Financial and Employment Matters

All Ph.D. students in the UCSB Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry graduate program who maintain good academic standing are financially supported throughout their course of study. Effective Fall 2022, the standard annual graduate student salary is $32,000. For the purposes of graduate student salary payment, “annual” is defined as October 1 – September 30. The annual salary can be made up of different sources of support including, but not limited to, Teaching Assistantships (TA), Graduate Student Researcher assistantships (GSR), Readerships, Teaching Associate positions, and/or fellowships. In addition to the annual salary, payment of tuition, applicable fees, and health insurance are provided. Variations on the annual salary rate are not permitted unless specifically noted elsewhere in this policy. A Summary of Quarterly Fees and Expenses can be found on the Office of the Registrar's website. Students who do not maintain good academic standing may become ineligible for fellowships, employment, and other forms of financial support.

• Annual Salary and Financial Support Policies and Regulations

• Billing Accounts Receivable Collections (BARC)

• Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and Work Study

• Fellowships and Grants

• Research Travel Funds for Doctoral Students   

• Teaching Assistantships

• Reader Positions

• Graduate Student Researcher (GSR) Positions

• Timecards

• Equal Opportunity Policies and Procedures

• Establishing Residency

• P3 Status

• Filing Leave of Absence in Lieu of Enrollment

• Financial Aid Information for Non-Immigrant International Students

• Money Matters

Campus Regulations of Graduate Student Support

All graduate student employee positions, such as TA, are regulated by the Graduate Division, the Academic Senate, and other campus or system-wide governing offices. All academic positions, specifically, are further regulated by the Academic Student Employees (ASE) Bargaining Unit (UC-UAW Agreement). Domestic students may not be employed at greater than 50% time (an average of 20 hours per week) during a regular academic term without special exception. International students may not be employed at greater than 50% time during a regular academic term and no exceptions are permitted. Students employed as ASEs are subject to campus-wide standardized salary scales, which may vary from the departmental graduate student salary standards. The salary for students in these positions will be supplemented to achieve the Departmental standard, as discussed below. This supplementation takes place in the summer quarter and therefore, actual payment distribution may vary from month-to-month and quarter-to-quarter.

Department Policies Concerning Graduate Student Support

It is the student’s responsibility to seek information about support opportunities and to track their own source(s) of funding, monthly pay, and salary surpluses or deficits. Students should utilize UCPath to access pay stubs, direct deposit, tax withholdings, and other individual employment information. After joining a group, the student’s primary source of financial support will be research grants managed by their primary research advisor (or PI) and the PI will typically request GSR or TA support on the student’s behalf. The student is therefore expected to communicate regularly with the PI regarding financial support plans for each quarter. While the total annual salary will add up to the departmental standard, the student should anticipate variations in monthly pay in accordance with the type of support available (TA, GSR, fellowship, etc.) and budget accordingly. It is the student’s responsibility to inform the administrative staff of any problems related to salary in a timely fashion. Due to various restrictions on available funding sources, salary cannot be paid retroactively (after September 30). Salary distributions from previous years will not be recalculated or re-evaluated after they have been “closed.”

Annual Salary Rates

A student’s annual salary consists of all monies earned as part of their work toward the Ph.D. and/or in support of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry’s research and teaching missions, including but not limited to employment, internship/externships, and both internal and external fellowships. Monies earned for any appointment that a student holds as a Graduate Student Researcher or Teaching Assistant are therefore included in the calculation of a student's annual salary, regardless of the specific Primary Investigator on the research grant or the specific course for which the student provides support as an ASE. Monies earned for a fellowship or grant that a student is awarded are also included in the calculation of the student’s annual salary, regardless of the specific award requirements or the specific awarding agency.   Compensation for a readership can be received in addition to the standard annual salary.

Salary Supplements

In cases where a student is employed at 50% time during the academic year, but does not earn enough to maintain the standard departmental annual salary as a result of campus/UC regulations, the difference will be added to the student’s salary during the summer months. In addition to being in good academic standing, a student must be (1) present, either on-campus or at an approved alternative location appropriate to the research being conducted, (2) eligible for employment, and (3) making active progress toward the degree to receive any type of financial support during the summer months (including base salary and any supplemental pay required to achieve departmental salary standards). Students who do not meet all 3 of these conditions will not receive financial support of any kind, even if they did not receive adequate salary to meet departmental salary standards during the regular academic year.

