Funding FAQ

Fellows and Graduate Assistants must be enrolled for at least 9 credits during the fall and spring semesters. Some graduate programs and funding sponsors also require enrollment during summer semesters. Please check with your program for clarification.

Graduate assistants should review the assistantships information page to determine the appropriate number of credits. Please note that you must be registered as a degree-seeking student to receive any financial support.

For more information about fellowships and assistantship requirements, refer to the following two Graduate Education Policies:

• Policy GSAD-901 Graduate Assistants
• Policy GSAD-907 Graduate Fellows and Graduate Trainees

Penn State does not offer tuition waivers. Tuition is fully covered for students appointed to a teaching, research, or administrative graduate assistantship.

Information about student loans, and how to apply for financial aid, is available through the Office of Student Aid.

Graduate assistantships are awarded by academic programs. Contact the program in which you are currently enrolled or are applying for admission to inquire about the availability of assistantships and the application process.

Students on assistantships are eligible for an 80 percent University subsidy of the annual student premium cost for Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) at Penn State. Penn State provides a 75 percent annual premium subsidy for spouse and/or eligible dependents of graduate assistants. Contact the Student Health Insurance Office for more information.

For fellows appointed through Penn State, the University provides an insurance subsidy as outlined above for graduate assistants. Some external sponsors/agencies pay 100 percent of the premium based on their funding guidelines.

Stipends may be considered taxable income. Fellows may find it helpful to consult the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Tax Topic 421: Scholarship and Fellowship Grants and Publication 970: Tax Benefits for Education. These are available on the IRS website. Specific questions regarding the taxation of Fellowship funding and personal tax liability should be referred to the IRS.

Fellows are not, in any sense, considered salaried employees of Penn State. Penn State will not withhold tax from the stipend or pay any additional amounts, such as Social Security Taxes nor issue a W-2 or 1099 Form to U.S. residents related to fellowships. Fellows bear the responsibility of filing and paying any taxes due.

If a student is a Non-U.S. Resident (for tax purposes), the University is required by law to withhold 30 percent of federal income tax from the fellowship payment. However, federal income tax withholding can be eliminated if your country of permanent residence has a tax treaty with the United States, and you complete the treaty form W-8BEN. Contact the Payroll Office by email at payroll@psu.edu to request access to SprinTax Calculus software if you haven’t done so already. This will allow the Payroll Office tax team to apply the W-8BEN to your fellowship correctly once all your information has been completed on your Calculus record.

Fellowship income and tax withholding (if applicable) for non-U.S. residents will be reported to the IRS on a form 1042-S, an electronic copy of your 1042-S can be accessed through SprinTax Calculus. Once forms are available, you will receive an email from Calculus with instructions as well as a link to the Calculus site.

Please contact the Payroll Office by email payroll@psu.edu if you have any questions or need additional information.

Penn State cannot counsel you on personal income taxes and does not offer any resources to help students with their taxes. Please contact an outside tax vendor/service for assistance. One potential option is the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA). VITA is a nationwide, IRS-sponsored volunteer program that provides free tax preparation services.

Emergency loans are available through the Office of Student Aid. There are established eligibility criteria for these loans.

No, only degree-seeking graduate students are eligible for graduate student funding.