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Graduate Student Handbook

IV. Sources of Support

Students may be supported by a variety of means including personal resources, funds from a thesis advisor, extramural fellowship support or Graduate Programs Committee support.

The Graduate Programs Committee supports a limited number of Ph.D., M.D./Ph.D., Master of Public Health and Master of Dental Science students. These assistantships are awarded on a competitive basis. Students supported by the GPC are classified as graduate assistants and receive an annual stipend. The amount of the stipend is determined by the GPC based on estimates of student living costs provided by the Graduate Student Organization. The graduate assistants receive in addition to the stipend award: (1) a tuition waiver for the Fall and Spring semesters from the University, and (2) a comprehensive health insurance policy. In addition, the GPC pays Fall and Spring University fees associated with attendance in graduate school with the exception of the $50 deposit account fee due at the first registration.

In order to receive GPC research assistantship support, a student must be enrolled as a full-time graduate student in the University of Connecticut Graduate School, working on a Ph.D. degree or Master's degree with a major thesis advisor whose primary appointment is at the Health Center. Students must continue to make satisfactory academic progress as defined by the Graduate Programs Committee and the Graduate School to be eligible for annual renewals.

A. Entering Student Research Assistantship Support

1) Eligibility: To be eligible for nomination to receive a Graduate Program Committee Research Assistantship, a student must be qualified to be enrolled in the Graduate School according to the admissions requirements published in the current Graduate School Catalog. The student must have been accepted into the Biomedical Science Ph.D. Program or the M.D./Ph.D. Combined Degree Program.

2) Review and selection process for Ph.D. entering students: Students admission and award of Graduate Programs Committee Research Assistantship are handled by the Biomedical Admissions Committee. Some of the factors taken into account in the process are given below.

Criteria for Selection: The following criteria as are used as guidelines for evaluating entering student applicants.

• a complete Graduate School Application
• strength of academic record - official transcripts are required
• strength of letters of reference
• previous research experience
• the Graduate Records Examination (GRE)
• evidence of interest in a career in biomedical research
• number and type of honors and awards
• TOEFL or equivalent for foreign students (English not first language)

3) Review and Selection Process for Master's Students in Public Health and Dental Science: The same procedure is followed in awarding assistantship support to the Master of Public Health and Master of Dental Science students. This competition is held during the summer meeting of the GPC. One assistantship may be awarded to a student in each program with renewal for up to one additional year.

B. Continuing Student Support

1) Eligibility:

To be eligible for a continuing stipend award a student must be enrolled as a full-time student in The Graduate School, working on a Ph.D. or Masters project with a major advisor whose primary appointment is at the Health Center. In addition, a student must be making satisfactory progress as defined by the Graduate School and the Graduate Programs Committee.  Students awarded graduate research assistantships after 3/1/01 will receive 100% of their support from the Graduate Programs Committee in years 1 and 2. The remainder of their support will be provided by their major advisor, program or department.

Currently, all graduate students supported by the GPC are classified as graduate assistants. The Graduate School requires that to be eligible for a graduate assistantship a student maintain a cumulative average of at least B (3.00) in any coursework taken and must be eligible to register (i.e. must not have more than three Incompletes on the academic record.).

In addition to these Graduate School criteria, the awarding of Graduate Student Assistantship from the Graduate Programs Committee is contingent upon the timely completion of several Graduate School requirements:

• To be eligible for a continuing assistantship award, students in their first year must have completed at least eight (8) credits per semester; at least six (6) credits must have been in regular graded courses (not in laboratory methods, journal clubs or independent study). Student should submit a Plan of Study upon completion of their first year. Students in their second year must have completed at least six credits of regular graded courses during the entire year. This six credit rule does not apply to students who matriculate with a Master's degree. A plan of study for second year students should be on file.

