MENU 
PhD Student Funding and Insurance
Depending on the funding pathway throughout your first year as a CSE PhD student, you will either be funded by a GSRA appointment, a CSE fellowship, and/or a combination of the two. If at any point you are unsure of your funding pathway, please email [email protected] for help.
- If your funding is via a GSRA, then Karen Liska will be your primary contact ([email protected])
- If your funding is via CSE fellowship, then the Graduate Programs Office will be your primary contact ([email protected])
Tuition and registration fees
General overview
Payment of tuition and fees is applied directly to your UM financial account. On occasion, the September billing statement is sent prior to the posting of the tuition/fee payment. If that occurs, you may ignore the tuition/fees portion of that bill. All other charges, however, are your responsibility – such as housing, utilities, excess printing charges, etc. Your October statement should reflect payment of your tuition and fees. If it does not, please contact us right away.
Stipend
Dates & amounts
Fellowship recipients will receive their stipend payments once per month, for a total of four payments per term. The stipend payment schedule for the academic year can be found on the Rackham website here. Please note that you will receive your first stipend payment in late September and you will therefore need to plan/budget accordingly until then.
[GSRA (Graduate Student Research Assistant) and GSI positions receive their employment paychecks according to a different schedule. Rackham Merit Fellowship (RMF) recipients are the exception to this rule and will receive details about their stipend payment from the Rackham Graduate School.]
Direct deposit
If you would like for your stipend to be directly deposited into your bank account, then go ahead and complete the direct deposit form found in Wolverine Access under Student Financials. Otherwise, you’ll need to complete and submit this direct deposit authorization form.
If you prefer to pick up your paycheck rather than receive it through direct deposit, then your paycheck will be available for pick up at the Office of Student Financial Services located at 2226 SAB or you can email [email protected] to find out if they can mail it to you. If you authorize for your check to be sent to you via U.S. mail, then you must update Wolverine Access with your local Ann Arbor address; otherwise, your check(s) will be sent to your permanent address.
Taxes – U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents
Fellowship stipends are considered reportable income; however, taxes are not withheld for US citizens or permanent residents. You will need to report these monies as income when filing your taxes in April. Please take this into account and adjust your budget and spending accordingly. You also have the option of filing a quarterly tax payment. See the Internal Revenue Service Internal Revenue Service website for more information on this.
Taxes – International Students
International students are required to pay taxes on their monthly stipend at the (current) rate of 14%. However, depending on what the established tax treaty is for your country of citizenship, your tax rate might be different. In order to determine the amount of taxes that should be withheld from your monthly stipend, you must fill out this document and return it to Alex Storey ([email protected]). Alex is a Payroll Tax Specialist in the U-M Payroll Office and will be able to assist further. Additional resources for international students can be found here.
Insurance
Health
As a fellowship student, you will receive health coverage through GradCare. Once we’ve uploaded your benefits in late-August/early-September, you will receive a notification email on your @umich.edu email account with further instructions. If you need assistance navigating the instructions, please call UM’s Shared Services Center at (734) 615-2000 or send an email to [email protected].
Please note that your health coverage will default to “you only” coverage; if you would like to add dependents and/or waive GradCare coverage, then you must respond to your notification within 30 days. You will not be held financially responsible for adding dependents to your health insurance; however, you will be responsible for the cost of adding Legal and Vision coverage, should you choose to elect them. Additional information about the various coverage levels available to you – at no cost to you – can be found can be found here. Students who will be a GSI or GSRA will receive information regarding their benefits from Karen Liska and/or their Lab Administrator.
Dental
As a fellowship student, you will have “Option 1” dental insurance via UM’s dental plan, which is administered by Delta Dental of Michigan. I’d like to point out that this option covers 100% of regular checkups and cleanings and also helps defray the cost of major services. Should you or your dependents need more extensive dental care, then you may want to consider Options 2 or 3 – which you will need to pay for. Additional information about the three dental options, as well as help with finding a Delta Dental dentist, can be found can be found here.
International Students
If you are an international student, then you are required to have health insurance – which will be uploaded for you – however, since you are required to be in Ann Arbor two weeks prior to the start of the fall term, you will be responsible for health coverage during this transitional time period. Please contact UM’s International Center for information about setting up your Aetna coverage for this intermittent time period.