Internal Funding Opportunities through Carnegie Mellon

Financial Aid Information

Emergency Loans
The Office of the Dean of Student Affairs (Warner Hall, 3rd floor, x8-2075) offers short-term emergency loans for supplies, medication, food or other unexpected circumstances. The loans are interest-free and for short periods of time (not longer than a month).

Fellowships
Students who are interested in applying for external fellowships should see their advisor or check the on-line information provided by the Office of Scholarships and Fellowships Web site. The Web site is an excellent resource for locating an abundance of information regarding available funding for students.

Financial Assistance
Research assistantships, and special fellowships are available to qualified, full-time students in the Ph.D. program. Financial aid from the department includes full graduate tuition plus a monthly stipend for each academic month. Health insurance, activities and other fees are the responsibility of the students.  Many students pay for their Carnegie Mellon health insurance and other charges directly from their stipend through TMS.  Information regarding this option is available on the Student Health Office web site. Other questions concerning payment options should be addressed to enrollment services or the payroll office.
Hours:
8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday
Location:
UTDC 4516 Henry Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Contact Information:
(412) 268-2097
(412) 268-7068 Fax
Email: payroll@andrew.cmu.edu

Research assistantships are provided by research projects which are funded by government agencies, private industries, and consortia.  Students who are R.A.s will be expected to conduct appropriate research under the direction and guidance of their research advisor.

Financial Assistance is renewable based on a student’s acceptable performance in course work and research and availability of funds.

Funding (lost, reduced, changed)
If a student is supported by the department through an external grant or contract, and this funding is lost, reduced, or changed, the advisor will notify the student accordingly. All efforts will be made to facilitate the student’s continuation in his/her degree program, if the student is progressing in an acceptable manner.

Outside Employment
Students are not allowed to be employed outside of the university during the academic year nor during the summer if they are being supported by the department.

Semester Breaks and Vacations
Students with graduate assistantships are expected to continue with their research during academic breaks (including the Summer months) with the exception of the official university holidays. A complete list of the official university holidays can be found at the Human Resources website.

Due to federal regulations governing graduate student support, paid time off for personal business and vacations is not provided.  A supported graduate student wanting to take a one week break during one of the summer months in which they are receiving a stipend is expected to get approval for that break with their advisor and make up the work during the other three weeks of that month.  Supported graduate students wishing to take longer periods of personal time off must do so without pay and must receive advanced approval from their research advisor a minimum of four weeks prior to the requested time off.  The advisor must then notify the Graduate Program Administrator and Business Manager of this approval so that stipend adjustments can be processed.

Stipends
Students who receive stipends that are paid for or administered by the university should sign up for direct deposit as University payroll is now a paperless system.  Stipends are issued once per month, on the last business day of the month.  December stipends are usually distributed a little earlier, due to the holiday season.  Check with the associate head of the department in Scaife Hall 403 if you are unclear about the distribution of stipends, or if you need to check whether you will be receiving a September or summer stipend.

Taxes
The deadline for local, state, and federal taxes is April 15.  You can obtain tax forms in the mail, at the post office, or at the Carnegie Library.  Questions about your tax status should be addressed to the IRS TeleTax at 412-261-1040, or the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue at 412-565-7540. Although subject to federal taxes, student stipends are generally not assessed local or state taxes.