Section Six: Stipends and Other Financial Assistance

A stipend is a fixed sum of money, intended to defray cost of living, and subject to all applicable taxes. Stipend amounts vary by discipline and program. Assistants will receive W-2 Wage and Tax Statements from Payroll. FICA taxes (social security) are not deducted from fall and spring stipends. FICA is charged to the stipends of assistants in summer unless assistants are registered and provide proof of their summer registration to the Payroll Department.

Stipend checks are standardly issued every other Wednesday and disbursed in 10 payments each semester (10 in fall and 10 in spring) over the academic year (August to May) unless stated otherwise in award offers. Graduate assistants should sign up for direct deposit on CheckMarq. Direct deposit instructions and the payroll schedule (see section titled Grad Memo) are available on the Payroll Department’s website (restricted to campus or Marquette VPN). Students not signing up for direct deposit must pick up their checks in person from the Payroll Department (Straz Tower, 915 W. Wisconsin Ave., Room 175) during their regular business hours. Stipend checks cannot be mailed.

The Graduate School provides a stipend supplement each semester to qualified graduate assistants. Students who are eligible will be notified by email. The supplemental stipend is paid each fall and spring semester to qualified assistants and can be used for, but is not limited to, their health insurance costs, or any other expenses, at the discretion of the student.

Amount of Scholarship

Most full assistantships include tuition scholarships to pay for nine credits in fall and nine credits in spring.  Tuition credits are prorated for partial assistantships. Those awarded tuition scholarships that differ from this will be notified in their award letters. The dollar value of the scholarship is stated in the offer letter. Awards will not pay for more than the scholarship amounts in the offer. Students must pay for all charges taken that exceed the dollar amounts of their scholarships and for tuition/fees related to courses that are not covered by scholarships.

An exception is made for the Graduate School Student Fee. Assistantships that are funded by the Graduate School, and that are offered prior to the close of late registration, qualify for an additional scholarship to pay the fee (100%, or $100, for 20-hour assistantships and 50%, or $50, for assistantships between ten and twenty hours). The Graduate School does not provide student fee scholarships for assistantships that are funded by faculty grants or by other departments. The Office of the Bursar distributes 1098-T Tuition Statement forms to all students who receive tuition scholarships from the university to use when filing their taxes.

Distribution of Scholarship Credits in Fall, Spring, Summer Terms

Award letters itemize the amounts of scholarships that are specifically allotted to fall, spring, and summer terms. Students can request a different allocation between fall, spring, and summer terms by contacting the Graduate School.

Unused scholarship money from one term is not automatically carried forward to following terms. Students should contact the Graduate School to request the transfer of scholarship money from one term to another. Award money cannot be transferred from one aid year to another. Each aid year begins with the fall term and includes the following spring and summer terms.

Valid Courses

Scholarships may only be used to pay for valid courses that are directly related to students’ degrees. Scholarships will not pay for more than 6 thesis or 12 dissertation credits.

Valid courses include: Graduate-level courses numbered 5000 and above that count toward a graduate degree.

Invalid courses include: Audited courses, undergraduate-level courses taken for undergraduate credit including prerequisites or deficiency courses, and courses taken for personal development within or outside of the discipline that will not count toward students’ degrees and that have not been approved for scholarship coverage by both the department and the Graduate School in writing.

Disbursement of Scholarships

Initially tuition scholarships appear as anticipated payments on students’ financial aid records, then are applied to Bursar accounts about one week before classes start. Tuition scholarships are then disbursed to Bursar accounts weekly each Friday.

Holidays

1. Paid Holidays: Graduate assistants are paid for, and are exempt from, assistantship duties on holidays observed by the university and on days the university is closed during the semesters of their appointments. See Department of Human Resources’ Holiday Calendar.
2. Regular Student Breaks: Regular student breaks are days in which classes are not held (Winter Break, Easter Break, Spring Break, etc.). Graduate assistants may be expected to perform required duties during regular student breaks. See specific departments for details. Academic Calendars are available on the Office of the Registrar’s website.
3. Religious Holidays not Observed by the University: See policy on Leave Provision: Short-Term Leave.

Library

Raynor Memorial Libraries offers a host of services and resources for graduate assistants. The library’s subject liaison librarians can help graduate research assistants find hard-to-track-down materials, make more efficient use of research databases and citation tools, and more. Faculty members can authorize graduate research assistants to check out library materials and request interlibrary loans on their behalf. Librarians are also available to help graduate assistants explore new and emerging publishing options, data management, and alternative impact metrics. 

Librarians frequently partner with graduate teaching assistants to foster and develop the research skills of students through instruction, online learning modules, and research consultations. For instructors interested in digital assignments for their classes, the Digital Scholarship Lab can help identify tools and resources for your students and offer in-class instruction. More information about how the library supports graduate assistants is available on the Graduate Student’s Guide to Libraries.

PrintWise

PrintWise is the campus-wide network of printers and copying machines. Qualified graduate assistants receive an allocation that is larger than non-assistants’ allocations in order to accommodate their printing needs. The assistantship allocation  is $75 for fall and spring semesters. There is no allocation for summer. If the printing requirements go beyond their allocations, assistants should contact their supervisors. Assistantships funded by faculty grants or non-academic departments do not receive the assistantship PrintWise allocation.

For help, contact TechSquad@marquette.edu

Parking

Graduate assistants can elect to pay for their on-campus parking permits via payroll deduction, rather than paying for them on a semester basis. Additional information is available from Parking Services.

Teaching Excellence Awards

Each January the Graduate School honors teaching assistants who exemplify excellence in teaching and embody the mission and vision of Marquette University. Recipients receive cash prizes, and awards are available in both instructors of record and non-instructors of record categories. Nomination information is distributed to students and their departments in December.

Vacation and Sick Time

Graduate assistants do not accrue vacation or sick hours.

Bus Passes

All graduate students, including graduate assistants, may purchase a U-Pass from Union Station. Additional information is available at Graduate Student Organization Benefits.

Counseling Services

All full-time graduate students, including graduate assistants, are eligible to receive services from the Counseling Center. Additional information is available at the Counseling Center website.

No-cost therapy services and reduced rate psychological assessment services are available through the Center for Psychological Services.