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Finance

Graduate Student Appointments

Students are appointed by their academic department as needed on behalf of faculty and/or principal investigators (PIs). The appointment process is initiated by the department and requires the approvals at the program level as well as by the AS&E GEPA office. Every graduate student appointment is categorized with a code that is associated with the effort appropriate to the appointment.

Job Code Categories Link to section

Job categories are categorized by whether or not the position is academically required for your specific program of study. The category that you are appointed to may have tax implications that you should be aware of. Please refer to your graduate coordinator for guidance on your specific appointment.

Note that while your graduate coordinator can provide information about your job category, University of Rochester employees should not be considered tax professionals and are not authorized to provide you with tax advice.

Your job category can be found under your job title on your paystub (available in HRMS). If you have additional questions about your job category, you may also consult your graduate coordinator or the staff responsible for hiring you if you have an add-on position in another department.

Academically required codes:

  • Grad Fellowship/Stipend: 6000
  • Grad Assistantship: 6002

Academically required job categories are considered taxable income but are not considered “earned income” and thus do not count toward an earned income tax credit. A W-2 will not be issued for this type of payment; however, you will receive a letter in January that states your yearly payments for tax purposes.

It should be noted that these job categories are not taxed at the time of payment and require the student to make estimated quarterly tax payments. For information on how to estimate your quarterly tax payments see the provost’s guide.

Other tax implications may result from this type of appointment, so please make sure to consult a tax professional.

International students may contact the International Services Office (ISO) for tax guidance that is provided as part of the international student fee.

Non-academically required codes:

  • Grad Assistant-Add On: 6004
  • Grad Teaching Assistant Add On: 6006

Nonacademically required appointments are considered taxable income, have tax withheld at the time of payment, and are considered earned income. A W-2 will be issued for these payments. Please note that you must have an I-9 on file with the University for these types of appointments.

Teaching Assistantship (TA) Link to section

You may have some teaching responsibilities during the course of your degree program, regardless of how you are supported financially. Teaching experience deepens and enriches your understanding of the discipline and provides invaluable professional training and is, therefore, considered to be a vital component of any degree program. Some teaching assistantships may be academically required due to the vital nature of the experience, while others may be considered an add-on position and be nonacademically required. Your program can provide you with specific information about the amount and nature of teaching required for your program.

Distributions of Paychecks Link to section

All University of Rochester faculty, staff, and students paid through payroll are encouraged to use direct deposit. Employees may set up and/or adjust accounts online via the University of Rochester HRMS Employee Self Service or may submit a hard copy direct deposit request to the Payroll Office. When submitting hard copy, a voided check or deposit statement must be supplied in order for the Payroll Office to process the request. If you have questions about the status of your paycheck, contact your graduate coordinator.

For additional information visit the payroll website.