Outside Employment

If a student is employed by an agency unaffiliated with UC and the work is considered to be contributing to their progress toward degree, then any salary earned will be included in the calculation of the student’s annual salary. The student will be supplemented accordingly, if applicable and appropriate to the regulations of the research grant on which the student is supported. If a student is employed by an agency unaffiliated with UC and the work is not considered to be contributing to their progress toward degree, then the student forfeits their regular salary for that period. If the outside employment occurs during the summer months and a supplemental GSR position is not considered appropriate, then the student also forfeits any applicable supplemental salary. Students who do not meet the conditions outlined in the Ph.D. Degree Requirements are not eligible to receive financial support, even if they did not receive adequate salary to meet departmental salary standards during the regular academic year.

Home Department and Special Exceptions

Regulations of DCB annual salary apply to graduate students enrolled in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Ph.D. program only. M.A. and M.S. students are not provided with an annual salary or guaranteed any financial support. Students whose home department is outside of DCB may be subject to different annual salary dollar amounts and governing policies. In addition, because many fellowships provide fixed-amount stipends, students whose primary funding source is a fellowship providing salary or stipend payment at or exceeding the standard departmental annual salary, may also be unaffected by certain provisions of these policies. DCB students in good standing will receive the current annual salary, as approved by the DCB faculty, over a period of October 1 through September 30. Except as noted above, DCB Ph.D. students will not receive salary exceeding this amount. Any exceptions to this policy must be requested by a member of the DCB faculty (students may not request exceptions) and must be made on behalf of all students in their group, not selected individuals.  The Faculty Graduate Advisor and Department Chair will review all exception requests.

BARC is the UCSB campus centralized receivable system. This computerized system produces a monthly statement for any amounts owed to the university, such as registration fees, campus housing charges, phone bills, library fines, and student health services, etc. The Billing-Accounts Receivable Office consolidates all sundry debts owed to the University that may be incurred through any UCSB department, identifies delinquent debts, and disperses financial aid. Students may access statements and other billing information via MyBARC.

It is required that all domestic graduate students (including permanent residents) file the FAFSA each year that they remain students at UCSB. The deadline for submitting the FAFSA is March 2nd. On the FAFSA website, you can also find the Renewal FAFSA, designed for students who completed the FAFSA for the previous year. If you file a Renewal FAFSA, many answers are based on your prior year's application, which cuts down on the number of questions you have to complete. Be sure to list the University of California, Santa Barbara, in Step 6. Our school code number is 001320.

Upon receipt of your Financial Aid Award Letter (FAAL) in mid-September, a copy of your FAAL should be submitted to the Staff Graduate Advisor (gradprog@chem.ucsb.edu). If you are granted Work Study, please visit the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships website (follow the link under Tab 4 of your FAAL) to print your Work Study Referral form (usually available about one week prior to the start of fall quarter) or visit the Financial Aid Office (located in 2103 SAASB) to receive a copy. Your Work Study Referral Form should also be submitted to the Staff Graduate Advisor.

Graduate Division Central Fellowships by Departmental Nomination

Central Fellowship awards for continuing students are based on nomination by the DCB Awards Committee and review by a Central Faculty Fellowship Committee. A complete summary of fellowship packages and nomination procedures will be sent to students during Winter Quarter. Students applying for nominations must submit their required material to the Staff Graduate Advisor (gradprog@chem.ucsb.edu) after the call for nominations is made.

• Graduate Division Dissertation Fellowship (GDDF)

• Graduate Opportunity Fellowship/Graduate Research Mentorship Program (GOF/GRMP)

• President’s Dissertation Year Fellowship (PRES DISS)

• UC President's Pre-Professoriate Fellowship (UC PPPF)

Graduate Division Central Fellowships by Student Application

Continuing students apply directly to the Graduate Division for the following fellowships:

• Broida-Hirschfelder Dissertation Award

• Brython Davis Endowment Graduate Fellowship

• Olivia Long Converse Graduate Fellowship

• James D. Kline Fund for International Studies Award

Department-Administered Awards

The following department administered awards for continuing students are based on nomination by a DCB faculty member and review by the DCB Student Awards Committee. Students may also self-nominate for certain awards. Complete information for each award and nomination procedures will be sent to students via gradprog@chem.ucsb.edu. Award recipients are honored at a department ceremony in June. The following departmental awards are available:

• DeWolfe Distinguished Teaching Fellows - This award supports a unique research experience. Our best organic undergraduate students are paired with our best organic graduate students in a one-on-one lab experience. The program is supported with contributions from DeWolfe Family.

