Funding: Fellowships & Graduate Assistantships

Ph.D. students typically receive an early fellowship for the first year of study and an advanced fellowship to complete their dissertation, usually in the fifth year.

To ensure students receive their stipend payments in a timely fashion, they must be enrolled full-time the Friday prior to the first day of class each semester. Students may continue to add and drop classes after this deadline.

International students must complete their Immigration Verification Status with the Office of International Services before they can register for classes. They also need to set up a GLACIER account for tax purposes.

For information on when USC Financial Aid disburses stipend payments, students should consult the stipend calendars:

Domestic Student Stipend Calendar
International Student Stipend Calendar

Domestic students and permanent residents will not receive a W-2 while on fellowship, but instead will receive a 1098-T form.  Students should consult with the IRS to determine if they need to submit quarterly estimated taxes on their fellowship stipend.

Tips for Stipends Payments

• To receive stipend payments faster, sign up for Direct Deposit in e.Pay through the myUSC portal.
• For those receiving paper checks, regularly update your address information. Domestic students and permanent residents should do this through the myUSC portal at ExperienceUSC; international students should do this through Workday.
• Report stipend errors as soon as possible. USC processes missing stipend reports weekly according to above stipend calendars.

In the second, third, and fourth years, Ph.D. students usually receive Graduate Assistantships as Teaching Assistants, Graders, or Research Assistants.

As Ph.D. students are expected to prioritize their degree progress, these appointments expect a work commitment of 10 hours per week minimum but cannot exceed 20 hours per week on average.

Re-appointment is contingent upon departmental need, successful performance of GA duties, and satisfactory academic progress toward the degree.

For specific guidelines on GA responsibilities and expected professor/GA conduct (among other topics), please consult the Handbook for TAs, RAs, and ALs.

GAs must be set up in Workday and make an appointment with Payroll Services to present the appropriate I-9 documents within three business days of their official hire date. Domestic students and permanent residents will receive a W-2 for tax purposes; international students must update their GLACIER account annually.

Students on Graduate Assistantships are paid monthly according to the Payroll schedule.

Teaching Assistants

All students hired as Teaching Assistants must enroll in POIR 593 in their first semester of teaching.

For international students whose native language is not English, an offer of a TAship is contingent upon taking the International Teaching Assistant (ITA) Oral Exam administered by USC’s American Language Institute and passing with at least a 5.0. This test must be taken no later than the first day of classes.

Each year, the POIR Graduate Program releases a call for applications to current POIR graduate students available funding opportunities at that time. Available fellowships and scholarships may fluctuate year to year. For the AY 2025-2026, calls for proposals will be announced in October 2025 and in late Spring of 2026. More details will be announced to current students in early October 2025.

USC offers several internal fellowships through the USC Graduate School. These include the Dissertation Completion Fellowship, the Endowed Fellowship, and other research and summer writing fellowships. Please consult with the Graduate Studies Director and/or staff for more information. Calls for applications will be announced on the POIR listserv.