Details concerning the protocols for all students including Graduate and Professional students are listed at go.osu.edu/springsemesterupdates.

The Graduate School has accommodation processes for students who would like to request a leave of absence due to an extenuating circumstance.

• Updated Spring 2021: Pre-Candidacy Leave of Absence Form(link is external)
• Post-Candidacy Spring 2021 Leave of Absence FormPos

Please follow the directions listed on the forms. Each requires approval from the student’s advisor and/or program and must be submitted through gradforms(link is external). Students requesting a leave of absence should consult the Student Health Insurance website(link is external) and/or call their service line at 614-688-7979 prior to submitting a leave form. Requesting a leave of absence may impact a student’s access to health insurance and other benefits.

Yes. The Graduate School will post its award letters to the Nomination System by the date noted on the Fellowship Calendar. Programs can review the letters for accuracy and use them to attach to their own offers.

An undergraduate may petition to take courses for graduate credit provided that the student meets certain criteria and procedures.

See the Responsibilities section of the Presidential Fellowship Guidelines.

No. Scores from only one test date may be used. However, students may take the test multiple times and programs can choose which test date they want to use for all the scores.

Awardees (including college-allocated or reallocated awardees whose information is submitted to the Graduate School by the date noted on the Fellowship Calendar) will be sent their award letters by the date noted on the Fellowship Calendar.

Graduate students may request transfer credit for courses taken at other universities that may fulfill degree requirements in the program at Ohio State. Transfer credit

In this case, the graduate studies chair may write both the nomination letter and the advisor’s statement (do not combine these into one statement) or another senior faculty member, who is familiar with the student and his or her research, may write the nomination letter.

The graduate studies chair of both nominating programs must approve the transfer. The program in which the student received the fellowship will be credited with the award for puposes of accruing reallocation credits and determining nomination caps in future years. In general, it is advisable for programs to determine in advance, if possible, which will make the nomination.

We strongly recommend that programs attach and reference the Graduate School award letter to theirs to avoid confusion. Please inform your students that your offer is in addition to the Graduate School offer.

Students who apply to graduate in a given semester and find that they cannot complete degree requirements by the posted deadlines can opt to utilize an option at Ohio State called End-of-Semester.

Students who take this option have until the last business day before the start of the next semester to complete all degree requirements, including defending a dissertation or thesis, submitting the final approved document, and taking care of all related paperwork and fees.

Meeting the End-of-Semester deadline means that a student will officially graduate the following semester and will not have to be enrolled in that semester, nor re-apply to graduate. The student's degree is conferred at the next commencement ceremony, and this is the date of graduation that will appear on the student’s official transcript.

If a student has co-advisors, either one advisor may write the statement or both can collaborate on one statement. Co-advisors should not submit two statements.

Waiver caps by program can be found in the appendix of the Fellowship Guidelines of the Fellowship Guidelines.

Graduate programs are responsible for notifying students who did not receive a fellowship.

If the date, time, or place of your exam must be changed after you have submitted the notification form, notify Graduation Services immediately. Notification of the change must come in writing from your advisor or the chair of your graduate studies committee. Written notification may take the form of a note or letter, a fax (614-292-3656), or an e-mail. A telephone call is not sufficient to approve the change, but a call can help prevent assignment of a graduate faculty representative for the incorrect date or time.

Additional relevant information may be included, but students are asked to keep additional information at a minimum as reviewers read as many as 40-60 nominations (averaging 20 pages in length).

No, as long as the waivers are within your program’s waiver cap.

Programs may give students up to two weeks from the date of offer to make their decision. However, all fellowship decisions must be communicated to the fellowship office by the first working day in May.

You must be registered for at least three graduate credit hours in order to be eligible to take any part of a Candidacy Examination, a Final Oral Examination, or to graduate with either a master’s degree or doctoral degree. Audit hours do not count. International students on a visa should consult with the Office of International Affairs about enrollment criteria.

In general, graduate administrative associates, graduate research associates, and graduate teaching associates are required to register for eight credit hours (except during summer semester, when the number is reduced to four credit hours). GAAs, GRAs, or GTAs who are post-candidacy are required to register for 3 graduate hours. Learn more about course load requirements.

No. In fairness to all nominees, the Graduate School strictly adheres to the deadline.

Yes, the Graduate School’s associate dean must approve the use of a waiver for nominees who do not meet the GE eligibility criteria. See the Fellowship Guidelines for instructions.

