The Program

University links with tax information for Stanford Graduate Fellows

Information for Stanford Graduate Fellows
last revised 1/7/08

PURPOSE
NAMED FELLOWSHIPS
RESOURCES
TUITION AND STIPEND SUPPORT,
  AWARD DESCRIPTION IN OFFER LETTER
COMBINATION AWARDS
FELLOWSHIP TERMS

Progress to Degree, Dual Fellow or Honorary Fellow Designation
Interruption of Fellowship, Banking, Banking for Combination Award Fellows
Summer Quarter
Practical Training, Leave of Absence
Supplemental Appointments, Redistribution of Units, TGR Registration

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS IN PUBLICATIONS
APPENDIX A Banking Request Form (word form)

PURPOSE

The Stanford Graduate Fellowships Program in Science and Engineering first awarded fellowships in 1997. The program was initiated by Gerhard Casper, then President of Stanford University, and is designed to support the University's commitment to attract the very best graduate students and to reduce its dependence on federal funding for Ph.D. training. The fellowships are available in the natural sciences, mathematics, statistics, engineering, the basic sciences in the School of Medicine, and those social sciences, including education, which are now dependent on federal assistantship support for their doctoral students.

NAMED FELLOWSHIPS

Stanford Graduate Fellowships are a reality because of the generosity of Stanford alumni and friends who have given $200 million to endow the program. Each of the Stanford Graduate Fellowships carries its own name, as designated by the donor (e.g. Burt and Deedee McMurtry Stanford Graduate Fellowship). Most new Fellows will be matched to a named fellowship and whenever possible, matches are made based on mutual interests of the donor and the fellow. Fellows are encouraged to thank their donors for the fellowship and to provide updates on their graduate career throughout the period of the fellowship. Donors are interested in the progress of Fellows and some make arrangements to meet their named fellow(s). The Fellows, donors, and departments are notified of matches during the first quarter of the award.

RESOURCES

Your department or program is your best resource for questions about your fellowship. This document describes the Stanford Graduate Fellowships program, including flexibility allowed in using the fellowship. Any flexibility described does not override degree program requirements.

For example, this document describes when fellowship use may be interrupted, rather than used in successive quarters. Whether such a decision is beneficial or is detrimental to your academic program is best considered in consultation with your advisor or your program's student services administrator.

SGF Administrative Staff
Area Code for all phones (650)

Office of the Vice Provost of Graduate Education
Building 310, First Floor, 450 Serra Mall
Mailcode: 2102, fax 723-7237

Pat Cook, Director of Fellowships and Programs
patcook@, phone 723-4210
Rebecca Jantzen, Associate Director of Budgets and Programs
rjantzen@, phone 736-9793
Stefanie Moss, Administrative Associate for the Vice Provost of Graduate Education
stef_moss@, phone 736-9796

Office of Development
Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center, 326 Galvez Street
Mailcode: 5018

Anne Lynch, SGF Stewardship Associate
alynch@, by phone 724-7468

Graduate Fellowship Faculty Advisory Committee (GFFAC)

SGF Web Site

http://sgf.stanford.edu

TUITION AND STIPEND SUPPORT, AWARD DESCRIPTION IN OFFER LETTER

Stanford Graduate Fellowships provide tuition and stipend support to students seeking a doctoral degree. The standard SGF fellowship is a three-year award, four quarters per year, and consists of tuition to cover minimum full-time enrollment (eight, nine, or ten units) and a stipend.

The GFFAC Committee has approved several variations to the standard award configuration to complement the academic requirements and needs of different programs. Therefore, it is most efficient for a Fellow to refer to the offer letter from his/her department for a description of the configuration of an individual SGF award.

The annual stipend for the standard SGF award for academic year 2007-08 is $30,000, and will be $31,200 for the 2008-09 academic year. Fellows must enroll each quarter in a minimum of eight units (or TGR, if eligible) for tuition credit to appear on their bill and to receive the stipend check. Stipend checks are issued at the start of each quarter, including summer quarter. For periods of fellowship use, Fellows who do not waive coverage in Stanford's student health insurance plan, Cardinal Care, are eligible for a full health insurance subsidy as defined by the University program.For 2007-08 the full health insurance subsidy covers half of the cost of single student coverage, For more information visit the Cardinal Care website.

Departments may, at their discretion, supplement stipends beyond the SGF amount and may fund additional tuition or other benefits.

COMBINATION AWARDS

A Stanford Graduate Fellowship may be awarded singly or as a combination award, in conjunction with a nationally competitive fellowship or with another award (e.g. NSF, NDSEG and others). Receipt of an outside award and an SGF typically extends the length of a Fellow's guaranteed support, up to a maximum of five years of support.

