The University of Chicago is deeply committed to supporting our graduate students. We constantly seek opportunities to improve and enhance graduate education and regularly engage with graduate students and other key stakeholders to obtain feedback. 

In March 2023, the National Labor Relations Board certified the results of a secret ballot election in which a majority of voters cast ballots in favor of union representation by Graduate Students United – United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (GSU-UE). As a result, the University has recognized GSU-UE as the exclusive bargaining agent of a group of graduate students who provide instructional and research services. Bargaining is currently underway and significant process has been made to date.

The below FAQ provides information and considerations about graduate education and unionization. We encourage all graduate students to learn more about unionization and consider how it will affect them and their programs, now and in the future.

Last updated: March 4, 2024

General

Yes. On March 24, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) certified the results of a secret ballot election in which a majority of voters cast ballots in favor of union representation by Graduate Students United – United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (GSU-UE). As a result, the University has recognized GSU-UE as the exclusive bargaining agent of a group of graduate students who provide instructional and research services. The University is currently bargaining in good faith with the union over bargaining unit members’ terms and conditions of employment.

The NLRB is an independent agency of the United States government that enforces and administers the National Labor Relations Act, the federal law that gives private sector employees the right to form and join unions, engage in collective bargaining, and go on strike. The NLRB has two principal functions: (i) to hold secret ballot elections to determine if employees wish to be represented by a union and, if so, by which union; and (ii) to prevent and remedy “unfair labor practices” by employers or unions.

Under the law, the University is required to recognize the union as the exclusive bargaining representative of graduate students who are in the certified unit described below (see “Who is included in the bargaining unit?” question below). Exclusivity means that the University cannot work with any other union or organization, including Graduate Council, on matters affecting wages, hours, or working conditions for graduate students in the certified unit. The University also cannot negotiate directly with any student who is in the union on any matter affecting wages, hours, or working conditions except as permitted by a collective bargaining agreement (often called a CBA or labor agreement) between the University and the union. To negotiate an initial labor agreement, the University and the union must meet and negotiate in good faith, which means meeting at mutually agreed upon reasonable times and places with the goal of reaching an agreement on wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.

The bargaining unit as proposed by GSU-UE and certified by the NLRB in 2023 is: “All graduate students enrolled in University of Chicago degree programs who are employed to provide instructional or research services, including but not limited to Teaching Assistants, Research Assistants, Course/Teaching Assistants, Graduate Student Instructors, Graduate Student Lecturers, Instructional Graders, Language Assistants, Preceptors, Research Interns, Teaching Consultants, CCTL Teaching Fellows, Teaching Interns, Teaching Lab Assistants, Tutors, Writing Interns, and Writing Lectors, in the Divinity School, the Crown Family School of Social Work Policy and Practice, Division of the Social Sciences, Division of the Humanities, Division of the Biological Sciences, Division of the Physical Sciences, Booth School of Business, Irving B. Harris School of Public Policy, and the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering. The bargaining unit excludes: undergraduate students, graduate students who are not employed to provide instructional or research services, Workshop Coordinators, Peer Mentors, office clerical employees, managers, guards and supervisors as defined in the Act.”

In February, 2024, GSU-UE proposed to add graduate students enrolled in University of Chicago degree programs who are employed to provide instructional or research services in the Law School. An election will be held to determine if these students will join the existing union bargaining unit.

Yes. International graduate students who meet the criteria for being in the union (that is, provide instructional or research services in the appropriate academic divisions and schools) are in the bargaining unit. Being in a union does not impact student visas or immigration status.

No. Graduate students will alternate between being in the bargaining unit and out of the bargaining unit based on the NLRB’s definition of who is in the bargaining unit. Graduate students are in the bargaining unit only in the academic quarters during which they are providing instructional or research services for the University.

Collective Bargaining

Collective bargaining is the process by which unions and employers negotiate employees’ terms and conditions of employment. During collective bargaining, the union bargains on behalf of members of the bargaining unit it represents for pay, benefits, and working conditions.

