As of Fall 2021, all students are guaranteed five years of funding covering tuition, fees, insurance, and a minimum compensation amount determined annually. The faculty mentor has primary responsibility for assuring that the student’s tuition and fees, annual compensation, and health insurance are covered each year.
The current 12-month minimum is $32,495 and will increase to $34,564.50 on 10/1/24.
Financial support and associated benefits for students typically come from their mentors’ research grants, with the students employed to perform lab duties required by the funded research project(s). Students may also be funded as trainees or fellows through institutional training grants or individual fellowships.
Mentors are responsible for providing funding for five years per university policies of minimum funding packages (including support, tuition, fees, and health insurance). Faculty should only try to solicit a student if they have a five-year funding plan and have at least three and preferably four to five years of support “in hand” for that student at the time the student matriculates. Faculty will be asked to provide this plan before an offer to a new student may be made, and faculty will be asked to update this funding information as a student progresses through the program. A faculty member should not ask to recruit a new student if they have been or are unable to support any current student.
Students and their mentors should discuss the type of funding each year as well as work expectations linked to the student’s funding and appointment. Mentors are expected to coordinate with program coordinators to ensure that the student receives an appropriate university appointment based on funding source.
- Incoming student funding. For incoming first-year students, the discussion about funding will be part of the admissions offer package, typically concluded by mid-April. Be aware that incoming students often erroneously expect that their support will start fairly soon after they get here (i.e. that they will receive their first check around September 1st after the August start of fall semester), and many may have planned their finances with that expectation. It is rare that new students will get their first check as early as September 1st, and it may be as late as October 1st. For each incoming student, the expected timeline for when their funding will start should be discussed before August 1st so that students can plan accordingly.
- Returning student funding. For those students already matriculated in the program, discussion of the following year’s funding should occur on or before the end of the spring semester, if possible. We are required to provide funding information to both graduate offices before the end of the SDSU academic year, and we need final dollar amounts to do that. Our expectation is that faculty will discuss the next academic year funding amount with each student before this information is given to the graduate and program coordinators.
- Funding concerns. The faculty mentor is responsible for making sure the student is funded. Should mentors begin to have funding problems, and should it begin to look as if the faculty member is going to have a problem supporting a student, the mentor should immediately notify the program co-directors to discuss options. The mentor should not require that the student find his/her own funding. Students may elect to apply for their own funding if they desire and if it is consistent with their career goals; however, students should not be “made” to apply for funding because a faculty mentor is running out of support and has told the student they must find their own funding. There are a few alternative funding options available on a limited basis, including teaching, that could be used to support students beyond the third year. Again, this would need to be discussed with the co-directors as early as possible to determine whether other options are available.
- Health insurance. All students must have health insurance during their residence in the program (health insurance is typically provided by the internship site during the internship year). Students are required to show proof of insurance each year. In general, mentors provide health insurance to students as part of their funding package. Health insurance options can be provided via employment/fellowship support through SDSU, UC San Diego, SDSU Research Foundation, VA, VMRF, or another well-established mechanism. Insurance may be automatically provided as part of a package of funding, or funds may be provided to cover the cost of purchasing such insurance. Students may be covered by GSHIP (SDSU), UC SHIP (UC San Diego), insurance offered through their place of employment, or insurance purchased via Covered California. Students who have major medical coverage elsewhere (e.g., through a parent, spouse, or partner) can elect to decline health insurance options offered through the program. The subgroup of students each year whose primary funding is at UC San Diego, will automatically receive UC SHIP for their health insurance. The subgroup of students each year whose primary funding is at SDSU or VMRF, will be provided with additional funding that they can use to purchase insurance. The funding will be at least sufficient to purchase SDSU GSHIP. Students also have the option to use these funds for other insurance plans (e.g., UC SHIP, Covered California). Although we understand the importance of consistency of source of health insurance, it is not possible to guarantee that students will have the same health insurance plan each year, because health insurance options depend on funding source. Our goal as a program is that students will have continuous, comprehensive, health insurance throughout their residence in the program
- Student Health Services. All JDP students are eligible for health services at SDSU with a valid student ID card. Student Health Services on the SDSU campus provides medical services for any health problems listed on their website. When presenting a student ID card at SDSU Health Services, if Health Services staff raise a question about whether one is indeed a student, please ask the staff person to contact the SDSU program coordinator for verification of student status. JDP students whose tuition and fees are paid at UC San Diego are eligible for health services at UC San Diego with a valid student ID card. We anticipate that students may experience academic or personal challenges during their time in the program. In addition to the student’s mentor, there are many resources available to students listed on the program website. For a full list of resources available to JDP students, please visit our Student Health and Well-Being page.
- Vacation and Sick Leave. Part-time employee benefits (including vacation and sick leave) are governed by the agency that serves as the employer (e.g., SDSU Research Foundation, UC San Diego, VMRF). These issues should be discussed in advance so both the student and the mentor are aware and understand how much time is allowed and what restrictions and authorizations there may be on the use of benefits. Please contact Human Resources or refer to employment appointment letters for details on these and any other benefits.
Setting Up Direct Deposit at UC San Diego
Please arrange to have direct deposit of any checks received from UC San Diego. Even with an SDSU mentor and stipend paid through SDSU, it is recommended that all students sign up for direct deposit at UC San Diego for quicker receipt of incentive award funds.
There are three units that provide direct deposit to graduate students, depending upon the type of transaction:
- Student Financial Solutions (stipend payments for domestic students and account refunds)
- Payroll (ASE, GSR, and any other student employment paychecks)
- Disbursements (travel and other personal reimbursement, plus stipend payments for some international students)
Taxes
With various funding mechanisms, how taxes are paid may change. The JDP does not give tax advice. We advise students, if they have tax questions, to contact the Graduate Division at either university, or a tax accountant. For additional tax resources, please refer to the JDP Student SharePoint Site: Economic & Financial Resources page.
Updated 8/22/2024