Was it for this that the US spent 80 years building power and alliances? Not to be a force for good. But instead to impoverish neighbours, threaten those it protected, rob minerals from war-torn countries, and break its promises to 100s of millions of the poorest in the world? 🧵

I've resisted saying this for many years, because it doesn't help. But ... we are so fucked.

n.b. My analysis uses domestic tuition rates and does not account for discrepancies in tuition paid by domestic and international graduate students or in- and out-of-province residents, which can be substantial. These values are also in the dataset.

* See a mistake or know of a program that should be included? Please let me know! (Better yet, send the details.) I want to ensure these data fairly reflect reality. Thanks for reading this far. Please buy your grad student friends and trainees a coffee! ☕️ (23/23)

You can find the compiled #data* and #rstats code on github: https://t.co/XsRRRxX0uo Also in a google sheet: https://t.co/hRzvWtKE0Z (22/n)

Importantly, the sources of these issues are multitude. No one entity is to blame. Programs must increase stipends, NSERC and other funders must increase grant budgets, and PIs must ardently advocate the above to anyone who will listen. (21/n)

I could analyze these results to death, but I think they largely speak for themselves. What I will say is that we absolutely must do better by grad students — in ecology and evolution, or otherwise. #CostsOfLiving are only rising and stipends remain embarrassingly low. (20/n)

In general, take-home pay is just barely enough to cover rent. MSc stipends cover 94.2 ± 30.9% of rent and PhD stipends are only marginally above water at 105.7 ± 29.9% This doesn't factor in any other costs, such as food, clothing, childcare, and medical expenses. (19/n)

3⃣ Finally, do post-tuition stipends cover the average annual cost of a one-bedroom apartment outside the city centre? (18/n)

These results are dismal, if not surprising. On average, MSc students receive only 57.4 ± 18.1% of minimum wage, while PhD researchers fair slightly better at 64.6 ± 16.4%. I won't wade into the legalities of stipends versus wages, but this feels extremely shady. (17/n)

2⃣ How do post-tuition hourly rates compare to provincially-mandated minimum wages? (16/n)

The average post-tuition stipends are $14,491 ± 4,821 (± SD) per year and $16,277 ± 4,452 per year for MSc and PhD students, respectively. The top 3 best paying PhD programs are at the Universities of BC (Vancouver), Toronto, and Calgary. (15/n)

Anyways, here's what I found. (I can here you saying "finally!") 1⃣ How do post-tuition stipends compare across Canadian ecology and evolution programs? (14/n)

Where am I coming from? I'm a 🇨🇦 ECR and new PI working abroad. I did my PhD in Canada and have many wonderful grad student friends and colleagues. I do not accept institutions as inanimate or immutable, and believe changing a broken system requires knowledge. (13/n)

* Why post-tuition? Simply, tuition is inconsistent and represents, in effect, an in-house transfer of funds from departments and research budgets to universities. This money is never seen by grad students. The question is whether grad students can live on the take-home! (12/n)

I asked the following three questions: 1⃣ How do post-tuition* minimum stipends compare across programs? 2⃣ Do post-tuition* hourly rates meet provincial minimum wage requirements? 3⃣ Do post-tuition* stipends cover the annual cost of a one-bedroom rental? (11/n)

Methods cont'd: ➡️ I translated stipends into hourly rates (pre- and post-tuition) by dividing by the average number of hours worked in Canada (1685 h in 2021) ➡️ I searched average monthly living and rental costs for a one-bedroom, non-city centre apartment on Numbeo (10/n)

Methods cont'd: ➡️ For each program (MSc and PhD), I compiled information on: - annual tuition **excluding ancillary fees** - whether tuition is waived by the program - minimum stipend (guaranteed or otherwise) - post-tuition stipend - stipend composition (GRA, GTA, etc.) (9/n)