Faculty & Staff

Working with Graduate Students

Support for Graduate Students

Graduate financial support is largely controlled and administered by academic departments and programs. The department decides who receives financial support, and at what level the graduate student will be supported. Departments use the Graduate Financial Support (GFS) system to deliver funds to students.

When support from the academic departments is insufficient or not available, graduate students can turn to the Financial Aid Office for federal student loans. When students are receiving both federal funding through the Financial Aid Office and support through their department as recorded in GFS, staff in the Financial Aid Office are charged with keeping the data in synch. Additional support entered in GFS can affect the student’s eligibility for federal student loans.

Special Funding Options

Please direct graduate students experiencing financial difficulty to the Emergency Funding section on the FAO website. We have two grant funds available. Emergency Grant-In-Aid funds can assist students with unexpected, one-time expenses (e.g., medical/dental bills). The Graduate Student Aid Fund is also available to help students who are experiencing difficulties paying required university fees (e.g., Campus Health Service Fee and Cardinal Care Insurance). Completed application forms for both programs should be faxed to the Financial Aid Office at (650) 725-0540.

Updated on February 20, 2015 2:29 PM