Financing Graduate School

Tuition and Fees, 2006–2007

Tuition:*

Fees†

For fees relating to registration and course enrollment see Academic Regulations.

Appointment to a University post does not exempt a student from registration and payment of other fees. Full-time (and certain part-time) Yale managerial and professional employees and their spouses, as well as the spouses of Yale faculty, are eligible for a tuition reduction in the DSR and master’s programs. They should consult the Department of Human Resources for details. Full-time faculty members and their spouses, emeritus faculty and their spouses, and University employees may audit courses without charge.

Candidates for degrees in the Graduate School, nondegree students paying full tuition, and spouses of full-time candidates for degrees in the Graduate School may audit courses without charge provided that they have received the approval of the course instructor.

Student Accounts and Bills

Student accounts, billing, and related services are administered through the Office of Student Financial Services, which is located at 246 Church Street. The telephone number is 203.432.2700.

Bills

Yale University’s official means of communicating monthly financial account statements is electronically through the University’s Internet-based system for electronic billing and payment, Yale University eBill-ePay.

Student account statements are prepared and made available twelve times a year at the beginning of each month. Payment is due in full by 4 P.M. Eastern Standard Time on the first business day of the following month. E-mail notifications that the account statement is available on the University eBill-ePay Web site (www.yale.edu/sis/ebep) are sent to all students who have activated their official Yale e-mail accounts and to all student-designated authorized payers. It is imperative that all students activate and monitor their Yale e-mail accounts on an ongoing basis.

Bills for tuition, room, and board are available to the student during the first week of July, due and payable by August 1 for the fall term; and during the first week of November, due and payable by December 1 for the spring term. The Office of Student Financial Services will impose a late charge if any part of the term bill, less Yale-administered loans and scholarships that have been applied for on a timely basis, is not paid when due. The late charge will be imposed as follows:

Nonpayment of bills and failure to complete and submit financial aid application packages on a timely basis may result in the student’s involuntary withdrawal from the University.

No degrees will be conferred and no transcripts will be furnished until all bills due the University are paid in full. In addition, transcripts will not be furnished to any student or former student who is in default on the payment of a sudent loan.

The University may withhold registration and certain University privileges from students who have not paid their term bills or made satisfactory payment arrangements by the day of registration. To avoid delay at registration, students must ensure that payments reach Student Financial Services by the due dates.

Charge for Rejected Payments

A processing charge of $25 will be assessed for payments rejected for any reason by the bank on which they were drawn. In addition, the following penalties may apply if a payment is rejected:

1. If the payment was for a term bill, a $110 late fee will be charged for the period the bill was unpaid.
   
   
2. If the payment was for a term bill to permit registration, the student’s registration may be revoked.
   
   
3. If the payment was given to settle an unpaid balance in order to receive a diploma, the University may refer the account to an attorney for collection.

Yale University eBill-ePay

There are a variety of options offered for making payments. Yale University eBill-ePay is the preferred means for payment of bills. It can be found at www.yale.edu/sis/ebep. Electronic payments are easy and convenient—no checks to write, no stamps, no envelopes, no hassle. Payments are immediately posted to the student’s account. There is no charge to use this service. Bank information is password protected and secure, and there is a printable confirmation receipt. Payments can be made twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, up to 4 P.M. Eastern Standard Time on the due date to avoid late fees. (The eBill-ePay system will not be available when the system is undergoing upgrade, maintenance, or repair.) Students can authorize up to three authorized payers to make payments electronically from their own computers to the student’s account using Yale’s system.

Use of the student’s own bank payment service is not authorized by the University because it has no direct link to the student’s Yale account. Payments made through such services arrive without proper account identification and always require manual processing that results in delayed crediting of the student’s account, late fees, and anxiety. Students should use Yale eBill-ePay to pay online. For those who choose to pay by check, a remittance advice with mailing instructions is available on the Web site.

