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Graduate Division Funding and Student Support

You should be aware of two important policies with regard to extramural awards, Graduate Division funds, and employment at UCSF:

• POLICY #1:
  THE CAP ON FELLOWSHIP & GSR (RA) and TA SUPPORT
• POLICY #2:
  EMPLOYMENT POLICY REGARDING PERCENT OF EFFORT

POLICY #1:
THE CAP ON FELLOWSHIP & GSR (RA) and TA SUPPORT

The University of California, San Francisco strives to support all pre-doctoral students equitably. To that end, the Graduate Division has established a policy regarding the maximum amount of support that an individual may receive in an academic year if that student receives Graduate Division funds of any kind.

The maximum amount (cap) was originally set at $25,000 per academic year. When NO Graduate Division monies are involved, the cap does not apply.

Types of Graduate Division funds include the following:

• ARCS Scholarship
• Chancellor's Fellowship
• Krevans Fellowship
• Kozloff Fellowship
• Eugene Cota Robles Fellowship
• Fletcher Jones Fellowship
• Graduate Dean's Health Science Fellowships
• Matilda Edlund Fellowship
• Mentorship and Research Assistantship Program
• President's Dissertation Year Fellowship
• President's Research Fellowship in the Humanities
• Zaffaroni Fee Scholarship

As stated above, when Graduate Division funds of any kind are involved, the cap/maximum amount listed above (i.e., consisting of student salaries combined with any "free" money) goes into effect.

The following sources of money do not count toward the cap/maximum:

• fee remissions
• fee offsets
• need-based financial aid
• research allowances
• staff/faculty appointment (i.e., Medical Center) salaries
• other educational allowances

Here are three examples of how this policy, or cap, might play out in real life:

• Example 1:  NO Graduate Division Funding
  If a student receives an extramural American Cancer Society Fellowship of $25,000 (NOT Graduate Division), they are eligible to work as a Graduate Student Researcher as well since the GSR position is also not Graduate Division funding but rather School of Nursing funding. If the ACS Fellowship does not pay fees, and if the GSR position does pay fees (i.e., more than 25% time), this student may accept this payment of fees as well, since the fees are also paid by the School of Nursing and not the Graduate Division. In this example, note that none of the funding comes from the Graduate Division and, therefore, the issue of the cap does not come into play.
• Example 2:  SOME Graduate Division Funding, but Not Exceeding the CAP
  If a student receives $10,000 in the form of a Graduate Dean's Health Science Fellowship (Graduate Division funding) and is subsequently offered a GSR (RA) position (School of Nursing funding) that pays approximately $15,000 in salary, she/he may accept this job. While it is true that the cap applies in this instance because of the original GDHSF, the combined total does not exceed $25,000. Also, because the GSR position is more than 25% time, the position also pays the student's fees. Fees are not included in the cap calculation. In short, this student is eligible to receive $10,000 plus $15,000 plus fees.
• Example 3:  EXCEEDING the CAP
  If a student receives $10,000 in the form of a Graduate Dean's Health Science Fellowship (Graduate Division funding) and subsequently is awarded an NRSA of $20,772, this student has now EXCEEDED the cap for the academic year. Note here that because any Graduate Division monies are involved in this equation, the cap is applied. This student would be required to return that portion of the original $10,000 GDHSF that exceeds the cap so that it can be awarded to another student who has not exceeded the cap. In other words, while the student may keep the NRSA award of $20,772, she/he would only be allowed to accept $4,228 of the original GDHSF award of $10,000 and would have to return $5,772.00.

Program representatives hiring graduate students should contact the Graduate Division (lani.pettersen@ucsf.edu) to confirm the account and source of the student's stipend, which may limit the amount of salary to be paid on a student academic appointment.

However, read on to see how limits on the allowed percent time worked may affect you.

POLICY #2:
THE PERCENT TIME LIMIT

The University of California's policy on student employment limits percent of effort to a maximum of 50% time in a student academic title code (e.g., GSR, TA, Tutor, Reader) while school is in session
(September - November  and  January - May).

Nursing students who hold both an academic title code (GSR, TA, etc.) and a faculty or non-student academic title code (Medical Center staff, etc.) are required to obtain Graduate Division approval if their total percent of effort exceeds 50% while school is in session. In considering these requests, the Graduate Division will consider the total percent of effort proposed and the student's satisfactory progress toward his/her degree.

When a student is employed as a GSR (RA) or TA at 25% time or more, the funding source of the position must pay fees and the student will not be eligible for the Employee Fee Discount. The two (i.e., employee fee discount and fee remission) may not be combined. However, you can continue to earn your salary at the Medical Center at 60% time.

Revised: Mar. 20, 2007
© Copyright 2007 University of California Regents, All Rights Reserved.