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Funding

PhD

Doctoral students enrolled in our programs normally complete their degrees within 5 years and receive full financial support for the duration of their graduate studies if they remain in good academic standing, make satisfactory academic progress towards the degree, and perform satisfactorily in their assistantship responsibilities.

This financial support is provided through a variety of sources including, Cornell Fellowships, external fellowships, and teaching and graduate research assistantships. Students in our program regularly apply for and receive external fellowships and grants. Cornell will supplement qualified external awards.

Failure to make timely, satisfactory academic progress may result in the loss of good academic standing, funding, and/or eligibility for future opportunities.

Students appointed to assistantships are subject to the terms of the CGSU‑UE Collective Bargaining Agreement. Students appointed to fellowships are not included in the bargaining unit and therefore not represented by the union.

MS

ME MS students generally do not receive financial support and are not typically appointed to graduate research assistantships.  In rare instances, an MS student may be appointed to a teaching assistantship, but this is not guaranteed.

Assistantships

Graduate School policies about assistantships are available here: https://policy.cornell.edu/policy-library/graduate-student-assistantships

  • TAs and GRAs are on the university calendar and not the academic calendar (see Vacation and Time Off for further details)
  • The expected maximum hours per week on TA/GRA duties is 20 (for GRAs, this represents time on activities not directly contributing to academic progress in the degree program)
  • The expected mean hours per week on TA/GRA duties is 15

Each student is responsible for tracking their own time and reporting to their supervisor any instances of exceeding the weekly maximum time or repeated instances of exceeding the weekly mean time spent on TA and non-academic GRA activities.  If a student is unable to resolve time overruns with their direct supervisor, they are encouraged to reach out to their DGS/ADGA/GFA.

Fellowships

Internal and external fellowships can provide students with advisor-independent means of supporting their degree program.  Many such fellowships are also highly prestigious and are considered favorably by potential employers (especially in academia).  All eligible students are strongly encouraged to consult with their advisors about applying to relevant fellowship opportunities. 

If a student receives an external fellowship or grant, the GFA must be notified as soon as possible so appropriate arrangements can be made.

The AE, ME, and TAM field rules make absolutely no distinction regarding student appointment types.  All field rules apply equally to all students in all terms, regardless of whether they are serving as a TA, GRA, or are funded via a fellowship. 

The CGSU‑UE Collective Bargaining Agreement applies only to members of the bargaining unit, which, according to Article 2 of the agreement, explicitly excludes fellows.  However, multiple provisions of the agreement apply to all students in our graduate fields.  These are:

  • All decisions about academic standing and dismissal from a degree program for all students will follow the procedures and policies established in the field rules and this handbook.
  • All fellows who receive funding top-offs to augment their fellowship may request that their advisor provide the identity of the top-off funding source. Such requests will not be unreasonably denied.
  • The fields will not discriminate against any student on the basis of any of the protected categories enumerated under University Policy 6.4 (Prohibited Bias, Discrimination, Harassment and Sexual and Related Misconduct) and any categories added to this policy in the future.  Although discrimination based on caste is not currently a protected status under applicable law and/or University policy, the fields will apply the same policies and procedures to complaints from students based on caste discrimination as to any other discrimination complaints.
  • The fields shall not use any processes to retaliate against a student for exercising their academic freedoms and freedoms of expression so long as these are consistent with field and university rules and policies. 
  • All students are equivalently governed by Student Code of Conduct and by the procedures and policies of the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards (OSCCS). 
  • All students may seek support from the Cornell Office of Civil Rights.
  • All students may utilize the Graduate School’s grievance procedure.  See Accountability and Due Process for additional information.
  • All students may seek academic accommodations via Cornell’s Student Disability Services.
  • The fields will provide an inclusive, non-hostile work environment free from discrimination and harassment for all students.
  • The fields will provide a safe, inclusive, and equitable environment for all students regardless of visa status, immigration status, or place of origin.
  • All students shall be provided with a safe workspace and shall not be required to work in conditions that pose a threat to their physical or mental health or safety.  All students shall report conditions they reasonably believe to be hazardous as soon as reasonably possible upon the discovery of such condition/incident to their immediate supervisor or through the University’s Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) department. All students shall report immediate or imminent danger (e.g., gas leak, fire alarm, broken fume hood) to their immediate supervisor or EHS. If an immediate or imminent danger is found, students may be reassigned to an alternate work location as an interim resolution.
  • In the event that a student chooses to leave a research group, or a special committee chair resigns from a student’s committee, the student will have until the end of the current semester to re-form their committee if the committee is dissolved before the end of the fifth week of the semester; or until the end of the following academic year semester if the committee is dissolved after the end of the fifth week of the semester. The fields will not proactively notify external fellowship funding agencies about changes in students’ committees, except in cases where this is explicitly required by the terms of the fellowship.
  • The fields shall provide all students with accessible offices, workspaces, desk spaces, and facilities necessary to perform their work, as determined by each student’s advisor. If a student’s workspace is changed or reassigned, the student will be provided with notice of the reason for the reassignment or change and their new work location thirty days prior to their workspace change. In circumstances where it is not possible to provide thirty days’ notice, the student will be provided notice as soon as possible under the circumstances.  In cases of students leaving a research group (voluntarily or involuntarily), it is field policy to reassign their workspace immediately in cases where the current workspace is intended for use by members of the former research group only. 
  • All students may make good faith requests for recurring or standing remote work arrangements within the United States with their advisor.  Approval of such requests shall be in the sole discretion of the advisor but considered in good faith.
  • All students are governed by the University’s Inventions and Related Property Rights Policy (Policy 1.5), Copyright Policy (Policy 4.15) Research Data Management, Retention and Sharing Policy (Policy 4.21), and Research Integrity Policy (Policy 1.2) (collectively “the University’s Intellectual Property Policies”) and shall have the same intellectual property rights as faculty and staff employed by the University with respect to inventions, copyrightable materials, and other intellectual property created as part of their degree program. 
  • Authorship on publications and presentations stemming in part or whole from the work of one or more students shall justly reflect the contributions of those students (for example, as defined by the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) or similar sources). Authorship shall be awarded consistent with any written agreement that may have been signed by all those performing the work and the requirements for authorship of the journal to which the manuscript is submitted. If the journal does not have specific requirements, the requirements given by an independent body acceptable to the journal (for example, the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) or similar body) shall be applied.
  • Any student who contributes significantly to an invention shall be included on relevant patents and inventorship to the extent permitted under the University’s Intellectual Property Policies.
  • All students may make use of the dispute resolution processes set forth in the University’s Intellectual Property policies in cases where disputes regarding the licensing, distribution, or ownership of any intellectual property may arise. 
  • No student will ever be retaliated against for reporting academic dishonesty of others.
  • All students shall be entitled to request a meeting with their advisors and special committees no less than once per semester to discuss degree program progress and expectations. Such requests shall not be unreasonably denied.
  • Students and advisors are encouraged to have open, constructive, and bi-directional feedback. Advisors shall not retaliate against students for engaging in the feedback process.
  • The fields will apply the same Vacation and Time Off policies to all students. See Vacation and Time Off for more information.
  • All students are governed equivalently by University Policy 1.6 (Graduate and Professional Student Parental Accommodation). See Students with Families for more details.