PhD Funding Overview

PhD Funding Overview

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PhD students in the Physical Sciences Division receive: 

  • Full tuition coverage
  • Coverage of required Student Services Fees and individual insurance premiums
  • Primary funding 

Primary funding for PhD students is related to the student's assigned position each quarter. PhD students receive funding via fellowship stipend, a research assistant assignment, or a teaching assignment. 

Students can review details about their primary funding assignment by reviewing the position assignment letter that they receive from their Student Affairs Administrator. Typically, a new assignment letter is only issued if a student's position is changing for the upcoming quarter. 

Students who receive external funding (e.g., fellowship, etc.) should share those funding details with their Student Affairs Administrator and may direct any questions to the PSD Dean of Students Office. 

Primary Funding Types

Fellowship Stipend 

Students with a fellowship stipend position receive non-wage income from the University. 

Research Assistantship 

Students with a research assistantship hold a position called a "Research Training Assignment," and receive wage income from the University. 

Teaching Assistantship or Lecturer

Students with a teaching assistantship or lecturer position hold a position called a "Pedagogical Training Assignment," and receive wage income from the University. 

Timing of Payments

Primary Funding Timing 

Primary funding is disbursed to students according to the monthly payroll calendar. 

Incoming PhD students who hold a fellowship stipend or teaching assistant position in their first quarter will receive four payments in Autumn Quarter, where each payment is one-fourth of their quarterly funding (the first payment is typically disbursed in early October). Incoming PhD students who hold a research assistant position in their first quarter will receive three payments in Autumn Quarter, where each payment is disbursed at the end of October, November, and December.

Continuing students typically receive payments at the end of each month. 

Supplemental Funding Timing 

Students who hold a supplemental position will receive payments for that position on the bi-weekly payroll calendar. 

Onboarding 

Students should regularly check their UChicago email to ensure they do not miss any messages related to required onboarding tasks. Students who do not complete onboarding tasks by the deadline will receive delayed payment. 

Students will receive individual instructions about required onboarding tasks. Students may receive onboarding information at varying times from their peers. The timing of onboarding instructions depends on the student's upcoming position assignment, tax residency status, and whether they have previously held an employment position with the University. Students who have questions about whether they have missed any onboarding information may reach out to the Dean of Students Office. 

Workday Information 

The University uses the Workday system to issue student payments. The information below provides details about Workday for students. 

Enroll in Direct Deposit 

Direct deposit is the most efficient way for students to receive their primary or supplemental funding. Students can set up direct deposit via Workday. 

Note: if students do not have access to a US bank account to enroll in direct deposit, a paper check will be mailed to the student's primary address in Workday (see below). Checks cannot be picked up on campus. Students should make sure they have a local address listed in their primary address as Workday. If an address is not added to Workday, the default address will be the student's address listed in https://my.uchicago.edu. 

International students are encouraged to review information about banking in the US.

Access Pay Slips

Students can view detailed records of all payments in Workday by accessing their pay slips. 

Upload Personal Documents

Completed paperwork associated with payment from the University (tax paperwork, onboarding materials) can be uploaded to Workday so it can be verified by Payroll. PhD students will receive individualized emails with onboarding steps and should follow the instructions they receive. 

Onboarding for incoming PhD students starting in Autumn Quarter typically begins in early September. 

Update Primary Address

Students are expected to keep their primary address updated to reflect their local address while studying at the University of Chicago. Primary address information can be updated in Workday. Students who update their primary address in Workday should also update their physical address in their student portal. 

Update Tax Withholdings (Federal and State)

Federal and state tax withholdings can be updated in Workday. Students with questions about updating tax withholding forms can reach out to gradhelp@uchicago.edu. 

Assignment Notifications

All second-year and above PhD students receive an assignment notification letter in Autumn Quarter. First-year PhD students in a Fellowship Stipend primary funding position may not receive an assignment letter, but can refer to their offer of admission letter and should direct any questions to their department’s Student Affairs Administrator or the PSD Dean of Students Office. 

Students will only receive a new assignment notification letter in any quarter where they are assigned a different primary funding position than the prior quarter (e.g. TA in Autumn, RA in Winter) or are assigned another TA position. Assignment letters are generally issued two weeks prior to the start of the quarter for TA, RA, and Fellowship Stipend primary funding positions. 

Example 1: Student in RA position in Autumn, Winter, Spring, and Summer - receives one assignment notification in Autumn

Example 2: Student in TA position in Autumn and Winter, RA position in Spring and Summer - receives an assignment notification in Autumn (TA assignment), Winter (TA assignment 2), Spring (RA assignment), no letter in Summer

Tax Information 

Students should review their assignment letters to determine whether their funding position is a wage or non-wage based position. Please note: some students will have a hybrid of wage and non-wage funding based on the source of their funding. Taxes may be withheld from a portion of the student's gross pay in these situations. 

Tax treatment depends on whether an individual is a resident for tax purposes. International students can review information to help them determine whether they are a resident or non-resident for tax purposes. 

Funding Type Tax Treatment
Fellowship stipend

Residents for tax purposes (including US citizens and permanent residents): this is self-reported income. Students will not receive a tax document reflecting their stipend fellowship income. Students should plan to make quarterly estimated tax payments. 

Non-residents for tax purposes: fellowship stipend income is reported on the 1042-S. Tatx withholding at a rate of 14% (as of 2025) will be applied to fellowship stipend payments unless the student is eligible for and claims tax treaty benefits. 
Teaching Assistant, Research Assistant, Lecturer (Pedagogical or Research Training Assignments) Income for all wage positions will be reported on a W-2 tax form. These forms are released no later than January 31 for the previous tax year. 
Supplemental positions Students should review their assignment notifications to determine whether their position is wage or non-wage based income.

Additional details about taxes for graduate students are available online.