Beginning in summer 2024, Undergraduate Research Assistantships at Dartmouth raised its termly research stipend from $1,200 to $1,600, according to undergraduate advising and research director Margaret Funnell. At the same time, URAD also reduced the maximum number of terms students can qualify for funding from five to four, she added.
While some students are indifferent, the changes in eligibility have disappointed some upperclassmen — particularly those who had planned to complete five terms of research before learning about the change. Former URAD scholar Nina Prakash ’25 said the situation is “frustrating” because she has already completed four terms of research at $1,200 and is ineligible for the increased rate.
“[I] thought [I was] eligible for a fifth term of getting $1,200 and now [Undergraduate Advising and Research is] like you’re not even eligible for [retroactive pay of] $1,600, which is now the new stipend,” Prakash said. “That’s super unfair.”
Before summer 2022, URAD had similarly limited students to four terms of research, Funnell wrote in an email statement to The Dartmouth.
However, because of an increase in undergraduate research applicants — from 608 in 2021-2022 to 717 in 2023-2024 — the five-term limit became “unsustainable,” Funnel explained. The “steadily increasing” number of students applying for URAD funding has led to a 30% increase in the cost of the program over the past three years — from approximately $550,000 to $725,000, she wrote.
She added that only 32 students since 2021 have received five terms of funding — out of more than 1,000 students who participated in URAD during that period.
“Since most students were not being awarded five terms of funding, the decision was made to set a limit of four terms for all students in order to allocate funding as equitably as possible,” Funnell wrote.
According to Funnell, UGAR received one complaint from a student who had been rejected for a fifth term of funding. Prakash also said she knew of a student who messaged about funding and received a “rejection response.”
“The four-term limit has been listed on the website since the spring and is also specified on the application form itself,” Funnel wrote. “Still, we understand the disappointment.”
The eligibility changes came as a surprise to some students. Prakash, who has applied for URAD funding term-by-term for four terms, said she did not feel the need to check the eligibility criteria before submitting her fifth application, which was not approved.
“We didn’t get any notification, and I am not constantly looking at their website to see [if] an [eligibility] change was made,” Prakash said. “It’s been the same every term for the last four terms when I’ve submitted.”
The policy change has come as a “blow” to students attempting to complete full-time research from freshman to senior year, former URAD researcher Colby Lish ’25 said.
“It’s unfortunate, but also you can’t use URAD grants for senior theses so that might also be what they’re targeting ... — they’re trying to prevent people from sneaking in an extra [$1,200],” Lish said.
Other students, however, feel less frustrated by the term limits. URAD scholar Calista Adler ’26 said the change, though “a little bit disappointing,” will not affect her approach to research.
“I’m driven by the research and my love for it, so it won’t affect me personally,” Adler said. “If you don’t get funding for [research], that’s okay, because ultimately it is a learning experience that you’re going after.”
Adler, who has worked in her lab since her freshman year, explained that URAD provides “hands-on” experience to research in diverse labs. Adler noted the importance of committing to a lab long-term.
“Most professors that I know prefer if their students are in the lab for a long time,” Adler said. “Not only does it allow [students] to actually see their projects come to fruition, but it’s also just a better learning experience.”
Lish advised students interested in long-term research to look for opportunities outside of URAD. Alternatives range from department funding to the James O. Freedman Presidential scholarship — a part-time research assistantship of $1,600 for two terms — which Lish was awarded in winter 2023 and spring 2024.
Grace Kim ’27, who is currently on her third term of URAD funding, has received stipends at both the previous and current rates — but will not be seeking a fourth term due to her D-Plan. Kim said she has “enjoyed” her time in URAD and appreciates the recent pay increase.
“My paycheck has gone from $1,200 to $1,600, which I am clearly not opposed to, but I do understand why people would be quite concerned if senior year, they were unable to get URAD funding … because the [policy] prevents them,” Kim said.
For Kim, URAD has served as an introduction to research that she now plans to explore further through other funding opportunities, such as a leave term grant.
“It’s harder to get research opportunities as a freshman, so getting any funding for a research opportunity at the top … [is] something that I thought I should be grateful for, and I definitely am,” Kim said. “Now that I have some experience, I want to go into larger sums, … larger funding opportunities, where I actually have more research than [I am] actually doing.”