Collective bargaining normally happens in a series of meetings at which representatives of the union and the employer exchange written proposals for a collective bargaining agreement (also called a union contract or a labor agreement). Collective bargaining can take months and sometimes more than a year, especially if the two sides are negotiating their first agreement together. During this time, the National Labor Relations Act requires the employer and the union to engage in “good faith” negotiations over terms and conditions of employment, which are often called “mandatory subjects of bargaining.” This duty to bargain in good faith means the parties must meet, confer, and consider each other’s proposals. However, the duty does not require compromise, concessions, or agreement to any particular proposal, and it does not require the parties to reach an overall agreement.

Representatives of both the University and the union sit at the bargaining table. The University is represented at the bargaining table by labor relations professionals and knowledgeable administrators. The union picks its own bargaining team, which includes graduate students and representatives of the national union.

Federal law does not mandate how a union or an employer determine their respective agendas for bargaining. Each side develops contract proposals and strategies based on what they believe are their best interests.

The National Labor Relations Act requires employers and unions to bargain collectively over “wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment”—concepts that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the federal courts have interpreted broadly. Due to limited rulings and a lack of established precedent, the NLRB and federal courts have offered little clarity as to what are “terms and conditions of employment” for graduate students whose teaching and research is part of their academic training.

It depends on the length of each contract, which itself is an issue for negotiation at the bargaining table. The parties are obligated to negotiate a new contract only at the expiration of the previous contract.

There is no mandated timetable for negotiations. Some contract negotiations move quickly, while other negotiations involve many issues that are not easily resolved and take much longer. It can take many months and sometimes years to reach a contract. First contracts usually take longer to reach than subsequent contracts. A 2021 analysis conducted and published by Bloomberg Law found that first contracts took an average of 409 days to negotiate.

Yes. Collective bargaining is, fundamentally, collective in nature. The union speaks for all graduate students in the bargaining unit, and the provisions in a contract apply to all members, unless exceptions and differences are provided for in the contract.

No, unless such exceptions were provided for in the contract or otherwise agreed to by the union, individual student needs that are in conflict with the contract provisions cannot be accommodated.

Only if the University and the union specifically bargain for such flexibility and include it in the contract, or if the union consents to the change on an ad hoc basis.

The University is committed to bargaining in good faith with GSU-UE, and we are hopeful that through negotiations we will come to a mutually agreed upon contract. In negotiations when the parties cannot reach agreement after engaging in good faith bargaining, in general the employer makes its final proposal, often called a “last, best, and final offer.” In response, the union normally will ask its members to vote on the proposal. If the members of the bargaining unit vote to accept (“ratify”) the offer, then the parties have a collective bargaining agreement. If the members of the bargaining unit reject the offer, then there is no agreement. If there is no agreement, the union may decide to strike. Also, if a genuine impasse is reached, the employer has the right to implement unilaterally its last, best, and final offer, though the parties are still obligated to continue bargaining in an effort to reach an agreement. However, it is often difficult to determine with confidence that the parties have reached impasse and the issue often is litigated before the NLRB and in the courts.

The National Labor Relations Act does not mandate inclusion of any particular subject or provision. Collective bargaining agreements usually include provisions on hours of work, compensation, benefits, and workload, but the law does not require that these provisions be in a contract. Ultimately, what is and is not in a contract depends on what the two sides agree to include and exclude, as the law requires the parties to engage in good faith negotiations over mandatory subjects of bargaining, but does not require either side to agree to any particular terms. For this reason, the contents of labor contracts vary greatly within and across employers, and the inclusion or exclusion of a provision in one contract does not mean that it will be in any other contract, even among contracts entered into by a single employer with different labor unions. For instance, the fact that a given clause is in a graduate student union contract at another university does not mean it will be in the contract at the University of Chicago. Likewise, clauses found in contracts at the University covering staff employees or instructors in the College will not necessarily also be in a contract covering graduate teaching and research assistants.

