If eligible, foreign nationals receiving pay or a stipend from Ohio State should apply for a permanent social security number or ITIN. Please see the Social Security Administration  and IRS for more information. After receipt, please provide your Social Security number or ITIN to Payroll Services by completing the OSU Change of Record form at http://www.controller.osu.edu/forms/payroll/ChangeRecord.pdf.

CAFs are submitted to the Graduate School through its online Nomination System. Instructions are posted on the Nomination System. The only exception to online submission is when a CAF is used to upgrade an awarded fellowship (see next question).

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.

Students who received a multi-year fellowship, but are in a Master’s degree program, will receive continuous funding for the number of years indicated in their letter.

Requests to activate the dissertation year fellowship must be made by the fellow’s Graduate Studies Committee Chair via email to Fellowship Services and provide assurance that the student has:

• a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.6;
• passed the Candidacy Examination and is within the five-year candidacy time period;
• completed all doctoral coursework; and

Note: Dissertation year enrollment should be limited to research and departmental seminars. Fellows may register for other degree-related courses with advisor approval. The Dissertation Year Fellowships may not be used to support courses taken for another degree program.

• received continuous departmental support during the intervening years between the first and dissertation years.

Yes, however, you will not submit a CAF upgrade request online. Instead, you must submit an email request to the fellowship office with the name and EMPLID of the student and the number of years to be added. Include CAF Upgrade Request in the subject line.

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.

Students should receive communication from the Student Health Insurance (SHI) office in early summer letting them know the process for opting out of the SHI. You may also contact SHI directly.

The dissertation year can be activated at the start of any semester. Once activated, the fellowship runs for 3 consecutive semesters.

If the nominee doesn’t need a waiver, we don’t require any extra materials. If the nominee needs a waiver, the graduate studies chair must submit a written request to the Graduate School’s associate dean prior to submission that 1) identifies the waiver category, 2) confirms college dean approval, and 3) provides a detailed justification for granting the waiver.

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.

In general, only those students whose academic program begins in the summer may begin their fellowship in the summer. All other students must receive approval from their graduate program and the Graduate School to begin in the summer. If your program begins in the summer, regardless of your program’s start date, you will receive three consecutive terms of fellowship support. Your tenure will run from May–May.

The request from the Graduate Studies Chair should be received at least four weeks before the beginning of the semester in which the student would like to begin his/her Dissertation Year Fellowship.

CAFs will show in the Nomination System the day after approval of the submission.

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.

In general, fellowships must begin in the year in which they are awarded. Exceptions to this policy are rare and only granted for extraordinary circumstances. To request an exception, the Graduate Studies Chair must send a written petition to the Fellowship Office explaining the reason for the request.

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, contact Fellowship Services with the name of the graduate program, chair or coordinator needing access, and his/her Ohio State email.

Any change in a CAF award requires approval of the fellowship services director and may be made only if the student has not been notified of the award. If approved, another request needs to be submitted online and the fellowship director needs to manually remove the other award.

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.

Fellows must be enrolled for 12 credit hours during the autumn and spring terms, and 6 credit hours during the summer term to maintain their fellowship.

Graduate programs may set earlier or later dates by which materials must be received. Keep in mind that only officially admitted students may be nominated for a fellowship and nominations must be made in SIS by 5 p.m. on the day of the deadline.

Yes. Offers may be made as early as the start of spring semester if they have approval of the college and the Graduate School and have been submitted and approved online. To ensure accurate award information, the fellowship services director must approve early offer letters prior to being sent.

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.

Fellows must be enrolled for 6 credit hours during the summer to maintain their fellowship. Credit hours completed during May session count towards the six-hour requirement.

Nomination caps by program are in Appendix E of the Fellowship Guidelines.

Yes. Our official award letter, which contains important links and information about a student’s award, will be sent to all fellowship awardees on or after the early March deadline. What is the deadline for submitting a college-allocated fellowship? College-allocated fellowships must be entered in the Nomination System by 5 p.m. on April 16.

Videoconferencing requires prior approval from the Graduate School. Learn more

The financial aid office informs all students of their eligibility (authorization) to receive a student loan should they wish to apply for one. This does not mean that you have received a loan or must accept one, only that you have the ability to apply for one up to the amount listed.

Graduate programs may submit unlimited Graduate Enrichment nominations.

No. Reallocations can be made only to students nominated in the competition.

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.

Financial Aid sends students a form when they complete their application for federal aid asking if they will receive a graduate fee authorization. If you did not return the form or know the status of your fellowship at the time you completed the form, Financial Aid will be able to include the fellowship in your award summary when it posts to your statement of account (i.e., once you enroll for the required credit hours).

The Graduate School distributes college-level awards to colleges based on the average number of awards won by their graduate programs during the last 5 years. Each college then distributes these among its graduate programs. Contact your dean’s office for your program’s allotment.

Yes. There is a place on the form to indicate that you wish to upgrade an existing fellowship.

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.

As soon as you make your decision, please respond to the Graduate School’s letter with your intention to accept or not by following the instructions provided in your fellowship award letter. It is also important to inform your graduate program of your decision.

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.

In Option 1 requests, graduate programs speculate, based on the number of declines received in past competitions, on the number of declined fellowships they will receive. Graduate programs using this option may make early fellowship offers, but are also potentially assuming a portion or full financial responsibility for the fellowship stipend if their reallocations are not covered by three reallocation credits. In Option 2 requests, graduate programs wait to make a reallocation until they have received three reallocation credits. Graduate programs using this option know up front that they will not have to assume financial responsibility for a fellowship stipend.

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.#.

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 who have already been admitted to a graduate program at Ohio State and who have paid fees may request to transfer from their current graduate program into another Ohio State graduate program. Transfer of graduate program

To activate your fellowship, you will need to complete the new hire paperwork that will be sent to your OSU email address by mid-summer by the Office of Academic Affairs HR Service Center. To receive this paperwork, you must have activated and be checking your OSU email address. After you complete your paperwork and your appointment is processed, you will then set up your information in the Employee Self Service site.

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 must reflect reasonable expectations of a program’s student matriculation based on past competitions.

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

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.

Ohio State requires all international graduate students from non-English speaking countries to acquire proficiency in written and spoken English to a level at which they can successfully compete with domestic and other English-speaking students.  ESL requirement

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

This nomination is rare and requires approval of the Graduate School and both degree programs. In cases where the dual degree is for two graduate degrees, only one of the graduate programs may nominate the student. When the dual degree is for a graduate degree and a professional degree, only the graduate program may nominate the student. If such a student is awarded a fellowship, the student must be enrolled full-time in the graduate program during the fellowship and only graduate degree tuition and fees will be covered.

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.

All nomination materials must be submitted as one PDF in the order listed on the Presidential Fellowship Guidelines.

If you do not have an account at the time you complete your HR paperwork, your first paycheck will be sent to the Columbus address you listed in your new hire paperwork. You will need to establish a bank account for direct deposit by early September and submit that information to Employee Self Service.

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.

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.

See the Responsibilities section of the Presidential Fellowship Guidelines.

You set up direct deposit by completing the form online in Employee Self Service (ESS). You received instructions for managing your information in ESS with your HR paperwork.

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.

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.