Graduate assistantship stipends are central to recruiting and retaining excellent graduate students at Colorado State University. The Graduate School sets a minimum stipend that may not be lowered, and many units choose to exceed that baseline to address cost of attendance realities and remain competitive nationally. This post outlines three recommended stipend levels—each aligned with current CSU policy and budgeting practices.

 

1) Minimum stipend (required)

The minimum stipend is set annually by the Graduate School and applies to all graduate assistant appointments.

• Minimum stipend information is updated for each academic year.
• AY 2025–26 minimums
  • 0.5 FTE: $1,922/month ($23,064 annually)
  • 0.25 FTE: $961/month ($11,532 annually)

 

2) Cost-of-Attendance (COA) stipend (intermediate)

Goal: Set a stipend such that, when combined with GA benefits, the student can meet the estimated Cost of Attendance (COA).

What’s usually budgeted as a separate line item for a GRA appointment at CSU (AY 2025–26):

• Tuition (per GA policy and FTE).
• 100% of mandatory graduate student fees.

What’s covered via the required, budgeted fringe contribution:

• Student health insurance (SHIP) contribution when the student enrolls in SHIP (taxable benefit).

Because these items are benefits, the COA-based stipend needs to cover the remaining COA categories (e.g., housing, food, transportation, personal expenses, books/supplies) plus income taxes on the stipend. If your college/department also covers differential tuition* for GTAs, budget that with regular tuition and fees; if not covered, the student would need additional stipend to pay it.

COA formula

Let:

• COA = CSU annual graduate COA for the student profile for the nine month academic year (e.g., Colorado non-resident, off-campus).
• B = value of benefits already provided (Tuition + Mandatory Fees).
• D = differential tuition that is either budgeted as a separate line item with regular tuition and fees if the college covers differential tuition as a GTA benefit (due to parity requirements between GTAs and GRAs) or does not cover (student must fund).
• t = effective tax rate on stipend (assumption; see note below).

 

Then the annual COA-level stipend S is:

 

If differential tuition is COVERED for GTAs in the college:

S = (COA – B) / (1 – t)

 

If differential tuition is NOT covered (student must pay it):

S = (COA – B + D) / (1 – t)

Tax note: Choose a reasonable t based on typical student circumstances (e.g., 12–18%). In the examples below, we use t = 15%.

Worked example (AY 2025–26, Graduate CO non-resident, off-campus)

From CSU’s 2025–26 COA tables for graduate students:

• COA total (off-campus) = $54,042.
• B (benefits = Tuition + fees included in COA line) = $31,566.
  Non-tuition/fee components sum to $22,506 (housing $13,167 + food $4,491 + transportation $2,400 + personal $1,728 + books/supplies $720).

Because tuition and 100% of mandatory fees are covered as a separate budget line item, and SHIP is provided via fringe, we set:

• COA – B = $22,506
• Assume t = 0.15 (15%)

1. A) Without differential tuition (no D in the stipend):

 

S = 22,506 / (1 – 0.15) = 22,506 / 0.85 ≈ $26,477 per nine-month period

Monthly (0.5 FTE) ≈ $2,942

 

1. B) With differential tuition* (student must fund it via stipend):

Differential tuition varies by program; use the CSU Tuition & Fees information to retrieve program-specific amounts. For illustration, suppose D = $4,000 for two semesters.

 

S = (22,506 + 4,000) / 0.85 = 26,506 / 0.85 ≈ $31,184 per nine-month period

Monthly (0.5 FTE) ≈ $3,465

Tip: If your unit covers GTA differential tuition, ignore it in calculating the stipend as it is not included in the COA table and is covered on a different line item in your grant budget. If the unit does not cover it, include D in the stipend calculation as shown above.

Tip: Most GRAs are not from Colorado, so use the non-resident transportation estimate in order to incorporate their need to travel further distances to see family.

Tip: Use current AY, up-to-date COA data for your own calculations.

 

3) Gold standard stipend

A nationally recognized benchmark is the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) stipend:

• GRFP stipend: $37,000/year or $3,083/month.

Units aiming to compete for top recruits often anchor offers near this level.

NSF GRFP Information →

 

Summary table — assumes no differential tuition in the stipend

Level	Approx. annual stipend	Monthly (0.5 FTE)
Minimum (required)	$23,064	$1,922
Cost-of-Attendance (COA)	~$35,304	~$2,942
Gold standard (NSF GRFP)	$37,000	$3,083

Budget notes and good practice

• Differential tuition*: Not centrally covered; budget it with regular tuition and fees if the college/department provides it as a GTA benefit. Otherwise include D in the stipend per the formula.
• Inflation: Include an annual inflation factor consistent with Board of Governors raise requirements for multi-year awards (e.g., 3–5%).
• Appointment mix: Verify eligibility rules for tuition/fee benefits and SHIP, including FTE thresholds and enrollment requirements.

*Differential tuition, which can be budgeted separately and paid on a sponsored account, is addressed in the FAQs on OSPs Student Support on Sponsored Programs Guidance page.

 

Sample budget justification language

“The graduate assistant stipend is budgeted at the [minimum / cost-of-attendance / gold standard] level in accordance with Graduate School policy and OSP recommendations. Tuition, 100% of mandatory fees, and student health insurance premiums are provided as GA benefits. Differential tuition is [included separately with regular tuition and fees / not covered; therefore, included in the stipend]. An annual inflation adjustment of 3% is included to meet Board of Governors raise requirements.”

 

If you would like more information, see the blog on Budgeting for GRA Salary/Stipends on the OSP blog page.

 

Blog post by Colleen Webb, Vice Provost for Graduate Affairs, Dean