• Bruce Rickborn-Ross Johnson Graduate Fellowship - The Bruce Rickborn-Ross Johnson Endowed Graduate Fellowship Fund was established in 2007 through a generous gift of $500,000 from Dr. M. Ross Johnson, a 1970 Ph.D. Organic Chemistry alum of UC Santa Barbara, and honors his former Ph.D. advisor, Dr. Bruce Rickborn. Dr. Rickborn is widely recognized as one of the most important contributors to building the now world-renowned reputation of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UC Santa Barbara.

• B.R. Baker Memorial Award - Presented to graduate students who have given strong indication that they will continue to make substantial contributions to the progress of organic, medicinal, or biological chemistry.

• Jarrod Davidson Memorial Award - Presented to a graduate student who is studying chemistry at UC Santa Barbara while facing special challenges raising a family. Honorees receive a cash award of $1000 to help ease the financial pressure of supporting a family while pursuing a graduate degree.

• Sandra Lamb Memorial Award - Presented to a graduate student to assist with travel to attend an academic conference and present their research. Candidates must have an accepted paper or poster to present. This award has been established to honor the late Sandra Lamb Sanford, a professor in the field of Chemistry and Biochemistry and an advocate for chemical education.

• Phillip Chase Mabe Memorial Fellowship - Presented to a non-traditional graduate student with great passion and intelligence in Chemistry & Biochemistry. Additional consideration will be given for a student with an inclination for isolating practical findings that will help others.

• Outstanding TA Awards - Presented to Teaching Assistants for outstanding teaching based upon nominations from faculty and teaching evaluations.

• Outstanding Service to the Department Awards - Presented to graduate students who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and outstanding commitment to the mission of the department. This award is given in recognition of students who volunteer their time to DCB events and programs aimed at enriching the graduate student experience.

Externally Sponsored Awards

Fellowships awarded directly by the sponsoring agencies are usually publicized in professional journals and on bulletin boards in universities. Sometimes they do not come to the attention of many eligible candidates.  As a result, students who may not fare well in the competition for university awarded fellowships could receive one of these fellowships. All graduate students in good standing are encouraged to apply, if eligible.  Links to external national and international fellowship competitions are available via the Chemistry and Graduate Division websites.

The Academic Senate has a small travel fund for use by graduate students who have advanced to Ph.D. candidacy. Grants are made to doctoral students invited to present papers or results of research at major professional meetings and conferences. The conference must be an important one to the discipline; preference will be given to travel associated with potential academic employment. Students are eligible to receive one Doctoral Student Travel Grant during their graduate career at UCSB. The Graduate Student Association also provides conference travel grants once per academic year. All graduate students that are in good standing and are interested in traveling for their studies are encouraged to apply, if eligible.

The Department awards approximately 70 teaching assistantships per quarter.  Most are 20 hour/week appointments. All students must hold teaching assistantships for at least 3 quarters (not necessarily consecutive quarters) to meet the departmental Ph.D. degree requirement minimum. The TA Oversight Committee determines course teaching assistant assignments in accordance with the DCB Rules for TA Assignment. Exceptions require advance approval from the Department Chair. Students typically hold Teaching Assistant appointments during the first and/or second year of graduate study. All students appointed for 25% time (10 hrs/wk) or more will be eligible for mandatory student health insurance and partial tuition and fee remission. Students are typically nominated for TA positions by their primary research advisor, but you may also self-nominate at least 6 weeks in advance of the quarter in which you would like to TA. Please reach out to the Staff Graduate Advisor if you would like to self-nominate.

Eligibility

All new students must attend mandatory TA training sessions, campus-wide TA Orientation, and the required laboratory safety course during New Grad Academic Training in September. Any homework assignments associated with training must also be submitted at that time. Students will receive a TA Training Handbook during New Grad Academic Training, which should be retained and referenced for the duration of their studies at UCSB. International students and permanent residents whose native language is not English must also pass the mandatory English for Multilingual Students (EMS) oral exam before being certified for sole classroom teaching.

Enrollment

Students are required to enroll in Chemistry 501A-B-C or 502A-B-C, as appropriate, during each quarter in which they are employed as Teaching Assistants. Grades for 501A-B-C and 502A-B-C are based on TA performance, and a grade of Unsatisfactory (“U”) may disqualify a student from employment during future quarters. To maintain eligibility for TA nominations, continuing students must maintain good academic standing and perform all TA duties adequately. Assessment of adequate TA performance will be determined by the instructor in charge of the course and submission of undergraduate evaluation forms. Students who do not meet eligibility standards for one or more quarters will not be selected for future TA positions and may be subject to academic probation until performance is determined to be adequately improved. 

