General Funding Information
Your offer of admission to UC Irvine may include an offer of employment for the duration of normative time to degree (currently 5 years) while you are in the graduate program. We are committed to funding students who are in good academic standing. There are three main mechanisms for funding: fellowships, research assistantships, and teaching assistantships. Taxes are not deducted from fellowships for domestic students, although they are considered taxable for reporting purposes. Taxes are deducted from fellowships for international students.
Research Assistants (GSR or Graduate Student Researchers) are typically paid by faculty member's research grants and are considered regular UCI employees. Students are also required to gain teaching experience by serving as teaching assistants (TA). GSR and TA funding is considered payroll. Taxes are withheld from payroll according to how you fill out your employment paperwork. Please consult a tax professional if you have questions regarding tax withholding or liability.
Academic Student Employees and Graduate Student Researchers in the Department of Earth System Science are covered by collective bargaining agreements between the Regents of the University of California and the Student Workers Union, International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) AFL-CIO. The Department follows the salary scales agreed upon between the Regents and the UAW (AFL-CIO). The agreements can be found at Academic Personnel (ASE/GSR).
University payroll is payable on the first of each month following the month worked. We try to align fellowship payments with the payroll system to make a smooth transition between the two systems. Unfortunately, we cannot completely control the dates payments are made, especially of fellowship payments. We encourage you to ask any questions about funding that you may have.
Due to the two payment systems (university payroll and the fellowship system) you will need to sign up for Direct Deposit for both systems. Please follow the directions at https://fs.uci.edu/student-billing/direct-deposit.php.
While the Department is committed to funding students in good academic standing, we expect students to be applying for outside funding. Below are helpful links for finding outside funding opportunities. If you receive a fellowship offer in lieu of employment that does not have a work or service requirement, either at the time of admission or during your time as a student at UC Irvine, the employment offer must be declined to accept the fellowship award(s). Please note that each individual situation is different, and we must work within certain administrative constraints. It is the student's responsibility to report any variation in payment (other than slight adjustments in payday or net income due to withholding). We encourage you to confirm receipt of funds before spending and bring any inconsistencies to the attention of department staff immediately. Students will be held responsible for payment overages.
Experienced based placement:
- TAs: Experienced based placement will be assessed at each appointment.
- GSRs: Experience based placement will be assessed at each Fall quarter.
GSR and TA Employment includes the following remissions:
- Tuition Remission: Payment of 100% of tuition for the quarter.
- Health Insurance Premium Remission: Payment of 100% of the Graduate Student Health Insurance Program (GSHIP) mandated fee. For any student employee who is charged the GSHIP premium but waives out of coverage by GSHIP, Health Insurance Premium Remission will not apply.
- Student Services Fee/Campus-Based Fee Remissions: Payment of 100% towards the Student Services Fee and payment of 100% towards Campus-Based Fees.
- Remission does not include the optional UC Graduate and Professional fee ($2-3 per quarter). You can choose to pay this fee by logging in to your ZotAccount or waive it by opting out in your StudentAccess portal
To be eligible for the GSR and TA remission, students must be enrolled in 12 units.
Non-Resident Supplemental Tuition
US citizens and permanent residents are expected to establish California residency by the end of their first year or will be subject to Non-Resident Supplemental Tuition (NRST) beginning in Fall of their second year.