• To be eligible for a assistantship award, a student who will be entering their third or fourth year must have met with his or her advisory committee during the past year.  The ORR will confirm with the committee that they have met with the student and that the student is progressing satisfactorily.  (Applicable to students admitted under funding policies in place prior to Fall of 2001)

• To be eligible for a stipend award for the 4th year of Ph.D. study, a student must have passed the General Examination by the end of their third year. In addition, within 12 months of passing the General Examination, the Dissertation Prospectus must be completed and approved by the Area Review Committee. (Applicable to students admitted under funding policies in place prior to Fall of 2001)

Monitoring Student Progress: The Office of Records/Registration will monitor the academic performance of all graduate students receiving full or partial GPC fellowship support. Area of Concentration (AoC) Directors and major advisors (if appointed) will be notified in writing if any student in their program receiving support (full or partial) fails to satisfy any of the eligibility criteria. This will occur primarily at the end of each semester but can occur at other times as information is received. The purpose of this review and reporting of credentials is to alert the AoC to students experiencing academic difficulties, so that appropriate actions may be taken.

C. GPC Policy Concerning Graduate Stipend Support

Students admitted into a graduate program with committed stipend support or individual competitive fellowships from external sources, or students who obtain such support after matriculation will have such support guaranteed provided they remain in good academic standing. The term "committed stipend support" refers to GPC fellowships and NIH training grants, but not to support from individual investigator's grants or other sources. Students should be informed in writing prior to matriculation, or at any time prior to receipt of a stipend, as to the limits of support as stipulated above. Stipend support refers to the level of funding set for GPC assistantships.

It is the responsibility of the thesis advisor to provide the balance of the stipend and fringe benefit support when GPC assistantship or training grant eligibility ends.

Students who do not receive committed stipend support as outlined above should not be guaranteed support. The graduate Area of Concentration should develop policies to address the needs of students who are admitted without committed stipend support, and ensure that such policies are clearly articulated in writing to students prior to their matriculation.

When the faculty advisor is unable to provide the required funds, the chair of the faculty advisor's department will be responsible for providing stipends for those students meeting the criteria outlined above. If there is a failure of the thesis advisor, the Area of Concentration, and the department head to provide funds for a student in good standing in a particular graduate program, that Area of Concentration will be prohibited from applying for new GPC graduate student fellowships for a period of one year.

The Deans of the School of Medicine and School of Dental Medicine will provide stipend support for a student meeting the criteria outlined above if the other mechanisms described above fail to provide support.

D. The Lepow Fellowship Award

The "Lepow Fellowship" was established in 1986 at the University of Connecticut Health Center in honor of Dr. Irwin H. Lepow, a well-known faculty member, researcher and founding father. This award is given to support the outstanding fourth-year graduate Ph.D. student in the Biomedical Sciences Program. (Student in the combined Oral Biology/Certificate program may be in their third or fourth year.) The recipient of this award receives a $1,500 bonus in addition to the standard stipend, and presents an oral presentation at Graduate Student Research Day. All qualified students are invited to apply.

1) Eligibility: The candidate must meet the following criteria:

• Be in his or her third year of graduate study at the Health Center at the time of application.  (Note:  A Ph.D./Certificate student may apply in his  or her third or fourth year.  An MD/PhD or DMD/PhD student must be in his or her second year of graduate study to apply.)
• Have a Health Center faculty member as a major advisor.
• Be in good academic standing in the Biomedical Science graduate program.
• Have passed the Doctoral General Exam.

2) Nomination: A complete application consists of:

• A personal statement of qualification for the Lepow Fellowship specifying the applicant's Area of Concentration and Major Advisor.  The statement should include an abstract of current research activities and projected course work not reflected on the Graduate School Transcript.
• Two letters of recommendation, one being from the Major Advisor.
• Graduate School Transcript.
• Copies of any publications or abstracts.

3) Review and Selection Process: The competition for this award is in June of each year. Applications are reviewed by the program director of each Area of Concentration and the applicant with the majority vote receives the award.

