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Costs & financing

The department of Human Centered Design strives to fund all of its Ph.D. students through Teaching Assistantships/Associateships (TAs), Staff Assistantships/Associateships (SAs), and Research Assistantships/Associateships (RAs).

Students enrolled in full-time study (10 credits/quarter) are eligible for funding. Benefits for TAs, SAs, and RAs include a tuition waiver, health insurance, and a monthly stipend. At the time of admissions, HCDE students are guaranteed funding over the academic year (excluding summers) through their first few years. Students may need to seek additional funding to reach graduation, however often are funded throughout their entire program. For information on graduate appointments, see the UW graduate school assistantships page.

Funding guarantee details

HCDE students receive employment-based funding to be used during the academic year (autumn, winter, and spring quarters), consisting of two quarters of Ph.D. rotations through research assistantships, in which admitted students work on research with two different faculty members in the department, and additional quarters of employment as a teaching assistant/associate, predoctoral instructor, or staff assistant/associate in the department. Students must enroll in 10 credits or more to be eligible for TA/RA/SA funding, excluding summer term. In exceptional cases students may petition for reduced enrollment.

International students should familiarize themselves with the Graduate School’s English requirements. HCDE Ph.D. graduate students who are not native speakers of English must meet the criteria in Policy 5.2: Conditions of Appointment for TAs who are not Native Speakers of English to receive an employment offer as a TA. Policy 5.2.1 includes additional requirements beyond English language proficiency for admission to the HCDE Ph.D. degree. 

At the time of admission, some candidates may also be offered fellowships and/or additional research assistantships, depending on alignment with available opportunities.

After beginning the program, many students match to additional research assistantship opportunities or apply for fellowships that support their studies. This funding typically extends rather than replaces the quarters included in the funding guarantee.  

The funding guarantee is conditioned on satisfactory performance academically (see graduation continuation policy) and in employment. Additionally, students who leave a department-funded research assistantship, teaching assistantship or instructor position, or staff assistantship within 30 days of the start of the appointment forfeit that quarter of guaranteed appointment.

Funding guarantee prior to 2022

Students who matriculated prior to autumn 2022 were guaranteed four years of funding (regardless of source), extended by a year due to COVID-19. For these students, the remaining years of guarantee were converted to guaranteed department-funded quarters effective in autumn 2022. For example, a student starting their fifth year had the remaining year of their funding guarantee converted to three quarters.

Additional resources

Also investigate the following for financial assistance: