Fellowship Award Conditions

A Graduate School fellowship is a financial award made by the university directly to a graduate student to provide support during a portion of the graduate degree program. Fellows are selected on the basis of academic merit through university-wide competitions without respect to financial need. Graduate fellows cannot be required to perform a service in return for receiving a stipend.

Graduate School fellowship offers apply exclusively to graduate study in the program identified in the letter of offer. Any change in a student’s enrollment status, including entry into a combined program or transfer to another program, must be approved by the Graduate School and appropriate graduate program(s) prior to that change, and could result in the loss of the fellowship and/or full fee authorization support.

Requirements

• Fellowship students must be in attendance on the Columbus campus and be pursuing a graduate degree in the program specified in the fellowship award letter from the dean of the Graduate School. Exceptions to the residency requirement might include language study or research at another institution, but fellowship students must continue to enroll for a minimum of 15 graduate credit hours each quarter at Ohio State. Fellows must be in attendance when classes are in session. Any exception must be requested and approved as explained below.           

• Fellowship students must carry a minimum of 15 graduate credit hours during each quarter on appointment as a graduate fellow (including summer). Fellows must also maintain good academic standing in the Graduate School and make reasonable progress toward the graduate degree. Any exception must be requested and approved as explained below. 

• Fellows are expected to learn, respect, and abide by the professional codes of ethics and responsibilities of the university and those commonly accepted in the fellow’s field of study or area of research. These codes include, but are not limited to, the Graduate Student Code of Research and Scholarly Conduct and Ohio State's Code of Student Conduct.
• Fellows are expected to devote full-time attention to their academic studies. Therefore, fellows may not hold other types of employment/appointments/awards, such as graduate associateships, fellowships, and/or traineeships. Any requests for an exception to the conditions of the fellowship must be submitted, in writing, by the graduate studies chair (GSC) in the fellow’s graduate program to Associate Dean Scott Herness in the Graduate School. The GSC and fellow will be notified in writing as to the outcome of the request.

• The Graduate School reserves the right to terminate fellowship support before the end of the award period if conditions of the fellowship are not maintained.

  Tuition and fees           

  The Graduate School authorizes the payment of resident and nonresident tuition, the general fees, and learning technology fee for its fellows, with the following exceptions:

  • Late fees: Fellows are responsible for any late registration penalty and late fee payment penalty if the late fee payment is the result of inappropriate registration (e.g., less than 15 credit hours of enrollment).
  • Withdrawal/disenrollment costs: If a fellow chooses to leave (withdraw) from the university or is suspended or dismissed, he or she will be billed for the prorated value of the tuition and fees used during the quarter of withdrawal. The prorated value is based on the university’s tuition and fee refund schedule. For example, if a non-funded student withdraws from the university during the second week of the quarter, that student would be eligible for an 80% refund of tuition and fees paid. Fellows do not pay tuition and fees, so former fellows would be responsible for the 20% of the tuition and fees forfeited by the Graduate School because of their withdrawal.

  If withdrawal or disenrollment is being considered, please contact Fellowship Services, (614) 292-9490, or gsfellowship@osu.edu to discuss the timing and possible forfeiture fees.

  Appointment/stipend

  Fellowship support is available for a maximum of 12 consecutive months (four quarters) and is nonrenewable. All stipends are paid electronically. The first stipend will be available on Friday, October 29, 2010. If the fellow leaves the fellowship early, the stipend will be prorated to reflect the date of departure.

  A monthly stipend of $1,435 is paid on the last working day of each month. (The Dean's Distinguished University Fellowship monthly stipend is $1,800.)

  Tenure for the academic year is October 1, 2010, through June 30, 2011. Summer support is available and cannot be deferred to another quarter. Tenure for the summer is July 1, 2011, through September 30, 2011.

  Excellence bonus

  An annual supplement of $3,000 ($333.33 per month over nine months, October through June) will be paid to new, incoming fellows admitted to a doctoral program identified as a High-Quality Doctoral Program or a Strong Doctoral Program in the Doctoral Program Assessment and Plan (Graduate School, April 2008). The supplement is paid by the Graduate School to each fellowship awardee for four consecutive years and may not be used to meet the standard stipend level established by the graduate program for fellows, graduate associates, or trainees (i.e., the graduate program is expected to provide its funding at its standard stipend level). 

  Benefits

  Student health insurance: Graduate fellows are eligible for the University Insurance Premium Contribution if they elect to purchase the quarterly student health insurance. The university contributes approximately 85% of the Comprehensive Student Health Insurance Plan. The fellow’s portion of the quarterly student health insurance will be divided into three equal payments that will be deducted from the monthly fellowship stipend. Graduate fellowships are non-service appointments, and, as such, fellows are not eligible for worker’s compensation or disability insurance.

  Parking permits: Graduate fellows may purchase a staff, rather than the student, parking permit. Information regarding staff "B" parking status is available from Transportation Services.

  Library: Graduate fellows have staff library privileges.

  Expenses not covered by fellowship

  Room and board, application fee, books, equipment, lab fees, parking, the student’s portion of the student health insurance, COTA bus fee, student activity fee, student union fee, recreation fee, and other personal expenses are not paid by the fellowship. Some of these fees will be deducted from the fellow's monthly stipend.

  Tax liability

  According to the Federal Tax Reform Act of 1986, fellowship stipends are considered taxable income. Because fellowships are considered awards, the university does not withhold income tax from the monthly stipend. Students are required to file both the federal and state estimated quarterly income tax forms. Information

  Any questions regarding a Graduate School fellowship may be directed to Bobbi Davis-Jones, director of Fellowship Services, or Dena Myers, fellowship coordinator, (614) 292-9490.