FELLOWSHIP TERMS

The fellowship is awarded to the fellow, and is portable within the University, so long as the fellow is accepted into the doctoral program of the second department or program.

The fellowships are not available to terminal M.S. candidates or to postdoctoral students.

Recipients of new awards may begin tenure early, during summer quarter, when approved by the recipient's department or program.

Fellowships may not extend beyond the fifth year of graduate study at Stanford. For purposes of the SGF, all years of graduate study at Stanford are included as part of the five. Years of graduate study at another institution are not included.

For any leave of absence starting Winter Quarter 2007-08 or later, quarters on leave will be considered part of the first five years of graduate study during which all fellowship support must be used, or the support will be forfeited. Refer to the leave of absence section for details.

Progress to Degree Certification

Each year, departments and programs are asked to report on the progress of Fellows with remaining SGF support. For Fellows not making satisfactory progress fellowship support may be released on a quarter-by-quarter basis, or depending on type and length of issues, the fellowship may be suspended or remaining quarters of the award may be canceled.

SGFs are expected to complete department-qualifying procedures and advance to candidacy by the end of summer quarter of the second year as a Stanford graduate student. Otherwise support will be suspended until the quarter following completion of the milestone.

For programs where the usual time to advance to candidacy is not within the first two years of graduate school, support for autumn quarter of the third year will be released for the fellow's use. Subsequently support will be suspended until the quarter following completion of the milestone.

Dual Fellow or Honorary Fellow Designation

Several agencies have agreed to a dual fellow designation for students in receipt of an outside fellowship and the SGF: Hertz Foundation, International Monetary Fund, and the National Science Foundation. Such Fellows will be known as the "x" - Stanford Graduate Fellow (e.g. National Science Foundation - Stanford Graduate Fellow).

Students awarded the SGF who accept a fellowship from an agency that has not agreed to a dual designation (e.g. NDSEG), will be named honorary Stanford Graduate Fellows.

Interruption of Fellowship-Banking Support for Later Use

Fellowship support is to be used in consecutive quarters. Interruptions in use of the award will result in the forfeiture of the affected quarter(s) unless a request to bank (reserve) the quarter of fellowship support is approved. See Summer Quarter, Banking Procedures, and Banking for Combination Award Fellows.

Quarters not used, and not approved as banked, will be forfeited. In all instances, all quarters of the fellowship must be used within the first five years of graduate study at Stanford or they will be forfeited.

Banking Procedures

DEPARTMENT PROCEDURES: Degree offices may augment these procedures with other requirements and Fellows should contact their student services administrator for local procedures and deadlines.

DEADLINE: It is advisable to submit requests before the start of the quarter for which banking is requested to avoid the receipt of, and a need to return, a stipend check.

However, since all banking requests are not known until after the quarter begins, the FINAL deadline for submitting a banking request to SGF Administrative Staff is the study list deadline of the quarter for which banking is requested.

WITH DEPARTMENTAL APPROVAL : SGF administrative staff will process requests to bank an SGF quarter when: 1) a fellow has a 50% teaching appointment, 2) a fellow is supported by a departmental training grant, or 3) during the first 4 quarters a fellow is on approved leave from the department/program. Upon notification to SGF administrative staff , or after such actions are entered in the Fellow's University record, the SGF is budgeted for the fellow's later use, provided it can be used during the first five years of graduate study.

WITH ADVISOR AND FELLOW APPROVAL : When a fellow participates in any other activity (e.g. internship, research work, practical training, the fellow's advisor or department chair must send SGF Administrative Staff verification that the activity is contributing to the fellow's Ph.D. program.

Advisor verification can be either 1) via signature on a completed SGF Banking Request Form (Appendix A), or 2) a letter or electronic mail with the fellow's name, the quarter for which banking is requested, a brief description of the fellow's activity, and a short explanation of how the alternate activity contributes to the fellow's Ph.D. program.

If the alternate activity is a research appointment (RA) the fellow must also inform the SGF administrative staff that they wish to bank the quarter of fellowship support either via signature on the SGF Banking Request Form or by email.
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Banking for Combination Award Fellows

Combination award fellows with five years of support are not eligible for banking since all SGF support must be used in the first five years of graduate study. Any fellow with a combination award of less than 5 years of support is eligible for banking during quarters when the fellow is supported fully by the SGF, provided all other banking procedures and requirements are met.