Yale Payment Plan

The Yale Payment Plan is a payment service that allows students and their families to pay tuition, room, and board in ten equal monthly installments throughout the year based on individual family budget requirements. It is administered by the University’s Office of Student Financial Services. The fee to cover administration of the plan is $100. The deadline for enrollment is June 20. For additional information, please contact Student Financial Services at 203.432.2700 and select “Press 3” from the Main Menu. The enrollment form can be found online in the Yale Payment Plan section of the Student Accounts Web site: www.yale.edu/sfas/financial/accounts.html#payment.

Yale Charge Account Plan

Students who enroll in the Yale Charge Account Plan will be able to charge designated optional items and services to their student accounts, including toll calls made through the University’s telephone system. To enroll online, go to www.yale.edu/sis. Select the Login option; after logging in, select “Billing and Student Accounts,” then “Charge Account Authorization.”

The University may withdraw this privilege from students who do not pay their monthly bills on a timely basis. For information, contact the Office of Student Financial Services at sfs@yale.edu, tel. 203.432.2700, fax 203.432.7557.

Transcripts

Transcripts may be ordered online at www.yale.edu/sis, in writing at the Office of the Registrar for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (246 Church Street, third floor), or by fax, with a signature, to 203.432.2334. For each transcript order, the charge for the first transcript is $7, with a charge of $3 for each additional transcript sent to the same address. Normally a transcript order is processed within forty-eight hours after receipt. In some circumstances it may be possible to provide a transcript within twenty-four hours after receipt of the order, or on the same day; there is an additional charge ($10 or $20, respectively) for such requests. For overnight delivery, additional charges may be imposed. www.yale.edu/sfas/registrar/

Financial Aid

Financial assistance is provided in the form of Yale University Fellowships, tuition fellowships, teaching fellowships, traineeships, and research assistantships. The nature of the assistance varies among the divisions and departments. Yale University Fellowships are awarded at the time of admission. Doctoral students are normally provided a level of support comparable to the fellowship awarded at admission, from the first through the fourth year of study. Eligible students in the humanities and social sciences receive a University Dissertation Fellowhip in the fifth or sixth year of study. Eligible students in the humanities and social sciences also receive fellowships during the fifth and sixth years of study to cover the cost of the Continuous Registration Fee.

In addition to grants and fellowships for tuition and living costs, eligible Ph.D. students receive a Health Award, which covers the full cost of single-student Yale Health Plan Hospitalization/Specialty Coverage, half the cost of two-person coverage, and the full cost for dependent children. Students for whom a Medical Leave of Absence or a Leave of Absence for Parental Responsibilities is approved will continue to be eligible for the Health Award for the remainder of the term in which the leave was started, if they apply for Student Affiliate coverage through the Yale Health Plan within thirty days of the start of their leave. Information about Yale Health Plan Basic Coverage, provided at no cost to students enrolled at least half-time in M.A., M.S., or Ph.D. programs, may be found under Health Services.

Students who do not participate in the Yale Health Plan Hospitalization/Specialty Coverage will not be provided with Health Awards. Yale Health Plan Prescription Plus Coverage is an option that eligible students may choose to purchase for themselves and their dependents. The Prescription Plus plan is not covered by the Health Award.

Application for University Fellowship Support

Applicants for admission to the DSR and to terminal M.A. departments and programs are required to complete the financial statement contained in the application brochure. Applicants for admission to Ph.D. departments and programs will automatically be considered for all Yale fellowships, traineeships, research assistantships, and teaching fellowships for which they are eligible. These awards of financial aid are announced in letters of admission, which are usually mailed during the month of March. Tuition assistance is not available beyond the fourth year of study. Students are strongly encouraged to seek financial support from external sources (see External Fellowships and Combined Award Policy).

