Harvard, Its Misérables And The Costs Of Unionization

It's hard to feel sorry for the “low pay and limited benefits” of Harvard graduate students.

It's hard to feel sorry for the “low pay and limited benefits” of Harvard graduate students (“Harvard's Les Misérables,” Review & Outlook, April 18). They are some of the brightest in the country, perhaps the world, and they are making a rational decision by enrolling at Harvard. They know that a Harvard Ph.D. will give them a stream of job opportunities for the rest of their lives, if not in academia, then in other professions. No one is forcing them to attend Harvard, and many thousands of other students would gladly take their places. The value of their tuition and stipend is about $75,000 annually, which beats most salaries for new B.A.s, and Cambridge is a popular location.

For Harvard to use graduate assistants to teach classes is economically rational, but it doesn't mean that grad students are underpaid. Those who should complain are the undergraduates, who get their teaching from grad students rather than from the famous professors featured on the university's website.

It's hard to feel sorry for the “low pay and limited benefits” of Harvard graduate students (“Harvard's Les Misérables,” Review & Outlook, April 18). They are some of the brightest in the country, perhaps the world, and they are making a rational decision by enrolling at Harvard. They know that a Harvard Ph.D. will give them a stream of job opportunities for the rest of their lives, if not in academia, then in other professions. No one is forcing them to attend Harvard, and many thousands of other students would gladly take their places. The value of their tuition and stipend is about $75,000 annually, which beats most salaries for new B.A.s, and Cambridge is a popular location.

For Harvard to use graduate assistants to teach classes is economically rational, but it doesn't mean that grad students are underpaid. Those who should complain are the undergraduates, who get their teaching from grad students rather than from the famous professors featured on the university's website.

This piece originally appeared in Wall Street Journal

This piece originally appeared in The Wall Street Journal