In addition to TA positions, each quarter a few “Reader” positions are available. These may range from as few as 5 hours to as many as 100 hours over the 10-week quarter, depending on the amount of reader support assigned to the specific course. Readers are paid at an hourly rate, with payment for the total allocated hours dispersed in one lump sum during the last month of the quarter. Students are typically hired as readers for courses in their area of specialization, on the recommendation of the course instructor. Reader positions do not replace TA or GSR positions and it is common for students to hold reader positions in addition to standard TA or GSR employment.

Enrolled graduate students may seek employment up to 49% time as Graduate Student Researchers (GSRs).  If appointed at least 25% time, mandatory health insurance and partial fee remission will be covered. If appointed 35% time or more, full fees and tuition coverage will be provided. These positions are paid by an extramural grant under the direction of a faculty member and are intended to support the research goals of the grant.  The Principal Investigator/Administrator of the grant awards all GSR appointments. These appointments are not administered through the DCB Student Affairs Office.

Students not employed as Teaching Assistants are typically employed as Graduate Student Researchers under the direction of the Primary Research Advisor, given that they remain in good academic standing. However, students may also seek GSR positions with other faculty members whose research interests are similar or related. Students are required to discuss employment and financial support opportunities with the Primary Research Advisor in advance.

All hourly employees (including GSRs) are required to fill out and approve their timecards in Kronos. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the PI approved their timecards in a timely manner. Teaching Assistants will not be required to fill out timecards for payroll purposes, but in certain quarters, the Staff Graduate Advisor may request that you complete one for data-tracking purposes.

Equal Opportunity & Discrimination Prevention Office (EODP)

EODP is the campus office responsible for the University's compliance with federal and state laws and University policies and procedures regarding affirmative action, non-discrimination, and retaliation for staff and faculty. EODP works to promote and integrate the principles of equal opportunity, affirmative action, non-discrimination, and excellence through diversity on campus.

Title IX Nondiscrimination Policy

The University of California, in accordance with applicable Federal and State Laws and University policy does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, pregnancy, disability, age, medical condition (cancer-related), ancestry, marital status, citizenship, sexual orientation, or status as a Vietnam-era veteran or special disabled veteran. The University also prohibits sexual harassment. This nondiscrimination policy covers admission, access, and treatment in University programs and activities. 

All domestic students are expected to submit their Statement of Legal Residency (SLR) by the end of their first year. Residency is determined by the Office of the Registrar. Complete instructions are posted on their website or they may be contacted at residency@sa.ucsb.edu.

There are 3 class levels designated for doctoral students by the Office of the Registrar:

• P1 (not yet advanced)

• P2 (advanced to candidacy)

• P3

A student enters P3 status after 9 registered quarters as P2 status. Students on P3 status are ineligible for teaching assistantships, reader positions, and fellowships.

A student must be in a “fee relationship” with the University in the quarter that they finish all degree requirements. In lieu of registering for courses, a student may choose to go on a filing leave of absence during the last quarter of completing a Ph.D. or terminal master’s degree. This allows the student to maintain the fee relationship without paying full student fees. When filing, you would pay a nominal fee. Students on a filing leave of absence are not eligible to receive graduate student employment or fellowships. A student considering this option should discuss their plans with the Primary Research Advisor and refer to the Graduate Division for more details.

Part-Time Employment

Graduate non-immigrant international students are allowed to hold part-time on-campus academic titles such as Teaching Assistant, Reader, Graduate Student Researcher, etc. However, off-campus part-time jobs require prior written or documented authorization from the US immigration service or the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS).

President’s Work-Study

Limited financial assistance is available to a small percentage of continuing non-immigrant international graduate students through the President’s Work-Study Program, administered by the OISS, in which students earn money by working on campus during the academic year or summer. Amounts of awards vary.

Teaching Assistant Loans and Emergency Loans

Information regarding TA and Emergency Loans can be found on the Financial Aid Office web site. TA Loans are available to alleviate financial hardships experienced during TA’s initial period of employment.  Emergency Loans allow students to receive an advance on their pending Financial Aid, for the current quarter, due to an emergency expense.

Aid and Scholarships

Additional information regarding financial aid and scholarships for international students is available via the OISS web site.

Produced by the Dean of Students Office in collaboration with the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships, the Graduate Division, and numerous other campus departments, Money Matters is a guide intended to help you navigate your finances day to day and access emergency help when you need it. It includes sections on sound money management and ways to ensure that your income is adequate to meet your needs. Because unforeseen events and emergencies do happen, the Money Matters guide also offers information on staff contacts, emergency funding, and low-cost services in the local community. Students are encouraged to reference this guide for information on budgeting and financial planning.