University Fellowships

The Graduate School awards University Fellowships in most departments. Fellowships are awarded at admission to entering students on the basis of recommendations made by individual departments to the appropriate associate dean. Fellowship awards are based on merit.
The Graduate School provides Ph.D. students with a level of support during the second, third, and fourth years of study comparable to that awarded at admission. In most departments the source of stipend support will change after the first or second year of study to a teaching fellowship or research assistantship. If during the teaching years a student’s teaching fellowship is less than the standard departmental stipend, the Graduate School provides a supplemental fellowship to bring the annual stipend/fellowship to the level of the department’s standard stipend. Students in the humanities and social sciences may defer a teaching year, and the supplemental fellowship, into the fifth or sixth year (see Deferral of Teaching Year).

To assist students in the completion of their studies, the Graduate School awards Summer Study Fellowships to eligible students at the time of admission. These fellowships may be used in any of the first five summers of study. University Dissertation Fellowships are awarded during the academic year to eligible students in years four, five, or six in the humanities and social sciences.

Students awarded a University Fellowship may not accept any other award without the permission of the appropriate associate dean. The Graduate School is the final authority on University Fellowships and any combination of University funding with other sources of financial aid. It is important to note that no University Fellowships, with the exception of the Summer Study Fellowships, are awarded during the summer.

In most departments in the humanities and social sciences, the fellowship stipends of students in the third and fourth years of study will be derived from teaching fellowships. When a student teaches in the third or fourth year, the teaching fellowship will comprise the student’s fellowship stipend, according to the terms of the offer of admission. Students who teach in their first or second year when such teaching is not a departmental requirement will not receive more than the amount of the standard departmental stipend from the total combined support of a University Fellowship and a teaching fellowship. When students do teach before the departmental teaching years, they are advised to take a University Fellowship rather than a teaching fellowship in the later year.

In departments where there are insufficient opportunities for undergraduate teaching, doctoral students may continue to receive fellowship stipends in their third and fourth years of study up to the level of the standard departmental stipend. Stipend support will normally be withheld if a student in the third or fourth years refuses a teaching position or elects not to teach. Exceptions to this policy require the permission of the appropriate associate dean and the director of the Teaching Fellow Program.

Dissertation Fellowships

In addition to the substantial regular fellowships awarded to students, the Graduate School offers University Dissertation Fellowships to eligible advanced graduate students in the humanities and social sciences during their fourth, fifth, or sixth year of study. These awards are made when a student’s adviser and director of graduate studies certify that the student will be engaged full-time in research and writing, is making satisfactory progress toward the degree, and has a reasonable schedule for the timely completion of the dissertation. The University Dissertation Fellowship must be taken in consecutive terms (either the fall and spring terms of a single academic year or the spring and fall terms of consecutive academic years). With the permission of the Graduate School, it may be interrupted in certain circumstances in order to accept an external fellowship. It may never be held concurrently with a teaching fellowship of any kind. Students who acce! pt a teaching position in the fall or spring of the year of final eligibility will forfeit that term’s dissertation fellowship amount. A student may be awarded a dissertation fellowship for one year only. As such, prize dissertation fellowships awarded by the Graduate School, such as the Whiting and Leylan fellowships, replace the University Dissertation Fellowship. Students receiving external funding for dissertation research or writing may be eligible for a combined award and should consult the External Fellowships and Combined Award policy. Application materials and additional information can be obtained online at www.yale.edu/graduateschool/financial/yaleFellowships.html or from the appropriate associate dean.

Teaching Fellowships

Teaching and Admission Offers

Letters of admission inform students of their programs’ requirement for teaching. In many programs there are specific years when students teach. For example, most humanities and social science students will participate in teaching in their third and fourth years. In the natural sciences, the timing of teaching is earlier or is flexible across several years. When students are teaching as specified in their letters of admission, teaching assignments will not be adjusted in response to changes in course enrollments. Appointments for these students will change only if a course is cancelled or if the student, course instructor, and DGS all agree upon a reassignment.

