Extended Dean’s Distinguished University Fellowship

Any exceptions to the following requirements must be approved by the Graduate School. Please see item #5 for details.

1. Fellowship students must be in attendance on the Columbus campus and be pursuing a graduate degree in the program specified in the fellowship award letter from the Dean of the Graduate School. Exceptions to the residency requirement might include language study or research at another institution; however, fellows must continue to enroll at Ohio State and be in attendance when classes are in session.
2. All fellows must register for a minimum of 12 graduate credit hours during autumn and spring semesters and 6 credit hours during the summer term. Post-candidacy fellows must enroll for a minimum of 3 credit hours each semester, including summer. Fellows must also maintain good academic standing in the Graduate School and make reasonable progress toward the graduate degree.
3. Fellows are expected to abide by the professional codes of ethics and responsibilities of the university and those commonly accepted in the fellow’s field of study. These codes include, but are not limited to, the Graduate Student Code of Research and Scholarly Conduct and the Code of Student Conduct.
4. Fellows are expected to devote full-time to their academic studies. Fellows may not hold other types of employment/appointments/awards, such as graduate associateships, fellowships, or traineeships.
5. Requests for an exception to the conditions of the fellowship must be submitted in writing by the Graduate Studies Chair of the fellow’s graduate program to Associate Dean Scott Herness. Requests should be submitted to Fellowship Services. The Chair will be notified of the request’s outcome.

Note. The Graduate School reserves the right to terminate fellowship support before the end of the award period if conditions of the fellowship are not maintained.

First, second, third, and dissertation year support is available with a yearly stipend as outlined in the award letter.

Fellows are paid on the last working day of the month.

The first and last stipend payment is on the last working day of August and is a half stipend.

If the fellow leaves the fellowship early, the stipend will be prorated to reflect the date of departure.

The Graduate School authorizes the payment of resident and nonresident tuition, any learning technology fees, and the general fees with the following exceptions.

Late Fees

Fellows are responsible for all late fees if they are the result of being under-enrolled (e.g., enrolled for less than the required number of hours as specified in item #2 of the Fellowship Requirements) or a failure to make payment by the deadline.

Withdrawal Costs

If you choose to withdraw or are asked to leave the university during the semester or terminate your fellowship ealier than the term of your fellowship all tuition and fees previously paid by your fellowship will be reversed and charged to you based on the Registrar's tuition and fee refund schedule. Contact Fellowship Services if you are considering withdrawing.

Expenses and Fees Not Covered by the Fellowship

Room and board, application fee, books, equipment, lab fees, parking, and other personal expenses are not paid by the fellowship.  

Monthly stipend amounts indicated do not include deductions for other student fees (Student Activity, Recreational, Student Union Facility, COTA Bus Service, remaining health insurance, and Student Legal Services). For detailed information about fees, see the Specific Program Tuition and Fee Locator on the Registrar's website.

Fellows must complete and submit a Payroll Deduct Form to have these fees removed from their stipend.

Tenure for students who begin their fellowship in autumn is mid-August through mid-August of the following year.

Tenure for students who begin their fellowship in summer will be from mid-May through mid-May of the following year.

If the fellow graduates prior to the end of the fellowship period, the fellowship will terminate at the end of the semester that graduation occurs.

The fellowship offer applies exclusively to graduate study in the program identified in the award letter. Changes in a student’s status, including entry into a combined program or transfer to another program, must be approved by the Graduate School and appropriate graduate program(s) prior to the change, and could result in the loss of the fellowship and/or full fee authorization support. Continuation of support is subject to satisfactory progress toward the doctoral degree and maintenance of good academic standing in the Graduate School.

The Graduate School reserves the right to terminate fellowship support before the end of the award period if conditions of the fellowship are not maintained.

Graduate fellows are eligible for the university’s subsidy of Student Health Insurance (SHI) premiums, which is currently 85% of the Comprehensive Student Health Insurance Plan premiums. The fellow’s portion of the student health insurance is divided into equal payments and deducted from the monthly fellowship stipend. Graduate fellowships are non-service appointments and, therefore, fellows are not eligible for worker’s compensation or disability insurance. All domestic students who have coverage through a non-university health insurance plan and who want to waive SHI coverage can do so by completing the online waiver process as described on the SHI website.

According to the Federal Tax Reform Act of 1986, fellowship stipends are considered taxable income. However, because fellowships are considered awards, the university may not withhold income tax from the monthly stipend. Students will not receive a W-2 Form. Students may be required to file federal and state estimated quarterly income tax forms. Information and forms on quarterly filing can be obtained from a tax advisor or at Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Information about fellowships and taxes can be found at the IRS website. Students may also be required to pay the 2.5% Columbus city tax. Information regarding this can be found at the City of Columbus tax website.

Graduate fellows may purchase a “B” staff parking permit. Information regarding the “B” parking permit can be obtained from CampusParc.

Graduate fellows have staff library privileges.