Federal labor law distinguishes between “mandatory subjects of bargaining” and “permissive subjects of bargaining.” Generally, mandatory bargaining subjects of bargaining include wages, work hours, pay, health insurance, retirement plans, appointment duration, disciplinary procedures, etc. Permissive subjects of bargaining are those items over which bargaining is neither prohibited nor compelled, i.e., neither party is required to bargain over a permissive subject and the parties cannot pursue permissive subjects of bargaining to the point of impasse. Decisions that are essential to the employer’s operation or that only indirectly affect compensation, benefits, and working conditions would be considered permissive subjects of bargaining.

Often in labor contracts, employers expressly reserve their right to run their operations, and this reservation of rights is embodied in what is called a “management rights” clause. Although no one can predict what might be included in a management rights clause, it is helpful to consider the management rights clause that Columbia University negotiated with the United Auto Workers, which represents graduate students at Columbia. Here is the management rights clause from the current Columbia collective bargaining agreement:

  • The Management and Academic rights of the University include, but are not limited to, the right to:
  • Establish, plan, direct and control the University’s organizational structure, missions, programs, objectives, services, activities, resources and priorities;
  • Establish and administer procedures, rules and regulations, and direct and control University operations, including the subcontracting of all or any portion of any operations;
  • Alter, extend or discontinue existing equipment, facilities, and location of operations;
  • Recruit, hire, appoint, assign, schedule, transfer, train, supervise, or evaluate Student Employees;
  • Determine or modify the number, qualifications, scheduling, responsibilities and assignments of Student Employees;
  • Establish, maintain, modify or enforce standards of education, performance, conduct, order and safety, and to establish and revise disciplinary policies to address violations of these standards;
  • Evaluate, determine the content of evaluations, and determine the processes and criteria by which Student Employees’ performance is evaluated;
  • Establish and require Student Employees to observe University rules and regulations;
  • Establish or modify the academic calendars, including holidays and holiday scheduling;
  • Assign work locations;
  • Schedule hours of work;
  • Determine who is taught, what is taught, how such content is taught and who delivers the instruction;
  • Determine in its sole discretion all matters relating to faculty hiring and tenure, admissions and appointments, admission standards, student matriculation, graduation standards, assessment of student work and grades, and determinations as to students’ academic progress;
  • Establish tuition, fees, and charges of general application;
  • Determine matters involving financial aid, including, but not limited to, recipients of financial aid and the terms of financial aid;
  • Decide matters related to research methodology and materials;
  • Decide matters related to grants including, but not limited to, application, selection, funding, administration, usage, accountability and termination;
  • Decide whether to create, eliminate, combine, or modify academic, outreach, service and research programs;
  • Decide matters related to housing for Student Employees covered by this Agreement;
  • Exercise sole authority on all decisions involving academic matters, and academic standards.

While any union may solicit individuals’ concerns, it is not required to do so. Even if a union invites students to suggest contract proposals, the union cannot guarantee that some or any of those concerns will be addressed in the collective bargaining agreement. There is no way for an individual to ensure that their concerns are adequately addressed, because a small bargaining team negotiates the collective bargaining agreement and does so on behalf of the entire unit.

The University is required to maintain the status quo with respect to graduate student “terms and conditions of employment” during this interim period. Generally, this means that the University cannot unilaterally change pay, benefits, or certain other aspects of employment without first negotiating with the union.

Yes, unions normally collect mandatory dues from its members, typically requiring students to agree to an automatic payroll deduction. Sometimes dues are a set annual rate and other times they are a percentage of wages. Unions use dues to cover the costs of negotiating a contract, contract administration, and grievance resolution. Unions may also use dues to organize employees at other employers and to make political contributions. The union also can require bargaining unit members to pay initiation fees, and the failure to pay dues or fees could result in termination of employment.

When negotiating a labor contract, the University and union may agree to include a “union security clause” in the collective bargaining agreement. Usually, these types of contractual provisions require all members of the bargaining unit who do not become dues-paying members of the union to pay an “agency fee” to the union, which is a service charge that contributes to the costs borne by the union in administering the labor agreement. In short, graduate students could decide not to join the union or pay dues, but they cannot opt out of being represented by the union and may be required to pay an “agency fee” to the union.

