Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Boosts Support of Its Students

The College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences’ ongoing campaign to recruit and support the most talented graduate students is introducing another major step in that initiative. 

On Dec. 20, the Graduate School announced it is increasing the minimum level of living support for all graduate students who receive support, effective fall 2025. The nearly 15% increase in funding to $36,000 annually for current and incoming students will boost UVA’s ability to recruit and retain the best graduate students. 

The increase in minimum living support represents the third boost of that benefit in three years. Overall, the new minimum amount ($36,000) is nearly 40% higher than the living support guaranteed to A&S graduate students in the 2022-23 academic year.

The increased living support is a key piece of overall support packages for graduate students that include tuition, health benefits and fees. Including those other benefits, the total projected annual support for A&S Ph.D. students next academic year is $78,995.

Graduate education is central to the A&S missions of education and research, and the Graduate School faces fierce competition from other institutions to recruit and retain top students. Financial living assistance plays a pivotal role in supporting those students as they complete their education, training, research and scholarship. The contributions of these same graduate students fuels UVA’s ambitions as an internationally recognized research university. 

“Our graduate students play a critical role in unearthing groundbreaking discoveries and leading-edge research, and driving creative innovations at the University,” said Christa Acampora, Buckner W. Clay Professor of Philosophy and dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. “The learning they undertake in labs, as research assistants engaging with our faculty, and as teachers and mentors for undergraduate students, is essential to their development and adds enormous value to our community. Providing our students with greater support is a privilege and represents one of the best ways we can invest in our mission as a global leader in public research and education. I am truly grateful that our alumni and supporters recognize this.” 

The announcement follows other recent actions arising from the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences’ overarching strategic priorities. Earlier this year, Dean Acampora announced new investments of at least $25 million over the next three years to support excellence in research, scholarship, and creative activity, a commitment that includes recognition of the contributions graduate students make to a vibrant community of inquiry and discovery. 

The sharp focus on graduate excellence and the increased student support are already having a significant impact. In the past year, applications for positions in A&S graduate programs increased 22% from the previous year. Applications for graduate program positions in the Department of Physics, for example, tripled from 2023 to this year and nearly doubled in the Department of Biology during that same period. The College's ability to provide enhanced graduate student support is due, in part, to the early success of the Graduate Excellence Campaign.

The Campaign for Graduate Excellence

During the prior three years (Fall 2021, 2022 and 2023), the offer acceptance rate was consistent at or near 40%, according to T. Brent Gunnoe, interim Associate Dean for Graduate Education and UVA’s Commonwealth Professor of Chemistry. This fall, the offer acceptance rate jumped to 47%. 

“Graduate students are the lifeblood of the College and at the heart of everything we seek to accomplish in the social sciences, arts, humanities and sciences,” Gunnoe said. “The recognition of graduate students’ role in creating an academic community of the highest caliber is driving the increased philanthropic support the Graduate School is receiving while building its endowment. And the resources we’re investing in our graduate students are already producing significant results. Continued success to enhance our ability to support graduate students is essential in realizing the College’s goal of becoming the nation’s premier public institution.”