4. Funding

Stipends are awards given in support of full-time graduate study.  They are not a salary and carry no employee benefits. There are two types of stipends that can be awarded to a student.  One is a taxable stipend known also as a Graduate Research Assistantship.  Taxable stipends can only be awarded to FULL-TIME students and are subject to federal tax withholding.  A student receiving a taxable stipend may NOT work for other remuneration either on or off campus.  The second type of stipend is a tuition stipend.  A tuition stipend is awarded to a student when the department is paying the tuition charges.  Tuition stipends are set up by Vicki on a 9-month payroll deduction plan.  The way payroll deduction works is the monthly amount of the tuition stipend is put into your monthly pay and then immediately deducted out.  Appendix 6 provides further explanation of Carnegie Mellon's invoicing and graduate payroll procedures.  Please note that should you receive any amount of pay greater than your usual taxable stipend, an error has occurred with the payroll deduction.   If you see that this has happened and you have received additional money, or not enough money, please report it to Vicki or Barbara right away.  You must return additional money to the department, without exception and regardless of when the error is realized.  Likewise, if you were mistakenly underpaid, then we will fix the problem and pay the amount to you as quickly as possible. Please note that it is your responsibility to verify that you have received the correct amount of stipend each month.

Graduate Students who are receiving a taxable stipend will receive a monthly check issued on the last working day of the month.  Your first check will come at the end of September.  December's check will always be issued on the business day before Christmas Eve.  If you have direct deposit, your "advice" will be in your mailbox on payday.  If you receive a check, please see the receptionist. 

Tuition for Academic Year 2009-2010 is $35,700
Stipend Rates for 2009-2010 are based on a four-tier
milestone-completion system as follows:

Increases are made once a year on each level/milestone completed effective July 1.  One exception:  if you pass your thesis proposal at ANY TIME DURING JULY or AUGUST, you will be eligible to move to the Level 4 pay increase.  

If the Department Head or your advisor makes arrangements, a student may continue research in the summer and receive a taxable stipend.  In April, Vicki will send a memo and form explaining summer support.  You will need to check with your funding advisor at that time and obtain their signature on the form.  College rules dictate that if you will be receiving a stipend in the summer, you must be officially registered for full-time research units, no exceptions.

There are restrictions attached to your graduate research assistantship.  Namely, graduate assistants are not permitted to work outside of the Department, except in very special circumstances and with the prior written permission of the Department Head (e.g., you may be permitted if it is work directly related to your research). 

You are responsible for paying your health insurance, student activities fee, the technology fee, and the Port Authority bus fee each year.  These fees will not be covered by the department or on any research account.  If we are paying your tuition and you are receiving a taxable stipend from us, your student and technology fees (not your health insurance) will automatically be deducted each month of the academic year (September through May) from your taxable stipend, thus you do not need to pay these fees ahead of time.  See Section 5.10 for more information on paying your health insurance.

If there is a change in financial support due to poor academic performance, or a change in availability in funding, the student will be notified via a letter or email prior to the beginning of the new semester.

Students not supported on U.S. Government Funds

Students are encouraged to remain on campus during holiday breaks and spring break, taking short vacations like other employees of the university (for example, a one-week vacation during winter break – that is, students receiving a taxable stipend should not disappear after their last final in December and reappear just before classes begin in January – winter and spring breaks are excellent times to make progress on your research).

During the summer, if you are receiving a stipend, you are expected to remain on campus (except again for a ‘normal’ – e.g., 1-week to 10-day vacation), unless you receive prior approval from your research (funding) advisor to do otherwise.  For example, for foreign students who are only able to return home to visit infrequently, such visits are expected to be for longer durations.  If you wish to schedule an extended vacation or leave, you must get the approval of your research (funding) advisor and notify the department.  Foreign students also will need to check with OIE before leaving the country.

Student supported on U.S. Government Funds

Federal regulations governing graduate student support do not allow for paid time off for personal business and vacations.  If you need to take a little time off, you must make prior arrangements with your faculty advisor to make up the time.  If you need to take a more extended amount of time off, you should make prior arrangements with your faculty advisor and with Barbara to suspend your support for that period.

Because EPP offers a primarily research-oriented Ph.D., the department attempts to provide assistance in the student's initial search or focus on a particular research area.  It is the responsibility of the faculty and the students to explore funding sources for both tuition and stipends, and any additional operating expenses.   As mentioned previously, there are two web sites where students can locate pertinent information on available fellowships.  They are:  http://www.epp.cmu.edu/graduate/ fellow_index.html and a more extensive listing can be found at http://www.cmu.edu/fso.   We strongly encourage all of our students to bookmark and visit these sites often and apply for any fellowship for which they qualify.  If the department can help in any way with the application process, such as writing letters of recommendation, etc., please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Mitch, Granger, or Vicki.

Government research grants and contracts are usually applied for by a faculty member who serves as the Principal Investigator.  If their research would be applicable to the graduate student's interest area, the students may be funded in this manner.  These research projects can run from 1-4 years, but it remains the student's responsibility to be informed of the duration of the funding and to look into new sources when the grant or contract has ended.  Foundations can provide another source of funding through fellowships that are applied for either by the individual student or by the Department as mentioned above. Also, other departments and centers on campus such as Robotics, ICES, and various projects in the Tepper School can provide funding for several months up to several years for projects that may be of interest to students.  Once again, it is the responsibility of the graduate student to take the lead in pursuing these opportunities.  Refer to Barbara for assistance with any administrative matters about proposals, and Vicki for fellowship applications.
 

previous section | Table of Contents | next section