N. Financial Support

• Fellowship Support
  • Eligibility
  • Allocation
  • Nomination
  • Examples of Diversity Fellowship Criteria
  • Terms and Conditions of Fellowships
  • Supplementation Limits Chart
• Financial Aid Support (Need Based)
  • Work Study
  • Direct Loans
  • Graduate PLUS Loans
• Extramural Funding Resources
  • Funding Search Engines
  • Targeted Email Funding Lists
  • Graduate Financial Peer
  • Davidson Library

The primary purpose of financial support is to recruit and retain high quality doctoral students to UC Santa Barbara. The most successful graduate departments strike a balance between recruitment and retention efforts. Departments are encouraged to communicate typical funding patterns and provide clear expectations of multi-year support packages for students using a combination of block grants, academic apprentice positions, and extramural and endowment funds.

Graduate student support is divided into four categories:

Fellowship Support
Funds are awarded on the basis of merit and promise of productive scholarship. Types of university awards and funding sources include centrally administered fellowships, department and campus gift and endowment funds, and departmental block grants. (Block grants are allocated to departments in the fall and are based on fall enrollment.) Fellowship funds could provide payment of any of the following: fees, health insurance, non-resident tuition, and stipend. A fellowship is any payment to a student that is not salary or direct reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses such as travel costs. All fellowships must be processed and disbursed by the Graduate Division.

Financial Aid Support (Need Based)
Funds are awarded on the basis of the student's financial need only (i.e., work-study and loan programs). Students apply for need-based aid through the Financial Aid Office. Graduate students should be reminded of this source of financial support, as most students qualify having a financial need. See below for more information.

Extramural Funding
There are numerous federal and foundation fellowship opportunities for graduate students. All students should be encouraged to apply for extramural awards and to visit the Graduate Division's Financial Center for information and links to various extramural funding sources.

Graduate Student Academic Appointments
Graduate students may also receive support through graduate student academic appointments, please see following Section O.

A more in-depth overview of these types of financial support available to new and continuing graduate students follows.

Fellowship Support

The guidelines governing fellowship support are categorized below under four headings: Eligibility, Allocation, Nomination, and Terms and Conditions of Fellowships. For more detailed information regarding central and departmental awards for new and continuing students, refer to Financial Support on the Graduate Division Web site.

Eligibility

Students must be registered in the appropriate quarter to receive any financial support funds via the Graduate Division or the department during the academic year or the summer months. Please make every effort to have all continuing students register by the deadlines set by the Office of the Registrar. Continuing students receiving fellowship funds during the summer months must be registered for the following fall quarter before funds can be disbursed (fall registration occurs during the previous spring quarter). If students fail to register on time, they may not receive any summer funds until they have the opportunity to register for fall courses during the later registration period that begins in mid-September. New students may not receive any University funds until they are registered in courses. Their first opportunity to register for academic year courses occurs in mid-September. Pre-enrollment summer employment for new students requires use of non-academic titles unless they register in a summer session.

Students in joint doctoral degree programs are eligible for central fellowships, but must be registered at UC Santa Barbara during the quarter(s) in which they receive UC Santa Barbara funding.

All students who receive central fellowships administered by the Graduate Division must maintain continuous enrollment. Students who are not in good academic standing because their cumulative GPA is below 3.0, or they have excessive units of unfinished coursework-defined as 12 or more units of Incomplete (I), No Grade (NG), or No Record (NR), or are not meeting departmental standards of scholarship-may not hold centrally administered fellowships. To be eligible for a stipend of $4,000 or more during summer, a graduate student must enroll in a minimum of four summer session units in a six-week session. Central fellowships are intended to enable students to spend the majority of their time studying and, therefore, often carry employment restrictions. Please see "Supplementation Limits" under "Terms and Conditions of Fellowships" for further information. P3 class level students, or those who will achieve P3 status during the fellowship term, are not eligible for central fellowship funds. (A student enrolled for more than 9 quarters since advancement to doctoral candidacy is P3 class level.) For more information see the Graduate Class Level section of the Handbook .

