Dear 1st Yr PhD Students,

As your period of support on the Training Grant comes to an end, you’ll need to be aware of some details.

As you come off the training grant, you will no longer be a “fellow”. Instead, you will be an RA, GA or TA. Please check your status with your Grad Program Coordinator.

Your stipend for 2008-2009 will continue to be $26,000, and the stipend paperwork will be handled by your Graduate Program coordinator and/or PI, from whom you can get further details. If you apply for an individual fellowship and it gets funded, you may be eligible for a 10% salary bonus increase during your PhD years. If the fellowship continues beyond the re-entry into the 3rd MD year, then the fellow will be awarded a 10% Dean's bonus to his / her stipend for as long as the fellowship is active.

For the remainder of your PhD years, the following will apply:

Tuition - will be covered by the PhD Program Grad School tuition scholarship and PI
Fees - students are responsible for their fees
Health Ins. - part of fringe benefit package as TA, GA or RA.
Stipend - paid by advisor

Please make contact with your Graduate Program Coordinator well in advance to arrange being transferred from the training grant to your advisor's funding and to enroll in the RF Graduate School health insurance or CSHL / BNL Ins. plan.

In order to continue and to avoid a lapse in your stipend, Human Resources requires all forms to be filled out and be in payroll six to four weeks prior to your new appointment date. Please be aware that once you come off a training grant, your status changes from a fellow to employee and your stipend will be taxed (while you were on the Training grant, taxes were not being taken from your paycheck; please be prepared to see a slight decrease in your paycheck).

Also:
NIH requires all MSTP students who are coming off of the training grant to fill out an NIH Termination form (see attached NRSA Termination Notice Form; fill in Sections 1, 4 (last 4 digits of your social security number), 5, 8, 9a, 9b, 9c, 10a, 10b, 11, and sign section 12). I will fill out the other sections. Please do not fill in the date. Return the form with your original signature to my office (if I'm not there, you can slide it under the door).

- Note that in Section 8, NIH requires a short paragraph of the training received and research undertaken during your fellowship.

- Per NIH & Grants Management: The original NIH Termination Form must be submitted by the MSTP Office to the Grants Management Department on the business day following your appointment end date. I will forward you an e-mail listing your 2008 / 2009 end date.

Please ask if you have questions!

"Version: August 26, 2008. This version supersedes all previous versions."