Eligibility

All students who receive central fellowships administered by the Graduate Division must:

  • Maintain continuous enrollment

  • Be registered full time (enrolled in a minimum of eight units per academic quarter)

  • Devote full time study to the field in which they receive the award

  • Maintain good academic standing (students who are not in good academic standing because their cumulative GPA is below 3.0, they have excessive units of unfinished coursework (12 or more units of Incomplete (I), No Grade (NG), or No Record (NR)), or are not meeting departmental standards of scholarship, may not hold centrally administered fellowships.)

  • Maintain good academic progress (students must meet time-to-degree standards for advancement to candidacy and degree completion)

Students in joint doctoral degree programs are eligible for central fellowships, but must be registered at UC Santa Barbara during the quarter(s) in which they receive UC Santa Barbara funding.

In order to receive summer fellowship funding, students must meet the following registration requirements. Registration in at least eight units in spring quarter is sufficient for a graduate student to receive summer funding. For students not enrolled in the preceding spring quarter, eligibility to receive fellowship funding during the months of July, August, and early September requires registration in at least eight units in the upcoming fall quarter or at least four units in Summer Session.

 

Please note: eligibility for need-based financial aid is affected by awards students receive from the Graduate Division, academic departments, or outside agencies. A reduction in the student's original need-based aid eligibility will occur if the student receives additional awards during the year, including graduate student academic appointment fee remission. For further information regarding financial aid support, refer to the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships.

Terms and Conditions of Fellowships

All domestic students are required to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by the March 2 deadline for the upcoming year. Information from the FAFSA is used to compile a need analysis, which is used to determine fund sources for support packages.

U.S. citizens and permanent residents are only eligible for non-resident tuition fellowships for their first three quarters at UC Santa Barbara. During their first year students should establish California residency. For detailed information, please consult the Office of the Registrar's Establishing California Residency for Fee Purposes. You may also refer inquiries to the Residence Deputy at residency@sa.ucsb.edu.

Students must register each term they receive fellowship support. Students are not allowed to be on Leave of Absence or in Filing Fee status when receiving a fellowship.

Students receiving a central fellowship must report immediately, in writing, to the Graduate Division any change in academic or financial status. Changes in status include (but are not limited to) change of major/program, withdrawal, and multiple awards. Central fellowships do not automatically transfer from one major/program to another, and receipt of additional support funds might affect award of UC funds.

Fellowships are awards that enable students to spend the majority of their time studying. It is anticipated that additional financial need should be minimal. The supplementation policy is designed primarily to ensure that excess service as an academic apprentice will not impede fellowship holders' graduate studies and to allow a distribution of University support funds among highly qualified students.