Stipend information

Payments are requested once a week and only after all relevant forms have been submitted by the student and faculty mentor.

• Once the payment request has been processed, you will receive an email from J.P. Morgan Chase to accept your stipend electronically. If you do not respond to that email within 14 days, a paper check will be printed and mailed to your Hinman Box.
• Electronic payments are only available to students who have U.S. bank accounts. Wire transfers may be available for those who do not have a U.S. bank account.
• For additional information, see the digital payment FAQ's 

Payment information for students whose country of taxation is not the U.S. 

• You are required to register through Sprintax, and you will need to update your Sprintax record every calendar year.
• You may be subject to a 14 percent tax, and any taxable amount will be deducted automatically from your stipend so the amount you receive will be reduced by that amount.
• Consult with OVIS to be sure you understand any guidelines and restrictions based on your individual circumstances.
• For more information, see the tax information webpage.

If you do not receive your payment within 2-3 weeks, contact UGR. There are a variety of reasons why a payment may be delayed:

• You and/or your faculty mentor have not submitted the required form(s) to UGR.
• If your country of taxation is not the U.S., your Sprintax account may need to be updated.
• Accounts Payable may be delayed in processing payment requests.
• The email from J.P. Morgan Chase may have gone to your junk/spam folder (or you may have missed it in your email inbox).
• Your payment may have been lost somewhere along the way (e.g. paper check went astray in the mail).

Students are eligible to receive no more than the total amount of funding specified in the UGR award letter.

• For example, faculty cannot pay students wages for the UGR-funded research.

Click the sections below for information about specific program payments.

The program requires a two-term commitment. Students are expected to devote the equivalent time and effort to what they would for an academic class (approximately 100 hours per term, based on 7-12 hours per week for 10 weeks). Students who successfully complete this requirement are eligible for:

• Term 1: Stipend
• Term 2: Stipend OR academic credit as Independent Study

Stipend information:

• Stipends are paid as a lump sum at the end of each term of research.
  • Payment of stipends is contingent on confirmation by the student and faculty mentor that the student has fulfilled the requirements of the program.
  • When students submit their confirmation forms, an email will be automatically generated to the faculty mentor. That email will contain a link to the faculty confirmation form.
  • Students who do not meet the requirements of the program will not receive a stipend for that term. Partial stipends are not an option.
• Students do not submit timesheets since payments are stipends rather than hourly wages.
  • It is strongly recommended that students keep a document tracking the time spent on the research and the tasks accomplished as this may be important in resolving any issues that arise during the confirmation process.
  • Maintaining a tracking document is critical for international students as these hours may be considered work by the U.S. government.
    • Consult with OVIS to be sure you understand any guidelines and restrictions based on your individual circumstances.
• Students may not receive additional funding or wages for the same research that is being conducted for the Presidential Scholars program.
  • If faculty want to pay students hourly wages for research beyond the requirements of the program, it cannot be for the same types of tasks. The IRS specifies that research conducted for a fellowship stipend is primarily for the academic benefit of the student, whereas research compensated via hourly wages is primarily for the benefit of the employer (in this case, the faculty mentor).

Academic credit

• This is an option only for term 2 of the assistantship
• The Independent Study must be arranged in advance with your faculty research mentor and approved by the relevant academic department or program.
• Some departments have specific requirements and pre-requisites for approval of research for credit, and students must satisfy these requirements in order to be eligible for independent study credit. 
• If the Independent Study is approved by the academic department or program, you must register for the course as you would for any other class.
• If you opt for Independent Study credit, you are NOT eligible for a stipend.