Absolutely not. The University has been bargaining in good faith. The union was certified by the National Labor Relations Board on March 24, 2023, and we received their request to begin bargaining April 20, 2023. Our first bargaining session was held on May 31, 2023. We have reached tentative agreements on nearly all non-economic proposals. Economic proposals have only been on the table since October 2023, and we have made significant progress in a relatively short time. The University remains committed to continuing negotiations with the union to reach a fair contract for our graduate student employees performing research or instructional services for the University.

Strike Information

General Strike Questions

A strike is when a union calls on employees to refuse to perform their jobs in an effort to pressure an employer to agree to the union’s collective bargaining demands.

We do not know. The union representing graduate student employees who perform research and teaching services for the University has asked graduate students to sign a “strike pledge.” A strike pledge is a promise to the union that, if the union announces a strike, graduate students will not perform teaching or research for the University and will not come to campus, except to picket or demonstrate for the union.

A strike authorization vote is an election conducted by the union to determine if a majority of voters will authorize the union’s bargaining table team to call a strike. If 50% or more of those who vote cast their ballots vote to authorize a strike, the union’s bargaining team can announce and begin a strike when they see fit, and without further input from graduate students.

We do not know. The union’s published strike plan refers to a strike occurring in Spring Quarter 2024. Only the union’s leaders know whether or when they plan to strike.

We do not know. The union decides whether to begin a strike and when to end a strike. Strikes can be as short as one day, or they can go on for weeks or months.

We would expect that if the union calls a strike, at some point they would declare that they are ending the strike. Just as the union decides if and when to start a strike, the union decides when to end a strike.

Yes. However, strikes are intended to be disruptive, and they usually are. If there is a strike, the University will:

  1. Provide for the safety and security of all members of the campus community.
  2. Continue the research and education missions of the University.
  3. Maintain all critical operational functions of the University.
  4. Implement consistent and lawful procedures for withholding pay from graduate student employees (GSEs) who strike.
  5. Permit legally protected activities of all employees of the University.

The law requires negotiations to continue during a strike, and the University is committed to continuing to negotiate during a strike.

No. If the union calls for a strike, graduate student employees can decide for themselves whether they want to participate. If they participate in the strike, they will not be paid. Graduate students, whether they are employed in teaching or research positions or not, who follow the union’s request not to enter labs, classrooms, or offices and not to send or answer emails might have difficulty making academic progress. If there is a strike, the University strongly encourages all students, including graduate student employees, to continue with their teaching, research, and other activities as usual.

Violence; property damage; threats; intimidation; blocking of building entrances, parking lots and garages; and picketing or protests inside University buildings are examples of many kinds of conduct that are prohibited during a strike, just as they would be at other times.

No. Picketers can be near entrances, but they cannot picket in such a way that it impedes someone from entering the building. Picketers must allow people through.

During a strike, the University of Chicago Police Department (UCPD) will continue to handle campus security, coordinating as appropriate with other law enforcement agencies. The University expects that striking employees will follow University policies on demonstrations. We will assess security needs and ensure the safety of members of the campus community, picketers, and visitors. Note that peaceful picketing outside of University buildings and facilities is allowed, but blocking of entrances and exits is not. The University will ensure that those who want to enter University facilities during a strike can do so safely.

Teaching may be affected if graduate student employees with teaching assignments fail to show up for classes, do not turn in grades, withhold course-related materials, and otherwise refuse to perform their duties as instructors or teaching assistants. The University has contingency plans to mitigate the impact of a strike on instruction.

Research may be affected if graduate student employees serving as researchers participate in the strike. This could lead to delays in ongoing research projects, interruptions in lab work, or disruptions to collaborative efforts. Principal Investigators (PIs) and research teams are developing contingency plans to mitigate the impact of a strike on their research activities. Graduate student employees cannot alter the research plans or lab protocols to address their absence without first discussing and receiving approval from their PI for any modifications.