Upon admission, many students receive financial aid packages that include teaching fellowships. The admission letter sets the minimum annual total stipend (including the teaching fellowship), which will be awarded even if appropriate teaching is not available or if the teaching fellowship is less than the standard departmental stipend. Such funding adjustments are made with the participation of a student’s associate dean and DGS.

Teaching appointments outside those specified in the letter of admission are contingent on a graduate student’s satisfactory academic progress and on sufficient course enrollment. Because the Graduate School considers teaching experience an integral part of graduate education, every effort will be made to assign students to another course at an equivalent level if enrollments are lower than anticipated. Ph.D. students who teach in their first or second year, or when such teaching is not a departmental requirement, will receive the full teaching fellowship, plus a supplemental fellowship, bringing their combined stipend up to the level awarded in the admission letter. M.A. students will receive the full teaching fellowship; any other financial aid will be awarded according to the policies of their programs.

Access to Teaching Fellowships

When departments are considering applications for teaching fellowships, priority is given to qualified graduate students who are expected to teach as indicated in their letter of admission (usually in years three and four in the humanities and social sciences). Students in their fifth or sixth year of study will be permitted to teach as long as they have been admitted to candidacy and do not currently hold a dissertation fellowship. Students who are permitted to register beyond the sixth year of study may be appointed as TFs or PTAIs, but only if there is no other qualified candidate available in the first six years of study in any department or program of the Graduate School. In cases where an appointing department must choose between two or more graduate students who are each well qualified to teach a particular course, the student or students who have not yet had a chance to teach or who have taught the least should be given preference.

Limits on Teaching

Except when specified in their letters of admission, first-year and second-year doctoral students may be appointed as teaching fellows only in exceptional cases, and only after prior approval by their DGS, the appropriate associate dean, and the director of the TFP. In any year of study, the maximum amount of teaching a student may do is four TF units or one PTAI per term. Students may not serve as faculty lecturers while registered in the Graduate School.

Students with outside fellowships are eligible to serve as TFs according to the policies of the Graduate School and the conditions of their outside awards.

Appointment Letters

The Graduate School expects that each term departments and programs will send letters of appointment to graduate students, signed by both the department and the TFP director, indicating the course in which a graduate student is expected to teach and the level of the assignment. An appointment is not official until the appointment letter has been prepared by the department or program, reviewed by the TFP, and sent to the student.

Teaching Fellow Levels

There are five levels of TFs at Yale. They are distinguished from one another by several considerations, including the kind or kinds of activity required, the approximate hours per week, and the number of students taught. For example, courses in which TFs are expected to provide frequent and intensive writing criticism, to grade problem sets or vocabulary tests frequently, or to prepare especially complicated visual or laboratory materials, may be accorded a higher-level teaching fellowship than courses that do not carry such an expectation. A graduate student’s teaching assignment is measured in terms of teaching fellow units (one unit for a term as TF 1, two units for a term as TF 2, and so on).

Teaching Fellow 1: The responsibilities of a TF 1 are primarily (a) grading, (b) a combination of the following: attending class, reading, advising undergraduates, offering an occasional discussion section, helping to set up a lab, or assisting in the administrative details of the course, (c) in non-language courses providing Language-across-the-Curriculum one-on-one language tutoring, or (d) in language courses providing one-on-one tutoring sessions. A TF 1 does not engage in regular classroom teaching. Approximate weekly effort, 5 hours. The 2007–2008 teaching fellowship is $2,320 per term.

Teaching Fellow 2: A TF 2 typically leads and grades one discussion or laboratory section of up to 20 students in courses in the natural sciences and some social sciences, tutors in language courses, or combines responsibilities (a) and (b) as described under TF1. A TF2 also may lead a Language-across-the-Curriculum session for courses with fewer than 30 students and no other sections. Approximate weekly effort, 10 hours. The 2007–2008 teaching fellowship is $4,640 per term.

