For Current Scholars

Prior to the start of your assistantship, set up an initial meeting with your faculty mentor to discuss:

• Work schedule: days/hours your faculty mentor expects you to work
• Expectations: what your faculty mentor expects you to accomplish during the term
• Preparation: required trainings or certifications that you need to complete before starting the research
• Meetings: schedule for you and your faculty mentor and/or other research supervisor to meet (preferably at least once a week at a regular time)
• Tracking: establish a document or system to track the time spent on the research and the tasks accomplished
  • This is particularly important for international students as these hours may be considered work by the U.S. government
• Troubleshooting: what to do if you have questions or difficulty with any of the tasks you have been assigned. Note that it is your responsibility to let your faculty mentor and/or other research supervisor know when you need help with tasks. 

Stipend:

• The $1200 stipend is paid as a lump sum at the end of each term. Students do not submit timesheets since payments are stipends rather than hourly wages.
• 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.
  • 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.
• Payments are ordered once a week and only after both the student and faculty mentor have submitted the online confirmation forms.
  • Once the payment has been ordered, 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. For additional information, see the digital payment FAQ's  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.
  • The College will only send checks to the student's Hinman Box or to the legal mailing address listed in Banner Student. Check your Banner record to be sure that your mailing address is correct.
• Stipend payments for international students (non-resident aliens) are subject to a 14 percent tax.
• If you do not receive your stipend, contact UGAR. In some cases, the confirmation form may not have been received. In other cases, there is simply a delay while Accounts Payable processes the request. It is possible, too, that the payment has been lost, so please do check with us if you have not received your payment by the beginning of the following term.
• Students may not receive additional funding or wages for the same hours required of the UGAR program. For example, faculty cannot pay students for research unless students are working on the project more than 7-12 hours per week.

Consider submitting a video about your research for a chance to win cash prizes! Short videos are a great way for you to share your research with the broader Dartmouth community. The MAD (Made At Dartmouth) Research Video Competition is jointly sponsored by UGAR and the Jones Media Center (JMC) in Baker-Berry Library. Submissions are limited to a maximum of three minutes. Submission deadline

The Jones Media Center can help you with your video by providing loaner equipment as well as tips and advice about shooting footage and editing your video.