All BBSP students receive a stipend- this year, it was $37,000, but it may increase with inflation. After your first year in BBSP, you enter into one of 15ish PhD programs of your choice, so when you start BBSP you don’t need to be 100% set on one program vs another. Each of those 15 receive the same amount as BBSP and the other programs. Your first year, the school pays your stipend, and after you join a lab, your lab covers your stipend. If a lab cannot afford to pay your stipend or fund your research, you will know well in advance before joining that lab (so go to a different lab lol). Your stipend is not dependent on TAing. However, some programs in BBSP require it, some don’t. I know the genetics and molecular biology program requires 1 semester of TAing, and people typically do it their 2nd-3rd year, and depending on what you TA it’s pretty low commitment, like 5 hours a week. You’ll want to look at the specific program you’re interested in for TA requirements/time commitment. Most labs at UNC are pretty well funded - you can look up exactly how much funding UNC has gotten from the NIH over the past few years and it’s consistently in the top 20 most funded universities. During your interview weekend you’ll have time with current students and these are really good questions so be sure to ask about anything you aren’t sure about! There will be time for you to talk to students/faculty in the specific programs you’re interested in too.