I am pleased to share that Ohio State continues to make advances in graduate associate and fellowship compensation to better recruit, retain and support talented students.
Minimum for graduate associate stipends to increase by 8%, effective autumn 2025
As part of FY26 budget planning, and effective in the autumn 2025 semester, the minimum stipend amount for graduate associates will increase by 8%. This will set the current minimum stipend for 50% appointments at $2,682 per month. This equates to a nine-month stipend of $24,138 for 0.5 FTE GAs ($12,069 for 0.25 FTE GAs) and a 12-month stipend of $32,184 for 0.5 FTE GAs ($16,092 for 0.25 FTE GAs).
This further increase to minimum stipends follows the 5% minimum increase that was implemented at the beginning of this current academic year. I am grateful to our deans for their partnership and leadership, as these increases are funded by the colleges through annual budget planning. As a result of this support, we have been able to increase minimum stipends by 13.4% over the past two years.
Fellowship stipends to increase by 5.8%, effective autumn 2025
Graduate School fellowships were scheduled to be increased by 5% in autumn 2025. However, with the 8% increase to the GA minimum stipend, Graduate School fellowships will be increased by 5.8% so that University Fellowships, Graduate School College-Allocated Fellowships, Graduate Access Fellowships, Osmer Fellowships and ENGIE-Axium fellowships are in parity with the new GA minimum stipend of $2,682 per month. Presidential and dissertation-year fellowships will be raised 5.8% to $3,174 per month. The Graduate School will update the Fellowship Stipend Tables soon to reflect the new levels for 2025-2026. These increases will be funded through the Graduate School’s awards budget.
I join our university leaders in recognizing the need to compete effectively with our peers while supporting our students. This additional increase comes after considering current stipend levels, peer benchmarks, and multiple discussions, including with Council of Graduate Students leaders, other graduate students, and University Senate. I look forward to continued engagement and discussions on this topic.
I am grateful for the support of our university leaders and the ongoing input and advocacy from our colleges and graduate programs, Council of Graduate Students, and University Senate — in addition to Ohio State’s many graduate students who advance teaching, research, and creative inquiry every day across our university.
Sincerely,
Mary Stromberger
Vice Provost and Dean for Graduate Education