All domestic students are required to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid ( FAFSA ) by the March 2nd deadline for the upcoming year. Information from the FAFSA is used to compile a "need analysis," which is used to determine fund sources for support packages.

*  NOTE : Eligibility for need-based financial support is affected by awards students receive from the Graduate Division, academic departments, or outside agencies. A reduction in the student's original need-based aid eligibility will occur if the student receives additional awards during the year, including graduate student academic appointment fee remission. For further information regarding financial aid support, refer to the Financial Aid section of the Handbook .

Allocation

The Financial Support unit of the Graduate Division processes all fellowship funds to graduate students (payment of fees, health insurance, non-resident tuition and stipends). Departments notify the Graduate Division of all awards through the use of three forms available on GradNET (personnel only):

• Fellowship Reporting Form I for block grant awards and Graduate Division matching fellowships;
• Form 2 for awards funded through departmental, extramural, gift or endowment fund sources; or
• Form 3 for awards funded through the department's fee fellowship allocation from the Graduate Division.

*  NOTE : All fellowship payments to students must be handled in this way. The University may not use the University Check Request Form 5 for any type of fellowship or financial award payment to students. The Graduate Division ensures that the funds are disbursed to the student, charged to the correct account, and reported to all necessary offices.

Students who receive a fee fellowship (payment of fees, health insurance and/or non-resident tuition) have that fellowship credit applied to their Billing/Accounts, Receivable, Collections (BARC) account. Students who receive a stipend as part of a fellowship package will receive that payment from the Billing Office. Students can arrange to receive their stipend via direct deposit. For details, please see Gaucho Direct Deposit. International students may be required to provide tax and visa related information to the Accounting Office via GLACIER, a secured web-based tax compliance system, in order to receive their stipend. For complete information, please see GLACIER.

Before a stipend payment can be disbursed to a graduate student, there are three very important criteria that must be met: (1) the student must be registered in at least the minimum units required for the quarter in which the payment has been prepared; (2) the student's fees must be paid (either by the fellowship or by the student) for that quarter; and (3) the student's BARC account must be clear of all other charges due. Students may refer to the Fellowships section of MyBARC, for details about their stipend disbursements.

Departments frequently award students fellowships that include the full payment of fees and health insurance. After those awards are made and reported to the Graduate Division, many students secure academic appointments that include fee remission benefits. When this occurs, the Graduate Division will automatically adjust the departmental fee payment award so that the student's fees will not be overpaid.

When a department crafts financial award packages, the Graduate Division encourages provision of payment of fees, non-resident tuition or health insurance, before awarding any stipend. Award letters should be specific and indicate that the award will be used to pay all fees/tuition/health insurance, and any balance of funds will be provided in the form of a stipend. Also, department letters should be very clear regarding the difference between fees and non-resident tuition. If the student is a non-resident, and fees will be paid by the award but tuition will not, that should be made clear to the student to prevent any misunderstanding.

For Internal Revenue Service and California Tax Board resources, please see tax resources.

Nomination

All candidates for centrally administered fellowships for new students are nominated directly by the department. Awards are made by multi-disciplinary faculty committees and Dean of the Graduate Division.

Specific nomination procedures information for the centrally administered recruitment fellowships is sent to departments annually in the fall and are available on GradNET (personnel only). This information is important, as departments are limited in nominations per fellowship competition.

In support of the campus goals of excellence and diversity, all nominations for central fellowships require strong evidence of the student's ability to contribute to the UC Santa Barbara academic community and research environment. All applicants for fellowships should provide evidence of present and future ability and accomplishments in their grade-point average, research experience, and GRE scores as applicable, as well as in letters of recommendation, statement of purpose, and personal statement.

