Stanford
Student Services

Stipends & Cash Advances

Department Stipends

Stipends are funds given to you if you meet strict eligibility requirements and are approved and issued by academic departments and/or financial aid offices. Stipends are not loans

  • Stipends may go directly to you or be applied to pay certain educational expenses on your university bill.
  • Stipends are only processed to your student account. Exceptions are made for Federal Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS Loans).
  • Stipends are available on or after the first day of classes if you are enrolled.

For eligibility requirements, you should contact your academic department advisor or Financial Aid Office. Undergraduate students can review the resources described by Undergraduate Research.  

Note: Due to certain federal student aid rules, some charges on the university bill may NOT be paid when financial aid is applied. In these cases, you may receive a stipend (disbursed to you as a refund) and still have a balance due. You will need to use your stipend refund to pay your charges directly. 

Graduate Cash Advance

A cash advance is a university resource available to you, as a graduate student, to assist you with expenses before your graduate financial support is posted to your student account and/or Tuition Assistantship (TA)/Resident Assistant(RA) salary is paid. 

The funds are intended to assist with living expenses, not to pay your university bill. Cash advances can be requested in increments of $1,000 to $6,000 every quarter.

Enrollment into direct deposit is required and the funds will arrive in your bank account generally within 3 business days.

Repayment 

Once requested, a cash advance charge will be posted to your university bill for repayment. No interest or processing fees will be charged and – in most cases – the cash advance is not taxable.

Repayment is due 45 days after you request the cash advance. The cash advance will be repaid automatically once your expected funding posts to your university account, or through payroll deduction (Housing & Fees or Pay All Charges options).

If your funding or salary is not provided, or is insufficient to repay the cash advance received, you must repay the full cash advance or any necessary difference by making a payment through mystudentbill.stanford.edu by the due date stated on the university bill. Late fees will apply to past-due charges. 

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for a cash advance, you must:

  • be an active graduate student in a degree program
  • be enrolled in courses if requesting a cash advance for the Summer term
  • be signed up for direct deposit with valid banking details
  • have no financial or enrollment hold
  • have not already received a cash advance for the term requested

Additionally, you will need to make the following attestations in the request process:

▢  I am expecting graduate financial support for the requested term
▢  I am fully responsible for repayment of the cash advance regardless of whether such financial support is provided
▢  I agree that any financial support I receive will be used to repay the cash advance
▢  Once I submit this request, I cannot make any changes

Request instructions

To request a Graduate Cash Advance:

  1. Log into Axess.
  2. Select the Cash Advance link in the Student Menu.
  3. Follow the stated instructions.

Students can view their submitted request(s) by clicking “View Cash Advance Request” under the “Other Financial” drop down menu in the Finances section of the Student page.

Dates when students can submit requests*

Beginning August 9, 2021, the due date for the Graduate Cash Advance will be 45 days from the transaction date regardless of your current bill due date.

Term Date Range
Autumn August 9, 2021 to November 30, 2021
Winter December 1, 2021 to February 28, 2022
Spring March 1, 2022 to April 30, 2022
Summer May 1, 2022 - July 31, 2022

*Dates subject to change

Mind Over Money Financial Literacy: Graduate Cash Advance vs. Payday Loans

A Graduate Cash Advance is not to be confused with a payday loan. A cash advance under this Stanford program is a bridge for student expenses to minimize issues related to the timing of expected financial support from the university. No interest or fees will be charged in requesting and receiving a graduate cash advance.

Conversely, payday lenders charge high interest rates for loans that are intended to be repaid with the borrowers’ next paycheck. Generally, financial experts warn against using payday loans because borrowers can easily get trapped in a long-term cycle of debt and high costs.

Learn more about Stanford’s Mind Over Money financial wellness program.