Graduate School: Cost-Sharing for Individual External Pre-Doctoral Fellowship Shortfalls

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Policy Number:
UW-1240
Responsible Office:
Graduate School

University Policy

Rationale/​Purpose:

This policy establishes standards for graduate programs/departments to request cost-share funding to cover budget shortfalls for individual external pre-doctoral fellowships.

Definitions:
External Fellowship
A financial award to support a student in the pursuit of research or study provided by an organization outside of UW-Madison, typically with specific conditions for use and reporting requirements.
Fellow
A title used for a graduate student holding a fellowship.
Fellowship
A financial award to support a student in the pursuit of advanced research or studies in a specific field without associated teaching or research responsibilities that come with teaching or research assistant positions. It may include payments to students for training and support related to projects pursued outside the normal curriculum. These payments are often monthly recurring payments, processed through payroll and treated the same as scholarships by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Taxes will not be withheld from these stipends. Except in rare cases, appointees will be required to pay taxes on the amount of stipend that exceeds the cost of tuition, fees, books, supplies and equipment. Appointees may be required to pay estimated taxes on a quarterly basis.
Fringe benefits
Benefits provided by an employer to an employee such as health and life insurance. Fringe benefits are included in sponsored project budgets using a fringe benefit rate calculated annually.
Office of the Registrar Document Fee
Mandatory one-time fee that covers the cost of official university documents (such as transcripts).
Service-Based Pricing Program
A degree/major, capstone certificate, or special student program, consisting of individual courses or a series of courses designed to provide students with a specific set of competencies, operating within either the Online/Distance or Market-Based designation of the Service-Based Pricing tuition structure.
Shortfall
For purposes of this policy, the difference betwen the total costs of a fellowship or traineeship (e.g., stipend, tuition, and health benefits) and the amount covered by the award funds.
Tuition Remission
A benefit where a portion or all tuition charges (but not segregated fees) are waived for an eligible graduate student holding a research assistant, teaching assistant, program/project assistant, or fellow appointment.
Scope:

Pre-doctoral fellows in academic programs under the purview of the Graduate School supported on individual external fellowships and those who administer fellowships. This policy excludes fellowships through the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) Ruth L. Kirschstein (NRSA) F30 and F31 programs.

Policy:

In accordance with UW-1239 Graduate School: Tuition Remission for Graduate Students with Individual Pre-Doctoral Fellowships, graduate students with internal or external fellowships who meet certain criteria will be granted remission of the non-resident portion of tuition. UW-1240 addresses cost-sharing shortfalls beyond non-resident tuition for graduate students with individual external pre-doctoral fellowships.

  1. The Graduate School may provide funding to cover a portion of the shortfall for individual external pre-doctoral fellowships that meet the following criteria:
    1. The fellowship stipend provided is equal to greater than the campus minimum rate for a 33% research assistantship appointment.
    2. The fellowship is administered through the university.
  2. For fellowships that meet the criteria in this policy, programs may request funds from the Graduate School to support a portion of the cost of resident tuition, the Office of the Registrar document fee, and fringe benefits not paid by the fellowship award. Additional cost-sharing from the school/college and program/department is expected to cover the remainder.
    1. Graduate School cost-sharing funds do not include stipend supplementation.
    2. Graduate programs, departments, schools/colleges/divisions, or principal investigators are expected to supplement the fellowship stipend to the graduate program stipend rate.
  3. Graduate School cost-sharing funds are not provided for fellowships supporting students in service-based pricing programs.
  4. Graduate students supported on predoctoral fellowships must be appointed as Fellows (Job Code: SA002) in the human resource system.
Related UW-Madison Policies:
Related UW–Madison Documents, Web Pages, or Other Resources:

Policy Administration

Approval Authority:
Dean of the Graduate School
Policy Manager:
Assistant Dean, Access, Engagement & Funding
Contact:
Assistant Dean, Access, Engagement & Funding -- Abbey Thompson, abbey.thompson@wisc.edu, (608) 263-5517
Revised Dates:

11-3-2022; 11-5-2025

Retrieved:
11-21-2025 14:25:17