Procedures for nominating students for diversity fellowships are the same as for other fellowships. All diversity fellowships are first and foremost merit-based. Students who are deemed to be academically meritorious are considered for awards based on merit, potential for success, experience of disadvantages, and contribution to diversity and equal opportunity in the academic community through their teaching, research, or service. Applications for diversity fellowships should present evidence in their statement of purpose and personal statement of how they would qualify in at least one of the following ways:

• Low socio-economic status (such as, but not limited to, low parental income while the student prepared for and attended college; parental occupation in non-professional area; the financial need to be employed while attending school; incurring large indebtedness from school loans; financial responsibility for immediate or extended family);
• Experience of a condition impeding advancement to graduate study (such as but not limited to the absence of a family member who had attended college; matriculation in a school or schools with poor financial or curricular support; having a physical or learning special need; the necessity to work long hours while attending school; language background at home other than English);
• Commitment to advancing economically or educationally disadvantaged segments of society (such as, but not limited to, academic research interests as they affect economically or educationally disadvantaged segments of society; expressed interest in the use of the doctoral degree toward advancing economically or educationally disadvantaged segments of society; prior experience working with or serving economically or educationally disadvantaged segments of society).

Examples of Diversity Fellowship Criteria

For fellowships in the Humanities : Candidates whose research emphasizes issues such as diversity, multi-culturalism, and communities underserved by traditional academic research. Research which considers issues such as race, ethnicity, and/or gender as they relate to traditional academic fields is of particular interest. This includes research in such areas as community development, social justice, educational reform, economic development, public health and safety, and the dynamics of multi-cultural communities. Within these general parameters, research that invigorates traditional disciplines by challenging conventional paradigms or by using innovative methodologies such as interdisciplinary and comparative approaches is of special interest.

For fellowships in Math, Engineering, Life Science, and Physical Science : Candidates who have participated in teaching, mentoring, or outreach programs which promote educational opportunities for underrepresented students in higher education. For example, individuals who have volunteered in K-12 outreach programs or have served as mentors or tutors in programs designed to increase gender and racial diversity in mathematics, engineering, and the sciences are of special interest.

Terms and Conditions of Fellowships

Students who receive fellowships must be registered full time (enrolled in a minimum of 8 units), devote full-time study to the field in which they receive the award, maintain continuous enrollment, remain in good academic standing, and maintain satisfactory academic progress. P3 status class level students, or those who will achieve P3 status during the fellowship term, are not eligible for central fellowship funds. (A student enrolled for more than 9 quarters since advancement to doctoral candidacy is P3 class level.) For more information see the Fellowship Support Eligibility and Graduate Class Level sections of the Handbook .

• U.S. citizens and permanent residents are eligible for non-resident tuition fellowships only for their first three quarters at UC Santa Barbara. During their first year students should establish residency. For detailed information, please consult the Office of the Registrar's Establishing California Residency for Fee Purposes. You may also refer inquiries to the Residence Deputy, Office of the Registrar, Student Affairs and Administrative Services Building 1105.
• Students must register each term they receive fellowship support. Students are not allowed to be on Leave of Absence or in Filing Fee status when receiving a fellowship.
• Students receiving a central fellowship must report immediately, in writing, to the Graduate Division any change in academic or financial status. Changes in status include (but are not limited to) change of major/program, withdrawal, and multiple awards. Central fellowships do not automatically transfer from one major/program to another, and receipt of additional support funds might affect award of UC funds.
• Fellowships are awards that enable students to spend the majority of their time studying. It is anticipated that additional financial need should be minimal. The supplementation policy is designed primarily to ensure that excess service as an academic apprentice will not impede fellowship holders' graduate studies and to allow a distribution of University support funds among highly qualified students.

Supplementation Limits Chart

Financial Aid Support (Need Based)

Graduate students that are U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens may apply for federal financial aid by submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid ( FAFSA). This application can be submitted online at FAFSA. Direct Loans, Grad PLUS Loans, and work-study are available through this process. While students may submit this application throughout the year for loan eligibility, graduate students wishing to be considered for work-study must submit their FAFSAs each year by the Financial Aid Office's priority filing deadline of March 2 for the upcoming academic year.

Eligibility for these aid programs is determined by comparing the student's cost of attendance to their Student Contributions (SC) calculated from their FAFSA data. For more information, go to Financial Aid Office's Graduate Student Budget.

