Financial Support |
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As a graduate student admitted as a Graduate Research Assistant, you are considered an employee of the University of Florida. As a Graduate Research Assistant you are not required to teach, although some of the senior graduate students do participate in the teaching of basic science courses to the medical students and/or graduate students in order to gain pedagogical experience. While you are a Graduate Research Assistant you are not allowed to seek and hold employment outside the University of Florida, except for Reserve or National Guard military duty.
The only part of your total package that is taxable is the money that you are actually paid. Tuition waivers are not considered taxable income. Stipends are paid biweekly as a salary. As a Graduate Research Assistant, you will also receive annual cost-of-living raises, as well as maintaining parity with all raises specific to Graduate Research Assistants within the College of Medicine.
During your first year of graduate study, your stipend will be paid by the College of Medicine. Beyond the first year your stipend will be paid from other sources, usually by your mentor's research grant or one of several NIH training grants.
Minority students may also want to read our Minority Support Page to learn about some financial aid programs for minority applicants.
All University of Florida graduate assistants and fellows are eligible for a health insurance benefit (individual coverage) at no cost to them in the GatorGradCare program, effective January 2007. For more detailed information, please see the UF Human Resources web page for GatorGradCare.
Alumni Graduate Program Award:
This is the highest fellowship award offered by the University of Florida
to incoming graduate students. The College of Medicine IDP Admissions Committee
is responsible for granting these fellowships. The Alumni Graduate Program
Award includes a Graduate Research Assistant stipend for 4 years, plus a waiver of tuition. The stipend amount for
awardees entering in Fall
2008 will be $27,000.
Dr. Linton E. Grinter
College of Medicine Graduate School Fellowship: The IDP Admissions
Committee awards these fellowships to incoming graduate students based
on academic merit. Students selected for this fellowship will receive an
award of $1,000 for each of their first 3 academic years
in addition to their base stipend and tuition waiver. The total
amount of the award is $3,000 ($1,000 per year for the first three years of graduate
study).
International Travel Award: All international students accepted into the IDP who are traveling to Gainesville from outside the North American continent will receive a one-time travel award in the form of a Grinter Fellowship for $1,000 upon their arrival and successful registration for classes. This award is specifically designed to help defray the high cost to international students coming to the United States, and to ease their transition to American graduate school life. (However, please note that it takes several months to process the payment.)
Graduate Fellowship for Outstanding Research: The "Graduate Fellowship for Outstanding Research" will be awarded to three current students each year to recognize IDP doctoral students for outstanding progress in their graduate training and thesis research. Each award will consist of a one-time $2,500 fellowship award, which will be added to the student’s current stipend amount and will be paid for by the College of Medicine.
Traditional student loans: Traditional student loans are also available to Graduate Students. Additional information on qualification requirements and the requisite forms can be obtained from the College of Medicine Financial Aid Office by calling (352) 273-7939.
A breakdown of the costs associated with Graduate School at the University of Florida can be explored at Cost of Living at UF. Please see also a sample Cost of Living Comparisons.