Fellows begin within the two semesters following the award. Programs whose academic year starts in summer must contact the fellowship office to arrange for an earlier start for their awardees.

Yes, by special petition. The Committee and Examination Petition must describe the reasons for the request. You must attach a copy of the proposed committee member's c.v. to the petition, which must be signed by you, your adviser, and the chair of your graduate studies committee. All materials must be submitted to the Graduate School for review. Approvals or denials are made on a case-by-case basis.

The Responsibilities section of the guidelines provides style requirements for the student’s abstract and research statement. Advisors, references and graduate studies chairs must keep their statements to no more than three, single-spaced typed pages using 12 point type and at least one-inch margins.

Yes. There is no “rounding up” in the fellowship competition.

Deferrals are rare for Graduate School fellowships and must have the approval of the Graduate School’s associate dean. Approval is granted only for extraordinary circumstances.

Yes, but not as advisor. Your graduate studies committee chair must write a letter to the Graduate School explaining the circumstances and indicating that the committee has no reservations about the former faculty member continuing on the committee. If more than one student is involved, the graduate studies committee chair may include a list of affected students in one letter. If your advisor leaves the university, he or she may be a co-advisor, along with a co-advisor from the graduate faculty at Ohio State. This change must be approved by the graduate studies committee in the student's degree program and the Graduate School.

A person who is no longer a member of the graduate faculty at Ohio State may only be on a committee  in addition to the required number of current Ohio State graduate faculty members that constitute a valid committee.

Although not required to do so, students are strongly urged to include three letters of reference. Failure to do so may affect a student’s overall score. The graduate studies chair’s nomination letter and the advisor’s statement are not considered letters of reference.

Yes. Only the undergraduate GPA is considered when determining nomination eligibility.

The Council of Graduate Schools provided the example below of language that could be used. The [graduate program] would appreciate your decision concerning the acceptance or rejection of the fellowship award as soon as you are able to give us a reply. However, you are entitled to wait until April 15, 2015.

No, with one exception. All exams or defenses must take place on the Columbus campus during normal business hours. The only exception is the Ohio State campus in Wooster, which is an authorized location. Normal business hours mean that the exam can begin as early as 7:30 a.m. and must end no later than 5:30 p.m.

The advisor, in consultation with the student, should obtain three letters of evaluation (other than the graduate studies chair, advisor, or co-advisors) from experts on or off campus who can testify to the student’s ability and to the nature, uniqueness, and/or significance of the research. It is highly recommended that one of the letters be from an off-campus source who can serve as an independent evaluator of the proposed research project.

Programs have a limited number of waivers allotted to them for college-allocated awards. Within this limit, waiver requests must be approved first by the college and then by the Graduate School’s associate dean. See the Fellowship Guidelines for details.

A dual degree at Ohio State is defined as a graduate student pursuing any two graduate degrees concurrently, with the exception of two PhD programs. Dual master's degrees

Videoconferencing requires prior approval from the Graduate School. Learn more

The Graduate School will notify nominees of the results in a letter sent by email no later than the first week of December or the first week of May for the autumn and spring competitions, respectively. The Graduate Studies Chair and the student’s advisor will be copied on this email.

Yes. Only the undergraduate GPA is considered when determining nomination eligibility.

Students in combined programs are enrolled concurrently in the Graduate School and in either a professional or undergraduate college or school. Combined programs

Examination and document submission deadlines have to be firm for the Graduate School to meet the deadlines imposed by the university's Office of the Registrar to provide an accurate graduation list. However, if you applied to graduate but find yourself unable to meet the posted deadlines, you do have the option of using the end-of-semester deadline. If you complete all of your degree requirements by the last business day before the start of the following semester, you may graduate that following semesterr but are not required to register or pay fees for that semester. This is the end-of-semester deadline.

Fellows may begin their fellowships in either of the next two semesters immediately following the competition. For the autumn competition, students may begin their fellowship in the next spring or summer. Students receiving awards in the spring may begin in the next summer or autumn.

Programs have a limited number of waivers allotted to them for college-allocated awards. Within this limit, waiver requests must be approved first by the college and then by the Graduate School’s associate dean.

