Infographic prepared by CUPE 3903 staff. Text reproduced below.
International PhD Student CUPE 3903 Unit 1 Members
York’s huge increases in international tuition fees in 2013 and 2014, coupled with the scrapping of the international Tuition Fee Scholarship ($4800) in 2014-15, mean that the take-home pay of an incoming PhD student shrunk from about $14,000 in 2012, to $2700 in 2014! Even with their proposed tuition freeze and other improvement, the take-home pay by the end of the contract is only $4000. Still not nearly to live on.
International Masters Student CUPE 3903 Unit 3 Members
Masters students with a GAship didn’t have much to live on before the fee increases and scholarship cuts. Now, it’s even less. In 2012, the minimum funding package was enough to cover tuition fees. In 2013, it wasn’t. In 2014, it was about $12,000 less! With the tuition freeze and everything else the employer is offering, this deficit is still more than $11,000 by the end of the contract! And that’s not even considering the cost of food and shelter…
Let’s be clear on this. An international PhD student who started in 2012 would have about $14,000 per year to live on, over the 6 years of their program. One who started in 2014 has to get by on $2700 per year. An international Masters student starting in 2012 got enough to pay their fees. One who started in 2014 was instantly $12,000 in debt. The Union’s tuition indexation proposal, if accepted, would return fees to the 2012 level for both Masters and PhD students, and ensure they don’t go up any further.