Teaching Fellow 3: Depending on department policy, the duties of a TF 3 may include leading and grading one or two lab or discussion sections, as in Chemistry. Alternatively, a TF 3 may be appropriate for a combination of duties that might include attending lectures, office hours and consultations, and grading, as in Psychology. Approximate weekly effort, 15 hours. The 2007–2008 teaching fellowship is $6,960 per term.

Teaching Fellow 3.5: This appointment is appropriate for TFs who lead and grade one section in English, History of Art, the Literature major, in any literature course in the national language departments that may conform to the same mode of teaching, in courses double titled with these departments and programs, and in a few designated courses. Discussion section leaders are appointed for lecture courses with 30 or more students; a section size is expected not to exceed 18 students, with 20 the absolute maximum. This appointment is also used for Writing Requirement TFs and Language-across-the-Curriculum section leaders. Approximate weekly effort, 17.5 hours. The 2007–2008 teaching fellowship is $8,120 per term.

Teaching Fellow 4: This appointment is appropriate for TFs in humanities and social science departments where teaching fellows usually lead and grade two sections. Discussion section leaders are appointed for lecture courses with 30 or more students; a section size is expected not to exceed 18 students, with 20 the absolute maximum. Approximate weekly effort, 20 hours. The 2007–2008 teaching fellowship is $9,280 per term.

Part-Time Acting Instructors

Graduate students appointed as part-time acting instructors (PTAIs) conduct sections of introductory courses or advanced seminars, normally seminars in their special fields. Even in the case of seminars, PTAIs are supervised by faculty. In the case of multisection introductory courses, this may include the use of a common syllabus and examinations. No student should teach more than one PTAI course per term. PTAIs who teach advanced seminars must have satisfied all predissertation requirements (including the dissertation prospectus) and must be registered full time to be eligible for the appointment. Hours of effort for PTAIs will vary from one individual to another. The 2007–2008 teaching fellowship is $9,380 per term.

Traineeships and Assistantships in Research

Traineeships (National Research Service Awards) from the National Institutes of Health are available in most of the biological sciences and in some other departments. These awards support full-time Ph.D. study by U.S. citizens, noncitizen nationals of the United States, and permanent residents. In combination with University and departmental supplements, they provide payment of tuition, a monthly stipend, and the hospitalization premium. Federal rules require that trainees pursue their research training on a full-time basis. In some instances, there is a federal payback provision, which is ordinarily satisfied by serving in health-related research or teaching at the conclusion of training. Information about this obligation and other matters relating to traineeships is available from the director of graduate studies or the principal investigator of the specific training grant in question.

Research Appointments

Doctoral students in departments where the faculty receive research grants or contracts may be eligible for appointments as assistants in research (AR). In most of the science departments, advanced Ph.D. students are normally supported as ARs by individual faculty research grants. An assistantship in research provides a monthly salary at a rate agreed upon by the department and the Graduate School. It is understood that the work performed not only is part of the faculty principal investigator’s research project but also is the student’s dissertation research and therefore in satisfaction of a degree requirement. For a standard AR appointment, in addition to the salary, the grant pays half of the tuition or all of the CRF. When the appointee is eligible for a University Fellowship, the other half of tuition is covered by a fellowship.

An appointment as a project assistant (PA) is intended for a student who performs services for a research project that are not a part of the student’s degree program. A project assistant may normally work no more than ten hours per week. The rate of compensation is based on the department-approved rate paid to assistants in research. With the permission of the director of graduate studies and the appropriate associate dean, a student may receive a combination of project assistant and assistant in research appointments.

Questions about AR or PA appointments should be directed to the director of graduate studies or the appropriate associate dean in the Graduate School.

External Fellowships and Combined Award Policy

All current students and applicants for admission are strongly encouraged to compete for outside fellowships. These fellowships, sponsored by both public and private agencies, confer distinction on a student who wins an award in a national competition. They are often more generous than the fellowships the University is able to provide. Students must report to their associate dean any scholarship/fellowship received from an outside agency or organization.