Raucous picketing is protected by law, and people who choose not to strike or wish to enter buildings might be yelled at or criticized for doing so. Picketer behavior that escalates to verbal abuse, threats, or physical contact, or picketing that prevents people from being able to safely enter and leave buildings, should be reported to a dean of students, a dean on call, or UCPD.

No. An intentional slowdown of research, including intentional delays in the commencement of an experiment, is a partial strike that is not protected by law and thus students who do so are subject to adverse action just as they would be in the absence of a strike.

A strike does not insulate anyone from adverse consequences for removal, tampering, or destruction of research property (e.g., reagents, data, biospecimens, animal models, codes, manuscripts, etc.), all of which is owned by the University.

The guidance provided by the University for individuals who work on campus also applies to people who work elsewhere for the University in a bargaining unit position.

Student Questions

Graduate student employees who strike—regardless of their funding source—will not be paid for the time they are on strike. Note that graduate students employed by the University to perform work other than research or teaching services who strike will also not be paid. Graduate student employees who decide not to participate in the strike and continue to perform their work responsibilities will continue to be paid. Benefits that some graduate students have because they are students, such as U-SHIP health insurance premium coverage, will not be impacted by a strike, as long as students remain enrolled and eligible for student benefits.

Striking means ceasing work and losing pay. The University is not obligated to provide graduate student employees with “back pay” after a strike ends.

Graduate student employees are protected from job loss due to a strike. This means that the University will not remove graduate student employees from a teaching or research position because they went on strike. That said, the union has said it will try to persuade graduate students who are not covered by the union to stay away from campus except to walk picket lines or demonstrate for the union. Students who need to be on campus to work on academic requirements and who follow the union’s request to stay away could lose ground academically because of tasks not being completed. This is why the University urges all graduate students not to participate in the strike.

The union has said it will request graduate students to stay away from campus except to walk picket lines or demonstrate for the union. Students who need to be on campus to attend classes and fulfill other academic requirements and who follow the union’s request to stay away could lose ground academically because of tasks not being completed. No student is required to accept the union’s request to stay away from campus.

No. Individual graduate student employees must choose whether to strike and lose their pay and potentially to fail to make academic progress.

Graduate students who are not in a bargaining unit position (meaning they are not performing paid research or teaching for the University) and are otherwise not employed in any other job at the University at the time of the strike cannot strike: that is, they are not employed, and so they cannot cease working for the University. However, they can join a picket line if they choose to.

We will help students stay informed about developments related to the strike and communicate with their professors or department advisors for guidance on how the strike may impact their coursework. Students may also seek support services provided by the University, such as academic advising or counseling, if they encounter difficulties during the strike period.

No, striking is legally protected activity. However, misconduct committed during a strike, such as violence, property damage or threats, or academic misconduct, can lead to consequences regardless of the strike. Striking graduate student employees will not be paid while they are on strike.

“Partial strikes” or “work slowdowns” are not legally protected and employees can be removed from their positions for engaging in such activity. If a graduate student employee has permission to perform work remotely and they do so, they are not on strike.

University-sponsored emergency funds and resources will not be allocated to students whose need for the resources results from their decision to go on strike. In many cases, unions have a strike fund to support their members during a strike. Graduate students who are considering striking should contact GSU-UE to request strike funds.

This depends on the length of the strike. Refusing to come to University classrooms, labs, and other facilities, and refusing to perform work or other activities that are required as a condition of making good academic progress could negatively impact a student’s academic standing and jeopardize their student status.

The law doesn’t protect students from the consequences of failing to make academic progress.

Striking does not jeopardize immigration status; international students have the same protections as US citizens to strike. However, an international student who is put on probation for not making academic progress and is subsequently dismissed could face problems with their visa status regardless of whether a strike is the reason.

Striking students can return to work anytime they wish, regardless of the union’s strike status.

Deleting grade information is destruction of property. It is not protected and would be subject to disciplinary review.

Whether to allow remote work will vary depending on the nature of the work and the division/school/department policies. Students should reach out to their supervisor to discuss.

No. Regardless of whether the union calls for a strike, students are responsible for ensuring that they make good academic progress and complete their degree requirements within the timeframes allowed.

