> I was able to be fully funded through the research that I performed You performed work that benefited the institution, in exchange for goods and services. T

> I was able to be fully funded through the research that I performed You performed work that benefited the institution, in exchange for goods and services. This is employment. I get what you're saying, and you're not totally wrong. Most importantly, the research is part of your studies so it's not totally fair to label it as 100% employment. But it's also not 100% studies, since the university is getting material benefits from it. You can argue that the employment angle is an accounting trick. Your research was part of your degree, and you didn't pay tuition and received a stipend. Most people's research is considered half-time employment, for which they are paid an amount roughly equal to the cost of tuition plus living expenses. These are two perspectives on situations that nearly identical on the ground, but are regulated differently. Tax regulations for most, but it sounds like you were also affected by labor regulations. For my part, I was employed by my college as an undergrad as part of my financial aid package. It only counted for like 5% of my financial aid, because it was near-minimum-wage administrative office work. So I would argue that graduate students are not being treated differently from undergrads. The labor of graduate students has a higher value, and the mix of their financial aid packages reflect this, but the essential rules are the same.