Upon receiving your admission offer, you will be able to review your financial aid package from Duke. You can see this information under the Financial Aid tab in the Applicant Self-Service portal.

Questions about financial aid should be directed to grad-finaid@duke.edu.

First-Year Ph.D. Stipend Schedule

In their first year, Ph.D. students entering in the fall will receive their stipend in equal monthly installments starting at the end of August. In subsequent academic years, students get their first stipend payment at the end of September.

This means the annual stipend is split over an extra month in the first year than in subsequent years. This is done to allow incoming students to start getting their stipend a month earlier so that they have funds on hand to help with expenses associated with relocating to Durham.

For students entering in the fall term who are receiving 12-month stipends from their departments, this applies to their stipend payments from August of the current year through August of the following year.

Starting in the fall of their second year, students’ stipend schedule will start in September rather than August, so their monthly stipend amount will be higher.

August Stipend

To ensure they receive their first stipend payment at the end of August, incoming Ph.D. students must complete their tax information forms before the first day of Graduate Student Orientation. These forms must be completed in person, so once you arrive in Durham, you need to touch base with your program’s director of graduate studies assistant (DGSA) about completing these forms.

Students who expect to arrive in Durham after the start of orientation should alert their DGSA so as to ensure that their tax forms will still be processed in time for them to receive an August payment.