The Financial Support unit of the Graduate Division processes all fellowship funds to graduate students (payment of tuition, fees, non-resident supplemental tuition, health insurance, and stipends).

Departments notify the Graduate Division of awards through the use of two forms:

  • 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

Please note that 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 tuition, fees, health insurance, and/or non-resident supplemental tuition) have that fellowship credit applied to their BARC account. Students who receive a stipend as part of a fellowship package will receive that payment through the Billing Office. Students can arrange to receive their stipend via direct deposit and the eRefund System. 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, 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 loan, or by the student) for that quarter
  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 fellowships that include the full payment of tuition, 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 tuition and fees will not be overpaid.

When a department establishes financial award packages, the Graduate Division encourages provision of payment of tuition, fees, non-resident supplemental tuition or health insurance, before awarding any stipend. Award letters should be specific and indicate that the award will be used to pay all tuition/fees/non-resident supplemental 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 tuition and fees and non-resident supplemental tuition. If the student is a non-resident, and tuition and fees will be paid by the award but non-resident supplemental 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.