PhD & MFA: Stipends

It depends on the type of stipend:

Service stipends (ex: teaching fellowship, research fellowship) are paid weekly, on Fridays.  The weekly pay rate is based on 52 weeks in a year; there are 17 weeks in fall, 17 weeks in spring, and 18 weeks in summer.

Training stipends (ex: dean’s fellowship, GRS dissertation fellowship, NIH/NSF trainee fellowship, as well as miscellaneous research and travel awards) are paid monthly.  The stipend credits to the MyBU Student Account on the fourth Wednesday of the month.  The monthly pay rate is based on 12 months in a year.

It depends on the type of stipend:

Service stipends are issued as a direct deposit to the students’ personal bank account.  Students who do not have direct deposit authorized will receive a physical check at their home address (domestic students) or local address (international students). For detailed information on updating your direct deposit information, please visit our PhD & MFA Direct Deposit page.

Training stipends credit to the MyBU Student Account on the fourth Wednesday of the month.  Students who have a valid Nelnet Refund Profile will receive an electronic payment to their personal bank account approx. two days later.  Students who do not have a valid Nelnet Refund Profile will receive a physical check at their home address (domestic students) or local address (international students). For detailed information on updating your refund profile, please visit our PhD & MFA Direct Deposit page.

It depends on the type of stipend:

Service stipend recipients can view a record of their paychecks online.  Sign in to your MyBU Student page, then click on “My Job & Career” and “Time Entry/Self Service Site,” then open the “Employee Self-Service” tab, and, under “Pay,” click on “Salary Statement.”

Training stipends credit to the students’ MyBU Student Account.  Sign in to your MyBU Student page and click on “My Bill & Aid” to view your financial aid.  You can download a copy of your account statement by clicking on the printer icon in the upper right corner.  Non-service stipend awards issued before September 1, 2024, can be found on the “Salary Statement” under the “Employee Self-Service” tab (see “service stipend” above).

If your salary statement is missing a stipend, or you cannot access your salary statement, please contact the Boston University Payroll Office at bupay@bu.edu.

You most likely had taxes withheld.  Please note that there is a difference between tax liability and tax withholdings.  Having taxes withheld does not mean that your stipend was reduced.  The University may withhold taxes on your earnings and pay it to the U.S Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on your behalf, per IRS guidelines.  If this is the case, you will receive a statement (W-2, 1042-S, or 1099) at the beginning of the next calendar year. All stipend payments (service or non-service) must be reported to the IRS by domestic and international students, regardless of whether you received a tax statement from the University.  When you file your tax return, your tax liability will be determined.  If you had taxes withheld by the University, your withholdings will reduce the amount you owe to the IRS (or increase your refund).

Service stipends are considered earned income for tax purposes and the University will withhold and report the earnings per IRS guidelines.  You will receive form W-2.

Training stipends are funds used to support a student in their course of study.  The IRS considers these amounts to be taxable income, and you are responsible to report them on your tax return, regardless of your citizenship.  The University does not withhold taxes for U.S. citizens & permanent residents, and they will not receive a tax withholding statement.  International students have 14% withheld in taxes and will receive form 1042-S, unless they can claim tax treaty exemption.  Refer to “How do I change my withholdings” in our Tax Information page.

Please refer to our Tax Information page. If you have questions about your individual tax situation, we recommend that you contact a tax professional.  GRS staff are not tax experts and therefore unable to give any tax advice.

No. The purpose of fully supporting our graduate students is to allow them to engage wholly in their scholarly work and to devote the attention necessary to complete their studies in a timely fashion. We expect that our students will not be employed outside of Boston University. University policy limits the amount of work that may be assigned to graduate students in any semester when they are appointed to a Teaching, Graduate Research, or Training Fellowship. For this reason, we expect students with fellowships to devote no more than 20 hours per week to their assigned activity.  Please refer to “Are graduate workers allowed to work more than 20 hours per week?” on the provost’s website.

Yes. All newly admitted PhD & MFA students will need to show proof of employment eligibility before they can work on campus.  Your home department program will share instructions with you on how to complete section 1 of the electronic I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form and inform you of next steps.  Please note:

• • U.S. Citizens and U.S. Permanent Residents will complete section 2 of the verification form with help of their home department.
  • International students with F-1 visa status will complete section 2 of the verification form with help of their home department.
  • International students with visa status other than F-1 will complete section 2 of the verification form at the International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO).