Columbia Needs to Make Graduate Studies in Arts and Sciences a Better Bargain
Originally appeared in the Columbia Daily Spectator on 4/13/22
By Grace Herod
As we approach the end of a school year disrupted by a historic strike from the Student Workers of Columbia-United Auto Workers, students in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences are reaching an unsettling realization. Despite the important union win, graduate student workers remain undervalued employees in a greedy business venture. If progress isn’t made in the near future, Columbia runs the risk of talented people either choosing a different university or forgoing graduate education altogether.
In May 2021, SWC-UAW made the historic decision to vote against the contract offered by the University because it did not go far enough in increasing wages and protecting workers against discrimination and harassment. After a 10-week strike that ended in January 2022, the union finally won its first contract, which secured protections and benefits like third-party arbitration and wage increases for student workers at Columbia.
Prior to the newly inked agreement, graduate students were paid $6,000 to $19,000 below a living wage, depending on their program. However, even with the new contract, the highest paid doctoral students still only earn $43,100 per year before union dues. This sum is still below a living wage in New York City, especially for students with additional family expenses. The discrepancy is not offset by Columbia’s child care subsidy.
People often pursue a graduate degree to increase their future earning potential, but the opportunity cost of going to graduate school can be significant. Earning a doctorate can take up to nine years, with averages ranging from five to six years at Columbia. Students could make more money straight out of undergrad if they spent this time working their way up the ladder in an alternative career path. The inability of Ph.D. students to save money early in their careers also means losing out on years of being able to invest their earnings. To better financially incentivize its graduate programs, Columbia needs to offset the high cost of living in New York City and provide better career development resources. Columbia is able to recoup much of a student’s stipend through housing costs. However, the lack of affordable housing for graduate students could be a major deterrent to pursuing a degree.
Furthermore, the University has a culture of extracting as much money from students and faculty as possible and not providing sufficient services in return. In fact, Columbia does not even pay for the salaries of many biomedical doctoral students. Instead, they are largely paid for through competitive federal grants awarded to their research advisors.
With respect to programs in STEM specifically, Columbia receives millions of dollars per year from grants obtained by these departments. For every grant dollar that goes directly towards research, another 62.5 cents go to Columbia to pay for indirect costs, such as facilities and administration. For example, within the department of genetics and development, Columbia raised over $12 million in funding to address indirect costs in 2021. This sum only includes indirect costs from National Institutes of Health grants secured by principal investigators. Additional revenue also comes to the University from other funding sources or is awarded directly to trainees.
Despite the millions of dollars brought in by science, technology, engineering, and mathematics STEM departments, Columbia still fails to provide critical resources for these graduate students in return. For example, there are no basic career services for doctoral candidates at the medical campus. Hands-on learning experiences, such as capstone projects, are also not offered to STEM students at both the main and medical campuses. This is even more notable when one considers that the majority of STEM doctoral candidates leave academia after graduation. The lack of resources leaves students applying for positions at a competitive disadvantage to other applicants who were offered these professional development opportunities.
Some universities understand that they must provide more for their students if they want to attract and retain top talent. Rutgers University and the University of California, San Francisco, organize internship and job simulations in fields including nonprofit management, medical writing, and regulatory affairs. These experiences provide hands-on learning and the opportunity to networking with industry experts, making participants more competitive in the job market. Why can’t Columbia do the same?
Columbia’s world-renowned reputation is, first and foremost, linked to its achievement as an academic institution. That value proposition is what brings talent to its doors. The current model, even after the strike settlement, continues to undervalue graduate students in the arts and sciences. Eventually, prospective students will invest their time and labor elsewhere. Beyond being bad for all parties involved, it also represents a truly unsustainable business model.
Grace Herod is a graduate student in Columbia’s genetics and development doctoral program and a member of Sci4NY, a science policy group that brings scientists and government policymakers together to enhance the well-being of New Yorkers.
