Student government calls on MSU to address the financial difficulties of graduate students

The Associated Students of MSU (ASMSU) passed a resolution on March 5 calling on MSU administration to address graduate students’ financial difficulties.

The resolution, sponsored by At-Large Senator Gavin Thorson, states that MSU’s graduate assistants (GAs) receive inadequate stipends and struggle with food insecurity and the cost of medical care as a result. Thorson said that he felt inspired to write the resolution after speaking with graduate students about their financial situation.

According to the resolution, 38 percent of MSU’s GAs have reported being paid $200 to $700 below the monthly cost of living in Montana throughout the summer and academic year. It also reported GAs skipping meals and relying on food banks to eat.

While the resolution served as an indication of support for GAs, ASMSU has no role in deciding how GAs are compensated. According to Michael Becker, MSU’s interim vice president of University Communications, GAs can only negotiate compensation and related topics through the Graduate Employee Organization (GEO), the union for graduate employees.

“MSU may not engage in these conversations apart from the established collective bargaining process, which is managed by the Montana University System [MUS],” Becker said.

According to its website, the GEO advocates for graduate students based on their needs.

“The three issues we hear about most consistently are pay, health insurance and housing,” said GEO President Jacob Schimetz. According to him, some GAs are paid as little as $10,000 a year, which is difficult to live off of in Bozeman.

“The University is sort of taking advantage of the graduate students’ ambition — their drive to get that degree — in order to pay them an amount small enough that they aren't able to really live like people should,” Thorson said.

Schimetz said that he is excited to see ASMSU express such clear support for graduate students. “It sends a strong signal that these issues are being taken seriously across campus,” he said.

Affordable housing is another concern for the GEO, as MSU has raised rent in the University Student Apartments by 15 percent for two years in a row, Schimetz said.

Becker said that campus housing costs reflect maintenance expenditures to keep the apartments safe and livable.

“MSU housing rates are kept as low as possible to meet current and future student housing financial obligations,” he said. “We aim to keep education accessible for students and their families.”

Bear Wood, a Ph.D. candidate in microbiology and cell biology, said she chose to attend MSU because of its strong programs, despite the low stipends compared to other schools she considered.

“I love the work I do. I love the possibilities of research I have at MSU and in the [Center for Biofilm Engineering],” she said. “I cannot see a future for graduate research where stipends are not increased by a considerable amount.”

According to Wood, the esteemed professors at MSU are a draw for prospective graduate students.

“These advisors can bring in these multi-million dollar grants because of the research that they’ve done,” she said. “You get this really interesting dynamic of these high-class professors who are pulling in all this money at a small university.”

MSU is classified as a Research 1 (R1) institution by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. This means that the University awards at least 70 research doctorates each year and surpasses $50 million in annual research spending.

“MSU is well beyond that threshold,” Becker said.

However, ASMSU’s resolution states that MSU risks losing prospective students by offering low GA stipends relative to other institutions. This could potentially impact its R1 classification, according to the resolution.

Wood added that one of her main issues was that the University caps GA hours at 19 a week. “[The University] purposely keeps us at 19 hours instead of 20 hours, because 20 hours is when it kicks in part-time and you get your benefits,” Wood said.

ASMSU’s resolution stated that, because of this limit, GAs must find supplemental employment to qualify for public assistance programs. Additionally, most GAs work well in excess of 40 hours a week on their research, according to the resolution.

“If you only work 19 hours a week, you will never finish your degree,” Wood said.

Becker said that GEO agreed to the 19-hour maximum work week in the collective bargaining agreement set between the organization and the MUS in December 2025.

“Graduate students’ primary purpose at the University is academic, not employment-related. They are, therefore, defined primarily as students, not University employees,” Becker said. Subsequently, GAs cannot access the MUS employee medical plan, according to him.

According to Schimetz, GA’s frustrations are growing because of their current conditions.

“Addressing these concerns — especially around pay, healthcare and cost of living — would go a long way toward strengthening the entire campus community,” he said.