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The Graduate School

Fellowships

New Fellowship System

The Graduate School has implemented a new Fellowship system within MyPack portal. DGPs, GSCs, Assoc. Deans and other authorized personnel can login to MyPack portal using their Shibboleth credentials to access the Fellowship forms to perform the following functions:

  1. Graduate School Fellowships Nomination Form: This form is for Assoc. Deans/DGPs and other authorized personnel to submit nominations for fellowships managed by the Graduate School. The system sends automated email notifications to alert submitters about the nomination status. The system also enables reviewers to request additional information from submitters, if needed. The main Fellowship form page also features a robust search function.Learn more about how to access and use the system. All DGPs, GSCs, Associate Deans and requested personnel should have the SAR access to enter Fellowship nominations.
  2. Departmental Fellowship Form: This form is for GSCs/DGPs and other authorized personnel to initiate a new fellowship award to graduate students from their internal funds or to modify or terminate an existing fellowship award. This system replaces the “Graduate Fellowship Payment Information” PDF form.  The Department Fellowship award can be initiated, modified, or terminated by a GSC or personnel with “Graduate Fellowship Submittal” SAR role. The form will route to the DGP for approval and then to the Graduate School for final verification before creating a fellowship award for the student in the Financial Aid system.

Please refer to the Department Fellowship Workflow flowchart for the approval workflow in the system.

Please contact gradschool-fellowships@ncsu.edu if you need to request access for Fellowship nominations

The following table has instructions for different actions for Submitters and Approvers.

For GSCs or Department Fellowship Form Submitters
Submit a New Fellowship Award
Modify an Existing Fellowship Award
Terminate an Existing Fellowship Award
For DGPs or Department Fellowship Form Approvers
Review and Approve a Fellowship Award

Campus Sponsored Graduate Fellowships

Graduate fellowships are financial awards that hold no work obligation. You might think of them as being similar to a department sponsored scholarships. A student on a fellowship is only expected to fulfill the following:

  1. Full-time enrollment
  2. Must be a graduate student in good academic standing
  3. Enrollment in direct deposit through “Student Self Service” via the MyPack Portal
  4. Foreign national students must meet with a Foreign National Tax Specialist in the International Employment Tax Group of NCSU Human Resources for tax assessment and to sign appropriate tax forms

Fellowships are disbursed monthly, official disbursement dates can be found on the fellowship information form, see Processing Fellowships below for details. The fellowship year is August 1 – July 31.

Fellowship Type

There are two types of fellowships, Primary and Supplemental. The fellowship type is determined by the amount of the award and a department can not typically chose one over the other.

  • Primary fellowships are awards that are greater than or equal to $5,625/semester for Master’s students and $7,500/semester for Doctoral students. They are considered the student’s primary funding source and are responsible for any Graduate Student Support Plan costs in addition to the award. If a student also has an assistantship, only the fellowship will be held responsible for the cost. In rare cases, the Graduate School will consider an exception to the primary fellowship classification with appropriate justification. Please contact the Graduate School at  grad-fellowships@ncsu.edu for pre-approval.
  • Supplemental fellowships are awards that are less than $5,625/semester for Master’s students and $7,500/semester for Doctoral students. These fellowships are considered supplemental of other support a student may have and are not financially responsible for costs associated to the Graduate Student Support Plan.

International Students

There are no limitations for international students to hold fellowships, and they are not required to have a social security number in order receive their award. Students will however, need to meet with the International Tax Office to set up their tax panel. Some countries require a tax on awards such as fellowships. The International Tax Office will be able to walk students through the process and answer any tax information they may have. For more information, please visit the International Tax Office website.

Helpful Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

How do students get paid?

Students are paid through the Cashier’s Office via direct deposit. This direct deposit is different than the direct deposit that the Payroll Office uses. A student who may have a student job will still need to set up direct deposit with the Cashier’s Office. For instruction, please see the Cashier’s Office website.

What if I want to make a change to an award?

If the department needs to make a change to an existing award, a new Fellowship Information Form will need to be submitted with the updated information. Please note that changes can only be made going forward. No retroactive changes can be made.

Are fellowships taxable?

This will depend on the funding source. Fellowships are taxed at the time of disbursement, however, not all fellowships are non taxable and may be subject to taxation on a student’s tax return. For questions about if a fellowship is taxable, the student should talk to a tax professional.

What documents are needed when filing a tax return?

Since fellowships are not work obligation, NC State does not with hold or report any tax information on the award to the IRS. As a result, the university does not produce any forms with the total amount of the award for a tax year. This means that it would not be reflected on the student‘s T-1098, which reflects tuition.  It also wouldn’t be on their their W-2 or 1099 which reflects income. Some fellowships may need to be self reported, however, the student would need to speak to a tax professional to determine if and how their fellowship should be reported.

Can a student get an employment verification for their award?

No, since fellowships hold no work obligation, employment verification can not be created for the award. If a verification of funding is required, please reach out to the Graduate School.