*  NOTE : The combination of graduate students' loans, work-study allocations, graduate fellowships, fee remissions, and health insurance awards cannot exceed the budget used for financial aid eligibility determination. Graduate fellowship information is reported to the Financial Aid Office and periodically updated throughout the academic year by the Graduate Division. TA and RA fee remission and health insurance awards are downloaded from the payroll system by the Financial Aid Office. However, please be aware that this payroll information is usually not posted to the payroll system by students' departments until the quarter for which it is intended.

Financial assistance is usually offered as a combination package of the following types of aid:

Work Study

The federal work-study program provides employment opportunities. Students earn their allocation with either on-campus or off-campus employers and receive a monthly paycheck for wages earned. Salaries are paid partly by the federal government and partly by the hiring department. All jobs on-campus qualify to be used with work-study awards. Graduate students are highly encouraged to apply their work-study allocations to their TAships or other academic appointments, if applicable.

Direct Loans

Under the Direct Loan Program, eligible graduate students may borrow up to a maximum of $20,500 per year. Of this amount, only $8,500 can be in the form of a subsidized Direct Loan.

Under subsidized Direct Loans, the government pays the interest while students are in school. To receive a subsidized Direct Loan, students must be able to demonstrate financial need.

With unsubsidized loans, students pay all the interest, although they can have the interest payments deferred until after graduation by capitalizing the interest. This adds the interest payments to the loan balance, increasing the size and cost of the loan. All students that qualify for federal aid, regardless of need, are eligible for the unsubsidized Direct Loan.

*  NOTE : Eligibility for need-based financial support is affected by awards students receive from the Graduate Division, academic departments, or outside agencies. A reduction in the student's original need-based aid eligibility will occur if the student receives additional awards during the year. Students who do not file the FAFSA by the March 2nd deadline will not receive priority consideration for need-based aid. The Financial Aid Office evaluates on-time applications and extends offers of aid in the summer. For more information, please consult the Financial Aid Office, Student Affairs and Administrative Services Building 2101, (805) 893-2432.

Graduate PLUS Loans

Recent changes in federal legislation now permit graduate students to borrow through the PLUS (Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students) Loan program. The Grad PLUS Loan allows graduate students to borrow up to the full cost of education minus other aid received.

1. The current interest rate is fixed at 7.9%.
2. Interest begins accruing as soon as the first disbursement is made.
3. For graduate students, payments on their Grad PLUS Loan are deferred while they are in school as long as they are enrolled at least half-time.
4. Graduate students must exhaust their Direct Loan eligibility before a Grad PLUS Loan request will be processed.

For more information about the financial aid process, please visit the Financial Aid Office Web site.

Extramural Funding Resources

Funding Search Engines
A wide range of extramural fellowships exist. Graduate students are encouraged to apply for extramural fellowships (competitions that are not run by the Graduate Division). Besides the potential for substantial funding, the process of applying for fellowships is valuable professional training. The funding search may begin with The Source-the Graduate Division's electronic funding database created specifically for UC Santa Barbara graduate students, which provides links to financial support information, regularly updated listings of campus competitions and deadlines, national fellowship announcements, and links to various funding sources and databases. UC Santa Barbara subscribes to the Illinois Researcher and Information Service (IRIS) and Community of Science Funding Opportunities (COS) which are extramural funding source databases with search capabilities (along with instructions on how to conduct a search). Another useful funding search engine is UCLA's Graduate and Postdoctoral Extramural Support (GRAPES) data base. Throughout the academic year, the Graduate Division sponsors presentations that assist graduate students with conducting searches and writing applications for extramural funding, see the Graduate Division Calendar for upcoming events.

Targeted Email Funding Lists
The Graduate Division offers several electronic mailing lists for graduate student funding opportunities. Students may receive e-mails alerting them to funding opportunities in the following disciplines: Humanities and Fine Arts; Science, Engineering and Math; Social Sciences and Education. For information on joining an email list or viewing archived messages, please go to funding email list.

Graduate Financial Peer
If you would like assistance searching or applying for extramural funding, or if you would like to have a funding workshop for graduate students in your department, please contact the Graduate Division's Funding Peer.

Davidson Library
The reference section on the first floor of the Davidson Library also provides a variety of directories describing sources of funding and research opportunities, including fellowships, grants, internships, and job listings. Several useful references on proposal and résumé preparation are also available.