Alafraid
New member
Hello everyone,
I’m posting on behalf of a friend who is in the second year of a PhD program in the United States. This month, without any prior warning, his stipend was slashed from the typical $2,300 to just $725—well below the legal minimum wage.
He’s experienced modest cuts before: the PI has occasionally reduced all graduate‑student stipends by $100–$200 for a few months, sometimes with notice and sometimes without. However, this time the reduction is extreme. When he asked a fellow PhD student in the same lab about their pay, the other student’s stipend had been cut by only $200, whereas my friend’s was reduced by almost $1,600.
The background is that, at the start of summer, the PI expressed dissatisfaction with my friend’s research direction and warned that he might withdraw funding if the work did not improve. Two weeks ago, after a meeting in which both parties were pleased with a new research plan, the PI made no further mention of the threat. My friend had just submitted a manuscript for a different paper, so the sudden, massive pay cut was a shocking and distressing blow.
He has already emailed both the PI and the associate director, but has received no response. We are wondering who else he should contact: the department chair, the graduate program director, the dean, or perhaps someone in the university’s office of student affairs? Are there any legal remedies available? He is an international student and isn’t sure whether he can pursue legal action. If the situation does not improve, he is considering enrolling in a few fall courses, earning a non‑thesis master’s degree, and then transferring elsewhere. In that case, can the university provide any assistance if the PI refuses to cover tuition for the fall term?
Thank you for taking the time to read this lengthy post. Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated, and I’ll pass it along to my friend.
Best regards.
I’m posting on behalf of a friend who is in the second year of a PhD program in the United States. This month, without any prior warning, his stipend was slashed from the typical $2,300 to just $725—well below the legal minimum wage.
He’s experienced modest cuts before: the PI has occasionally reduced all graduate‑student stipends by $100–$200 for a few months, sometimes with notice and sometimes without. However, this time the reduction is extreme. When he asked a fellow PhD student in the same lab about their pay, the other student’s stipend had been cut by only $200, whereas my friend’s was reduced by almost $1,600.
The background is that, at the start of summer, the PI expressed dissatisfaction with my friend’s research direction and warned that he might withdraw funding if the work did not improve. Two weeks ago, after a meeting in which both parties were pleased with a new research plan, the PI made no further mention of the threat. My friend had just submitted a manuscript for a different paper, so the sudden, massive pay cut was a shocking and distressing blow.
He has already emailed both the PI and the associate director, but has received no response. We are wondering who else he should contact: the department chair, the graduate program director, the dean, or perhaps someone in the university’s office of student affairs? Are there any legal remedies available? He is an international student and isn’t sure whether he can pursue legal action. If the situation does not improve, he is considering enrolling in a few fall courses, earning a non‑thesis master’s degree, and then transferring elsewhere. In that case, can the university provide any assistance if the PI refuses to cover tuition for the fall term?
Thank you for taking the time to read this lengthy post. Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated, and I’ll pass it along to my friend.
Best regards.