Fellowship Office
209 Coble Hall, gradfellowships@uiuc.edu, (217) 333-0036
Guidelines for the Administration of University Fellowship Funds (Block Grant) 2007-2008
Priority Deadline for Submission of Fall and Academic Year Appointment Materials:
July 10, 2007
Priority Deadline for Submission of Spring 2008 Appointment Materials:
December 4 , 2007
The Fellowship Board Block Grant competition held in the fall of 2004 determined unit allocations of University Fellowship funds for 2005-09. These funds, allocated to departments as block grants of dollars, allow flexibility in assembling the kind of financial aid packages that attract the best graduate students. The Block Grant funds for each award year are to be utilized for the University Fellowship awards beginning no earlier than July 16 and ending no later that June 15.
Departmental decisions will govern University Fellowship appointments with the understanding that submissions will be subject to a brief administrative review in the Graduate College. The Graduate College, not the department, will send each Fellow a formal Notice of Fellowship Appointment. Vacancies created by declines of these fellowships may be filled at any time during the fiscal year.
Fellowships are to be administered in accordance with the Guidelines for the Administration of University Fellowship funds outlined below.
Fellowships are awarded under the following terms:
- University Fellows must be degree-seeking graduate students in good academic standing and must be registered during the terms in which they collect their stipends, including while engaged in off-campus research or training.
- Students on limited status are not eligible.
- Students receiving University Fellowships with a stipend of $3,000 or more per semester will receive a full tuition waiver, regardless of their academic programs.
- Students receiving a University Fellowship with a stipend of less than $3,000 per semester must also receive a concurrent appointment (fellowship or assistantship) at a level sufficient to generate a tuition and fee waiver. (e.g. 25%-50% assistantship or fellowship at $3,000 or above per semester).
- Fellows may carry assistantship or other appointments of no more than 50% time, or 20 hours total.
- Services are not required for University Fellowship holders, although services are required for any concurrent assistantships that they hold.
Stipends
Units are encouraged to be imaginative in constructing attractive financial aid packages. They may either award fellowships as the sole support or fellowships concurrently with assistantships or other fellowships. These funds must be used during fiscal year 2008 (July 16, 2007 through June 15, 2008). Departments that make fellowship offers exceeding their allocations must assume financial responsibility for commitments in excess of the allocation.
Registration
Students with waiver-generating fellowships are required to be registered full-time during the term of their fellowships, including while engaged in off-campus research or training. The minimum credit load for students with waiver-generating fellowships is 12 hours during the academic year and 4 hours in an eight-week course during Summer. Enrollment in a four-week summer course will not fulfill the requirement. Students with fellowships that supplement a waiver- generating assistantship are recommended to enroll for 12 hours during the academic year, but 8 hours will count as full-time. Departments are free to impose higher minima. In cases where students receive both a waiver-generating fellowship and a waiver-generating assistantship, the fellowship takes priority along with its accompanying waiver benefits and enrollment requirement.
Taxability
Although fellowship payments are taxable income, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) does not require that universities report fellowship income or withhold income taxes from the fellowship payments of U.S. citizens and permanent residents. The IRS does require that universities withhold taxes from the fellowship payments of international students on temporary visas from countries without a tax treaty with the U.S. More information is available at www.grad.uiuc.edu/fellowship/taxinfo/
Tuition and Fee Waivers
Students holding University Fellowships with a stipend of $3,000 or more per semester will receive a full tuition waiver, regardless of their academic programs. This includes Fellows in academic programs whose students receive base-rate waivers with their assistantships. Fellows receive a full waiver of tuition, service fee, and health service fee along with basic dental and vision coverage and partial payment of the health insurance fee for each term of the fellowship. This means that the fellow is responsible for paying the balance of all other fees (such as general, transportation and refundable fees), unless departments elect to pay them from other funds. The minimum value of the tuition waiver in 2007-08 is approximately $10,160 for in-state students and approximately $27,620 for out-of-state students.
Procedures for the Administration of University Fellowship Funds
Priority Deadline: July 10, 2007
Departments are to:
- Submit a completed and signed Graduate College Rating Form for each student receiving a University Fellowship. The Rating Form should include information on all concurrent appointments (assistantships and/or fellowships) for the fellowship period.
- Submit completed University Fellowship Support Table.
The Graduate College will:
- Review appointments to ensure compliance with campus policy and guidelines.
- Contact the department if there are any problems or questions.
- Send the Fellows a Notice of Fellowship Appointment covering the terms of the Fellowship. A congratulatory letter from the Graduate College will accompany the Notice of Fellowship Appointment.
- Send department a copy of the Notice of Fellowship Appointment for each student indicating who has accepted and declined.
- Initiate NESSIE New Hire.
- Add the fellowship appointment to Banner.
Note: The home organization for students with fellowships will be the Graduate College Fellowship Office. The fellowship job will always be the primary job in Banner.
If you have any questions regarding the use of fellowship funds, please contact the Graduate College Fellowship Office at 333-0036 or gradfellowships@uiuc.edu.
