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Eligibility

Funding and Employment Eligibility

You must be a current UC graduate student to receive fellowship support and/or to be employed as a teaching assistant or graduate student researcher.

Academic Standards for Funding Eligibility for UC Merced graduate students

The academic standards for graduate student funding eligibility are separate from the standards for satisfactory academic progress. The information below has been extracted from the UC Merced Graduate Policies & Procedures Handbook and the Graduate Division website, and is provided for your convenience.

Please note:

  • Your graduate group might have additional academic requirements — check your policies.
  • It is your responsibility to determine which requirements, procedures and deadlines apply to you.

Academic Standards for Funding Eligibility

No student is permitted to begin an appointment or receive fellowship support who has not met all of the applicable academic criteria as listed below.
 
For incoming graduate students:
  • Enrollment in at least 12 units throughout the first semester
  • A cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher in the most recently earned degree

For continuing graduate students (all conditions must be met):

  • Satisfactory academic progress toward the degree objective
  • Enrollment in at least 12 units throughout the current semester (i.e., the academic semester in which the teaching and/or researcher appointment occurs).
  • Combined campus-wide employment of 49.9 percent time or less during any academic semester
  • During each of the two most recent semesters of enrollment:
    • Completion of 8 units or more of upper division or graduate level credit courses.
    • A minimum letter grade of "B" or "S" in all courses completed.
  • No more than two incomplete (I) grades still on record. A cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher in those courses where a letter grade (A through F) was received.
  • Total teaching assistant appointments cannot exceed 14 semesters

Requesting Employment and Funding Exceptions

Graduate students who do not meet one or more of the academic criterion for funding eligibility and wish to work or receive a fellowship must obtain approval from the hiring/sponsoring unit and the graduate dean. There is no guarantee that a request for exception will be approved.

  • Complete an Employment Exception Request form.
  • Attach a brief plan for improvement, if applicable. (This can usually be approximately one page in length, but can be longer or shorter depending on the situation.)
  • Also attach a statement of support from your faculty advisor.
  • Obtain signatures from your faculty advisor and graduate group chair.
  • Submit the form to the School of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts (SSHA) graduate program staff.

Employment Verification (I-9)

In addition to meeting the academic standards for funding eligibility, if you are going to be employed, the Academic Personnel Office will verify your work authorization as required by the Federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.

This requires that you present the originals of the appropriate documents to your school no later than the first day of employment service on this campus so that the 1-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification form) can be completed.

Find more information about the documents required for verification online.

Last Updated: April 2023