First-year students who are rotating in labs are expected to go to lab just as a student in a class is expected to attend class. The policies that apply to students who do not show up to lab in the absence of a strike still apply during a strike. Even if a first-year student is striking from a bargaining unit position, these lab rotations are not in the bargaining unit and students are not protected from consequences of relinquishing academic responsibilities unrelated to the strike.

This scenario describes an intermittent strike, which is not legally protected. This means that the legal protections strikers have against job loss would not apply to a striker who engages in an on-again, off-again strike. If a graduate student employee tried striking intermittently, their supervisor would have to decide if they are willing to have a student work some days or weeks, but not others. A partial strike is slowing down work or choosing to do some tasks and not others. Like intermittent strikes, partial strikes are not legally protected, meaning that a graduate student employee who decides to do some parts of their job but not others during a strike could be removed from their research or teaching position.

Faculty, Other Academic Appointee, and Staff Questions

Yes. Labor law protects the right of faculty and staff to discuss the pros and cons of a strike, how a strike might impact the University community, and how a strike could affect the University’s teaching and research missions broadly. However, in these discussions, faculty, other academic appointees, and staff must follow the “no TIPS” guidelines, as in “no Threats, Interrogation, Promises, or Surveillance.”

Unionized academic appointees (such as lecturers, instructional professors, teaching fellows, professors of the practice in the arts, and collegiate assistant professors) and unionized staff members are bound by “no strike” clauses in their labor contracts that prohibit “sympathy strikes.” Therefore, they are not permitted to join a strike by graduate student employees. Faculty also are not permitted to engage in sympathy strikes, and do not have the same protections as graduate student employees who strike, due to their positions within the University’s governance structure. Some non-union staff members are legally permitted to engage in a sympathy strike. If they do so, they will not be paid and, depending on the length of the strike, their health insurance and other benefits could be impacted.

In keeping with the University’s principles and policies governing free expression, members of the University community are allowed to engage in picketing during non-work time.

Faculty members, lecturers, instructional professors, professors of the practice, teaching fellows, and collegiate assistant professors who are directing the work of a striking teaching assistant may need to adjust course schedules, change work assignments, or make alternative arrangements for teaching and grading during the strike. Each unit may develop guidelines and strategies appropriate to its teaching and assessment methods. Faculty teaching classes that do not have TAs should not be affected by the strike and should plan on teaching classes as usual.

The University will share updates on the strike with the University community. Faculty should reach out to their department chairs, deans, or human resources offices for specific guidance.

Graduate student employees who decide not to participate in the strike will need to confirm that they are not participating and that they are continuing to work. This work attestation process will be managed centrally, and more information will be communicated if necessary. Graduate student employees who do not confirm their status as directed will be presumed to be on strike.

Students who have outstanding academic requirements that they do not fulfill during the strike will still need to fulfill those requirements afterwards. The way the requirements are fulfilled could take different forms (for example, lectureships could be replaced by TA-ships at the University's discretion).

No, faculty, other academic appointees, and staff must continue to do their jobs, including teaching graduate students in courses and advising graduate students, even if those students are otherwise on strike.

Yes, faculty, other academic appointees, and staff can ask students if they plan to strike, including students they do not supervise directly, if the reason for doing so is to assess how work will be completed in the students’ absence and not to identify who does and does not support the union.

Prospective and admitted students can be told about a strike, and information about what is expected can be shared with them. For example, you can share the provost’s communications about collective bargaining and about the strike, these FAQs, and other published guidance. Disrupting a recruitment event is not protected during a strike or at any time and may be subject to the University’s disruptive conduct policy.

The strike has no effect on the University’s ability to ask individuals to do extra work and to offer extra pay if appropriate.

The strike does not impact a faculty member’s authority to require class attendance.

Other Considerations

Nobody can say with certainty, but often unions negotiate for a work environment that is subject to contractual rules and requirements that could represent a departure from traditionally informal and individualized graduate student-faculty relationships.

We will not know until a labor agreement is negotiated and ratified. Stipends and benefits could decrease, increase, or stay the same.

