Minimum Stipend
One of GSG’s primary responsibilities is collaborating with UD’s administration to ensure that the minimum stipend is both livable and competitive. As of September 2025, the current minimum stipend is:
- $27,000 for 9-month contracts (going to $29,000 in fall of 2026).
- $36,000 for 12-month contracts.
The Graduate Student Government continues to push for a university policy to tie the minimum stipend to inflation levels, ensuring it rises with the cost of living. Most recently, in SR-2425-16, the Senate approved a resolution proposing a policy to fix the ratio of the minimum stipend to the CPI at 85.
Internal Funding Opportunities
There are several funding opportunities available at UD. A complete and up-to-date list can be found here. The Graduate College offers several award options to fund a Graduate Student including. You can apply for the following:
- Summer funding
- Climate Hub grants
- George W. Laird Merit Fellowship for First Year Engineering Graduate Students
- DENIN Environmental Fellows
- Unidel Louise Roselle Graduate Assistantship at Winterthur
- Library, Museum, and Collection awards
The graduate college also offers award funding, where students are nominated for the award. Talk to your advisor about being nominated for an award. The awards include:
Travel Funding
Along with funding from your advisor and department, there are several travel funding grants at the University. They include:
- Graduate Student Travel Award Application Form – Stay tuned as GSG’s travel award ad-hoc committee concludes its work to overhaul this policy.
- UD Collection-Based Research Grant Program
- Unidel Louise Roselle Collections-Based Research Travel Award
External Funding Opportunities
There are many external funding grants that students can apply for. Below are some of those opportunities:
- AAUW’s International Fellowship Program – for women-identifying non-U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
- Delaware Space Grant Graduate Fellowship