PhD Stipends

All PhD students receive a semi-monthly stipend payment to cover the basic cost of living in New Haven. The minimum annual stipends for the 2024-2025 academic year are:

• Humanities/Social Sciences: $49,538 stipend
• Physical Sciences: $49,538 stipend
• Biological & Biomedical Sciences: $51,046 stipend

Understanding the semi-monthly payroll process

First-Year PhD students

Your first stipend payment is a significant milestone, and we want you to have a clear understanding of the payroll process. During your first year of study, your stipend will be disbursed in 25 semi-monthly payments. Graduate students are paid twice each month, on the 15th day and the last day of the month (or the Friday before, if it falls on a weekend or a holiday). After each payment, you should check your Workday profile to review your payslip. Select "Pay" from the menu and choose the payroll slip to view.  

In your first stipend payment, you will also see a one-time relocation award of $1,000 included. This award is meant to assist you with the costs associated with moving to New Haven. This is a one-time payment and will not be included in your future stipend payments. Please keep this in mind when budgeting for your expenses, as your future stipend payments will not include this additional amount.

In the future, if you have on-campus employment or other one-time payments, you will also see these items reflected in your payslip. Your payslip may also change from term to term depending on your funding sources (i.e., teaching, research, university fellowship, etc.).

Continuing PhD students

As a continuing PhD student, you will receive your first stipend payment on September 15. Continuing student stipend payments are paid on a semi-monthly basis, on the 15th and the last day of the month (or the Friday before, if it falls on a weekend or holiday).

Direct Deposit

We encourage you to set up direct deposit of your stipend checks into a US bank account of your choice. This is the fastest and most convenient way to access your stipend each pay period.

If you are a new student, you may need to wait until after the start of your fellowship period and the creation of your payroll record to set up direct deposit of your stipend check. Any incoming student who has not set up direct deposit will have their checks sent to the Payroll Tax Form US mailing address listed in their student record.

To set up direct deposit, you must have a US bank account. Then follow these steps:

1. Login to Workday using your NetID and password. 
2. Select the “Pay” widget on your Workday homepage. 
3. Next, select “Payment Elections.” From here, use the “Add” function to add a new account for direct deposit. You may add more than one account and you can choose how to allocate funds across your accounts.

Once you have set up direct deposit, it may take one or two pay periods to take effect. Until then, your stipend check will be mailed to you at the address you provide.

If you encounter difficulty with Workday, have questions about the direct deposit process, or how to view your stipend statements online, please contact the Employee Service Center at 203-432-5552 or via email (employee.services@yale.edu). 

Additional Financial Aid and student information can be found on the Yale Hub.