Students who have already been admitted to a graduate program at Ohio State and who have paid fees may request to change their degree being sought within their current graduate program; e.g., from a master's to a PhD. Transfer of graduate program

To be eligible to graduate, you must defend and submit exam results no later than the published deadline for the semester of graduation. If you are using the end-of-semester deadline, which allows you to receive your degree the following semester without having to pay fees, you must have all degree requirements completed by the last business day before classes start the following semester.

Deferrals are rare for Presidential Fellowships and must have the approval of the Graduate School. Approval is granted only for extraordinary circumstances.

Reallocations may be made only to students nominated in the fellowship competition. Because programs will have already used one or more of their allotted waivers, if needed, for students nominated in the competition, additional waiver requests will not be needed.

• tudents who completed one graduate degree and wish to pursue another should complete a Transfer of Graduate Program via GRADFORMS.
• Students who wish to resume a graduate degree that they did not complete should complete a Reactivate Enrollment Eligibility form (students who have not enrolled for two years will need to have the form signed by the Graduate Studies Committee Chair of their program). 
• Students who completed a graduate degree and would like to take additional courses without pursuing another degree should also complete a Reactivate Enrollment Eligibility form and note that they are pursuing PD status. PD status is at the discretion of the program; all reactivation forms for PD status must be signed by the Gradaute Studies Committee Chair.

Access to the Graduate School’s Nomination System is limited to graduate studies committee chairs and graduate program coordinators. If your access is not automatic or if neither the GSCC or coordinator is available to process nominations, contact Fellowship Services with the name of the graduate program, person needing access, and his/her Ohio State name.#.

Yes, as long as the student meets the eligibility criteria for both competitions (or has a waiver applied). If students are nominated in both competitions, programs will need to upload two separate letters of justification and create two nomination packets in EDWARD. The justification letter for the GE competition should specifically address how the applicant contributes to the diversity of the Graduate School.

Request forms are on the Graduate School website (Option 1, Option 2).

Yes, these are two separate processes. You will need to accept your fellowship as outlined in the previous question and you will need to accept your admission in the online Graduate Admissions portal.

To terminate your fellowship early, your Graduate Studies Chair will need to send a request to the Fellowship Office indicating his/her approval and the reasons for the early termination. Please be aware that if you do terminate early, you will forfeit the remaining portion of your fellowship.

The Nomination System is not always able to find the appropriate GPA or GRE.  If a nominee receives an alert in the Nomination System but you have verified that the student does meet the criteria, you do not need to use a waiver.  The alert only serves as a warning to the nominator to make sure he/she has verified the GPA or GRE.

Students returning after an absence of one or more quarters or semester must request reactivation to enroll in courses. If a student has not been enrolled for two or more years, permission of the graduate studies committee chair is required. Reactiviation

No. Students whose fellowship included a dissertation year are not eligible.

Yes, as long as the student did not begin his/her graduate studies. You will need to conduct a student search in edward to view the student’s application materials from which to create the nomination packet. You will also need to provide the fellowship office with the student’s name, Emplid, and the type of fellowship to which you would like to nominate him/her.

Reallocation requests may be submitted up until 5 p.m. on April 16.

Your OSU Employee ID (Emplid) number is the same eight- or nine-digit number that you were assigned when you applied. This number will also appear on your Ohio State Buck ID. What should I do if I don’t have a local Columbus address for my HR paperwork? Students without a Columbus address at the time of completing their HR paperwork should list a temporary Columbus address, such as their graduate department or friend (with their permission), where they can receive mail until they have established a Columbus residence. As soon as students have a Columbus residence, they should make that change online in Employee Self Service.

If you choose to withdraw or are asked to leave the university during the semester, all tuition and fees previously paid by your fellowship will be reversed and those fees charged to you. If you are asked to leave or withdraw after the completion of a semester, you will not need to repay your stipend or tuition and fees, but you will forfeit any remaining portion of your fellowship. Contact Fellowship Services if you are considering withdrawing.

Yes. However, you will need to upload to EDWARD any documents created specifically for the competition and select them when you create your nomination packet.

Award information will be posted in the Nomination System by the date noted on the Fellowship Calendar. Graduate studies chairs and program coordinators will receive an email when the information is posted.

You may change your address online in Employee Self Service (ESS). You received instructions for managing your information in ESS with your HR paperwork.

The Graduate School cannot offer tax advice. We encourage fellows to consult a tax professional. You may also direct tax questions to the Ohio State Tax Office at 614-292-2311. Information about fellowships and taxes can be found at the IRS website.