Knowledge "B2D2K" T32

Penn State Center for Translational and Clinical Science

Penn State Population Research Institute T32 in Demography

Scholarships

Scholarships are financial awards that support graduate study. Most are awarded by colleges, graduate programs, or outside funding agencies and are based on academic merit. Some awards factor in financial need or other grantee-specified criteria.

Other

There are many other ways that our graduate students obtain funding. For example, we have had multiple students obtain an NSF Fellowship (which provides support for 3 full years). There are also college-level fellowships that provide funding for which students can apply and for which BBH Graduate students are often competitive.

You can find more information about university fellowships and awards programs on the Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards Administration (OGFAA) website.

Educational loans are available through the Office of Student Aid and eligibility criteria apply. For details about student loan options, visit the Office of Student Aid's Loans page.