Fellows from award year 2005 or earlier, and in receipt of a concurrent combination award (e.g. outside support supplemented by the SGF), should contact SGF Administrative Staffam Officer to discuss the particular situation. Each year a pool of SGF funds is set aside to address individual situations for concurrent combination award fellows who wish to bank a summer quarter of support to pursue internship opportunities, or due to other unique circumstances. Banked quarters for concurrent combination award fellows are paid at the standard SGF rates, and provide the same eligibility for a health insurance subsidy as an SGF.

Summer Quarter

The expectation is that SGF fellows enroll for eight, nine, or ten units (or TGR, if eligible) during summer quarter and are progressing toward their Ph.D. degree. Often, in summer, fellows enroll in directed research or directed reading in addition to, or, instead of course work.

Summer activities vary from program to program. Some departments/programs supplement the SGF fellowship with a research appointment. A summer supplemental research appointment may be from 10% to 50%, and should comply with all degree program or school policies. When a supplemental research appointment is added, the Stanford Graduate Fellowship provides its usual levels of tuition and stipend. Fellows enroll for eight, nine, or ten units provided by the fellowship and receive the related residency credit. The supplemental research assistant appointment pays salary. In many departments the combination of stipend and RA salary is equivalent to the salary of a 100% RA.

If an SGF Fellow does not register summer quarter, the quarter will be forfeited, unless it is banked as described in the sections Banking Procedures and Banking for Combination Fellows.

Practical Training

Fellows may not use the SGF to support a quarter in which he/she is registered for practical training (curricular or optional). The quarter can be banked if it is certified as described in the previous section, Banking.

Leave of Absence

For the first first four quarters of an approved leave of absence a fellow's SGF support will be reserved for the Fellow's later use provided it can be used in the first five years of graduate school. A leave of absence does not lengthen the period of the first five years of graduate school during which fellowship support must be used. If the fellow does not return after 4 quarters of leave of absence, or extends the leave beyond 4 quarters, the remainder of the fellowship will be cancelled. In the case of a leave for serious illness or other medical condition, or active military service longer than 4 quarters, contact SGF Administrative Staff regarding fellowship arrangements during this period.

Supplemental Appointments

University policy allows that students supported by a Stanford fellowship may be employed for an additional eight hours of hourly employment or may hold a supplemental teaching appointment (e.g. TA, CA) or research appointment (RA) from a minimum of 4 hours to a maximum of 10 hours a week. If a student has a combination of hourly work and a supplemental teaching or research appointment, the total commitment may not exceed 8 hours per week.

For supplemental TEACHING appointment tuition support use
1) Department tuition allowance (TAL); and then the
2) SGF Tuition OB account.

For supplemental RESEARCH appointments (RA), the SGF fellowship provides all tuition support; tuition support from the supplemental RA is not needed.

University policy allows flexibility in summer quarter only, to add a research assistant appointment from 10% to 50% to the fellowship. See Summer Quarter for details.

Redistribution of Units

The most common SGF configuration provides eight, nine or ten units of tuition for each of four quarters during the academic year. Fellows with this configuration may redistribute tuition payments during a given academic year provided all local requirements and any visa requirements are satisfied. Below is an example redistribution. Tuition totals charged to the SGF fellowship for four quarters in an academic year may not exceed the cost of eight, nine, or ten units of tuition for four quarters. Stipend dollars cannot be converted to tuition dollars or vice versa. Enrollment in fewer than eight units is allowable only in summer quarter.

*Examples use AY07-08 School of Engineering tuition rates

Terminal Graduate Registration (TGR)

Fellows are expected to file for TGR status when they are eligible. When a Fellow has TGR status, the fellowship will finance tuition at the TGR rate.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS IN PUBLICATIONS

Fellows should acknowledge the Stanford Graduate Fellowship in publications including World Wide Web pages of any material, whether copyrighted or not, by either an authorship footnote, or an acknowledgment of support. Examples follow.

Example of a Stanford Graduate Fellow's authorship footnote:
Jay Smith, Stanford Graduate Fellow, Department of Outstanding Science, Stanford University

Example of an authorship footnote of a named Stanford Graduate Fellow:
Kelly Sun, XYZ Stanford Graduate Fellow, Department of Outstanding Science, Stanford University

Examples of acknowledgment:
This material is based upon work supported under a Stanford Graduate Fellowship.

Marc Lee is supported by a XYZ Stanford Graduate Fellowship.

Jennifer Miller is supported by a XYZ Stanford Graduate Fellowship and a National Science Foundation Fellowship.

APPENDIX A: BANKING REQUEST FORM (word)             (pdf)