Once a union is voted in it is in place indefinitely and is difficult to remove. Should graduate students decide they would like to remove the union, they will need to file a “decertification” petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). A decertification petition cannot be filed with the NLRB during the one-year period that follows the initial certification of the union, and if the University and the union reach agreement on a labor contract, the contract would bar the filing of a decertification petition until a 30-day window near the end of the contract term.

It’s not possible to know for sure. As noted, stipends and benefits may stay the same, increase, or decrease as the result of contract negotiations, and this is true regardless of the funding source. Naturally, stipend and benefit increases may impact the level of financial support faculty members may be able to fund from their grants, and just as decreases may result in more grant-funded graduate students, increases may result in a decrease.

Once again, it’s not possible to know for sure. Working hours are a mandatory subject of bargaining and thus will be negotiated at the bargaining table.

Federal labor law gives union-represented employees the right to union representation only during investigatory interviews that are related to employment misconduct and reasonably might result in discipline. This is sometimes referred to as Weingarten Rights and it applies to investigatory interviews conducted by the University in relation to possible employment misconduct, i.e., misconduct that arises out of the employment relationship and in the course of performing employment-related responsibilities. The right to union representation does not apply to students in their capacity as students and therefore does not apply to meetings regarding academic matters, including those involving academic evaluation or assessment, determination of academic good standing, completion of non-employment-related degree or program requirements, or progress towards the degree. The right to union representation also does not apply to general employment-related meetings that are unrelated to misconduct (e.g., trainings, regular supervisory meetings, conversations about wages and hours).

Graduate Student Support and Reporting Concerns

The typical PhD student pays no tuition. Tuition rates vary by division and school and by year in the program: in 2022–23 tuition costs between $49,734 and $70,056 annually in the first four years of the PhD. The University of Chicago does not admit students to PhD programs without full tuition financial support. PhD students have no out-of-pocket costs for tuition, and they also receive either University or external funding to cover University Student Health Insurance Plan (U-SHIP) health insurance premiums and the Student Services Fee for the duration of their degree program.

Yes. The University ensures that PhD students receive an annual stipend to support their studies and funding for their individual U-SHIP health insurance premiums and Student Services Fee.

The current minimum annual funding for PhD students is $33,000. It will increase to $37,000 for the 2023–2024 academic year.

Yes, some programs have a higher set minimum stipend.

The University has endeavored to raise the annual stipend or other support annually and intends to continue this practice.

PhD students are required to have U-SHIP, and the annual premiums (currently $4,800) are fully paid for at no cost to the student. Staff and faculty pay part of their health insurance premiums, but PhD students do not pay any part of their individual health insurance premiums.

PhD students have access to optional dental and vision insurance plans. Students who elect to purchase dental or vision insurance pay the premium themselves, as is the case with staff and faculty, who pay dental and vision insurance premiums if they elect to purchase them. The University does not pay premiums for employees’ or students’ dental or vision insurance.

The amount of required teaching can vary from student to student as it is dependent upon the nature of the program and the training required. During their degree program, a typical PhD student in the humanities or social sciences is required to be a teaching assistant (TA) in five quarter-long courses or the equivalent (in some programs, teaching a stand-alone course counts as two TAships). (A six-year degree program has 24 quarters.) In most STEM programs, students serve as a TA for fewer than five quarters.

Although the per-student cost to the University varies based on the number of years the student takes courses and the time they take for the research, writing, and defense of their dissertation, in general the investment in paying for a student to complete a PhD, which includes annual tuition, stipend to the student, paid health insurance premiums, and paid student fees, is approximately $500,000.

The University offers free use of the Family Resource Center, which is a drop-in center that offers play space and family-friendly programs. There is also a need-based childcare stipend of $2,000 per year that student parents can apply for on an annual basis.

In 2022, the University created a new position of Associate Director of Graduate Student Affairs in UChicagoGRAD and this role focuses on grievance policies, education and trainings, and grievance reporting. Additionally, all graduate divisions and schools now have implemented and are administering new grievance policies that align with the University Grievance Policy for Graduate Students.