Students are allowed to hold outside awards in conjunction with University stipends up to combined levels that are significantly higher than the normal stipend. During the nine-month academic year, the sum of the Graduate School’s initial stipend award and all outside awards may total the standard department/program nine-month stipend plus $4,000. If the sum of the Graduate School’s initial stipend award and all outside awards exceeds this limit, the Graduate School stipend award will be reduced accordingly.

In humanities and social science departments, up to 3/12 of the external award may be reserved for the summer (when this is permitted by the awarding agency), prior to calculating the nine-month combined award. When outside awards include restricted funds (e.g., for tuition support), the restricted funds will not be used in calculating the combined stipend.

University Fellowship stipends awarded as a result of this formula are subject to all applicable policies, including replacement of stipends by teaching fellowships, and are awarded for the nine-month academic year. Administration of external awards is subject to rules and requirements specific to each external sponsor.

Eligibility for Fellowships

Students who hold Yale-administered fellowships are required to be in residence and engaged in full-time study. Permission to hold a fellowship in absentia must be obtained from the appropriate associate dean. A student who leaves New Haven, except for short vacation periods, without having such permission may have the fellowship canceled. No fellowships will be paid for any period when a student is not registered.

Students are not eligible for stipend support from the Graduate School after six years of study, but they remain eligible for student loans as long as they are enrolled at least half-time.

A fellowship will be withdrawn and a stipend withheld if the recipient’s activities become prejudicial to the purpose for which the fellowship was granted or if a student becomes ineligible to register for any reason.

Other Means of Financing Graduate Education

Part-Time Employment

Study toward the Ph.D. degree is expected to be a full-time activity. Accordingly, part-time employment for compensation, at the University or elsewhere, should not conflict with the obligations of the Ph.D. program or interfere with academic progress. Inter-national students must consult the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS) regarding their eligibility for employment while in the United States.

Part-time employment beyond an average of ten hours per week requires permission of the director of graduate studies, who will inform the appropriate associate dean.

Students who hold student loans must report all part-time employment earnings to the Office of Financial Aid. Failure to do so may result in cancellation of the loan(s).

Loans and Work-Study

U.S. citizens may be eligible to borrow through federally subsidized loan programs. Eligibility is based on federal regulations and University policies. Information is available from the Financial Aid Office, 129 HGS.

Eligible students in the Graduate School may be able to borrow from the following federal student loan programs: Federal Stafford Loans and Federal Perkins Loans.

The College Work-Study (CWS) program, which is federally funded, enables eligible graduate students to meet a portion of their academic year financial need through part-time employment.

All students applying for any of these federal programs must fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Information on loan and work-study programs is contained in Financial Information for Entering Graduate Students included with your letter of admission. These documents are available from the Office of Financial Aid. Information and FAFSA applications are also available at the Web site of the United States Department of Education (www.fafsa.ed.gov/).

International and U.S. students are eligible to borrow from the GATE Y-Loan, which does not require a co-signer. This program will allow students to borrow the full cost of their education less any other financial aid they receive. Features of the GATE Y-Loan include a low variable interest rate, no fees, a six-month grace period, a standard twenty-year level repayment stream, and no prepayment penalty. Information is available from the Financial Aid Office, 129 HGS.

Two Federal Regulations Governing Title IV Financial Aid Programs

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Federal regulations require that students be making satisfactory academic progress each year in order to be eligible for Title IV funding (i.e., federal loans, Javits Fellowships, and College Work-Study). The standards by which satisfactory academic progress is measured are determined by the Graduate School and by individual departments. Verification of satisfactory progress is based on annual student evaluations from the directors of graduate studies and, for students in the dissertation stage, on a statement of progress from the student, the dissertation adviser, and the director of graduate studies.

Department of Education Refund Policy

Students receiving Title IV financial assistance who withdraw during a term and are entitled to a refund of any University charges will have their Title IV assistance adjusted according to a formula specified by the Department of Education. Please consult the Financial Aid Office in 129 HGS.

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