E. The Henderson Memorial Award for the Outstanding Ph.D. Thesis

This award for outstanding thesis research was established in honor of Dr. Edward G. Henderson of the Pharmacology Department and a member of the first faculty at the University of Connecticut Health Center. The prize includes a $500 award and inscription of the recipient’s name on a plaque. Notice of the recipient is given in the Health Center commencement bulletin and the awardee is invited to present a seminar to students and faculty.

1. Eligibility: To be eligible the candidate must have completed all requirements for graduation within the twelve month period since the last commencement.

2. Nomination:

• Each Area of Concentration nominates an eligible graduating Student.

• The Program Director submits a letter describing the nominee’s qualifications and containing a copy of the doctoral thesis abstract.

• Two letters of recommendation including one from the major thesis advisor.

• One copy of the nominee’s curriculum vitae and bibliography.

3. Selection: Select members of the Graduate Programs Committee will select the awardee from the group of nominees and forward the name to the Associate Dean of the Graduate School.

F. Dissertation Fellowship Awards

Each student may be reimbursed up to $600 for expenses incurred while preparing the final copies of the dissertation. This award is granted only after all requirements for the degree have been fulfilled, e.g., all three final copies of the dissertation have been submitted to the Graduate School Office. Students must keep receipts (or copies of receipts) and an itemized listing of all expenses and present it to the Office of Records/Registration along with a current mailing address before the reimbursement will be processed. Expenses can include: typing fees, paper, BMC costs, binding, photographs, etc. Expense sheets are available in the Office of Records/Registration.

M.D./Ph.D. students are allowed to submit for partial reimbursement upon return to their third year of medical school. They will have to submit a second request for reimbursement for the binding expense of the final copies since these may not be submitted to Graduate Records until the Spring semester of the student’s fourth year of medical school.

G. Training Grant Supplementation

All students in good academic standing on training grants receive supplementation by the Graduate Programs Committee in the form of a part-time graduate assistantship. This supplementation will bring the funding level of the training grant to that of other graduate students receiving GPC support. The training grant funds are paid to students monthly (12 payments on or before the beginning of each month). Taxes are not taken from this money so students must plan ahead for income tax time. It is advised that students pay their taxes on a quarterly basis so to avoid a large payment in April of each year. The supplementation is paid bi-weekly to training grant students. This funding source is considered a graduate assistantship and health insurance is included. Taxes are taken from these funds. Due to the nature of the part-time assistantship, a tuition waiver is not granted to training grant recipients. The training grant usually has funds to pay for the cost of tuition and fees.

H. Tuition Waivers

A Fall and Spring semester tuition waiver is granted to all students who have an appointment as a graduate assistant which is at least at the 50% level. Fall and Spring university fees are also paid by the Graduate Programs Committee for students receiving GPC fellowship support and by departments where students receive departmental funds for assistantships. These tuition waivers are not applicable to students receiving training grant supplementation (see above).

I. Health Insurance

Students receiving graduate assistanships are considered employees of the University of Connecticut Health Center and are eligible for the health insurance packages offered to all employees.  There is no cost to the student for this package.  Additional family coverage is an additional cost and will be deducted directly from the paycheck.

Full-time graduate students not receiving a graduate assistantship are eligible for student health insurance through the Student & Alumni Services Center. Information regarding this health coverage is available to any interested student by contacting 860-679-2973.

J. Other Types of Support

There are several fellowships from external sources available to students enrolled full-time seeking the Ph.D. degree. The Office of Records/Registration has a listing of these fellowships and sends memoranda to all students and faculty when information is received. Such external applications that are available are listed below. Many times these fellowships do not pay as much as the regular graduate assistantships. In this situation, the GPC will supplement the fellowship up to the same amount as the current stipend level. In most cases this will also include the health insurance offered to graduate assistants.

• Howard Hughes Medical Institute – Predoctoral Fellowships in Biological Sciences. Deadline for Application is early November. First year students eligible. Fellowships are five-year awards with continuation possible after the first year contingent on satisfactory academic progress. http://www/hmmi/org

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