Currently Funded Students
Congratulations, you’ve received funding support for your graduate degree! The information on this page will help you understand your benefits, rights, and the details associated with processing your assistantship, scholarship, or fellowship paperwork.
University of Maine Graduate Workers Union
your benefits explained
The standard minimum stipend for Academic Year 2026-27 is $21,000 for master’s students and $23,500 for doctoral students, for a 9-month, 20 hour/week appointment. Appointments of different lengths and/or hours per week must offer stipends that are prorated in proportion to these minimums or higher.
For Graduate Assistants, stipends are paid bi-weekly. For fellows, stipends are issued monthly, however, the date may vary. There is no specific minimum stipend amount for fellowships.
For domestic students, taxes will not be withheld from your monthly stipend check as some or all of your fellowship stipend may be taxable as income. International students may have taxes withheld unless treaty tax benefits apply to them. Refer to the IRS publication for details. You will not receive a W-2 or 1099-MISC at the end of the year from the University of Maine. If you would like a listing of your stipend payments for the year, please contact Ally Davis (allyson.davis@maine.edu).
For assistantships: A 9 month, 20 hour/week appointment covers 9 credits for fall, 9 credits for spring, and 6 credits for summer. If the appointment is less than 20 hours, these amounts are prorated accordingly. A one semester appointment would need to cover 3 credits in the summer. Example: A fall only appointment would need to cover 9 credits for fall and 3 for summer.
Tuition waivers will not cover courses taken as audit. Courses dropped after the official drop period for a given semester will not be covered by an assistantship, with the tuition becoming the responsibility of the student.
Student activity or technology fees are typically not covered in assistantships, fellowships, or scholarships, thus becoming the responsibility of the student to pay. A payment plan can be set up with Student Financial Services for those on an assistantship, only after the appointment form has been processed by the Graduate School.
Graduate assistantships cover a minimum of 65% of the premium for the GA or international health insurance plan offered by Gallagher Student Health. They also cover 50% of the premium for up to one dependent, if applicable. 50% of the dental plan offered by UMS Benefits is also covered. Vision insurance is available for GAs, but assistantships do not cover any portion of the premium.
Fellows are eligible for the same health insurance plan as grad assistants, but they are not eligible for dental or vision insurance. Fellowships usually cover at least 50% of the health insurance premium.
Scholarships typically do not cover health insurance. More information is available in the FAQ section below.
assistantships & Fellowships
If you’ve been offered an assistantship or fellowship, here are the steps you need to complete to ensure the timely processing of your appointment. Note: this timeline will vary depending on the time of year you are appointed.
First, your department will send you an offer via Smartsheet for your assistantship. You will electronically “accept” via email. Next, at least 30 days before you begin work, your department must send you a formal appointment letter. Once you’ve reviewed it, you will sign it and return it to them.
You must be enrolled full-time in order to be appointed on an assistantship or a fellowship. This typically means 6 or more credits for fall and spring semesters, and 1 in the summer. For students who have applied for graduation or are in PhD candidacy, only 1 credit is required per semester.
You must do this after you have enrolled in courses to avoid the $50-per-month late fee on your student bill. Go to the Bursar’s Office website for step-by-step instructions. Fall tuition bills are generated in early July.
If the appointment form has not been received by the Graduate School by the time the tuition bills for fall have been generated, entering your anticipated resources will alert the Bursar’s Office of your pending award.
The appointing unit must complete and send the Graduate Assistant Appointment Form or Graduate Fellow Appointment Form to the Graduate School for processing as early as possible, prior to the start of the semester. Follow up with your supervisor to be sure this form has been prepared and sent to the Graduate School for processing.
International students will automatically be charged for the international health insurance plan. Go to the Office of International Programs website for additional information on waiving or enrolling in health insurance.
Students on an assistantship or fellowship are only eligible for the GA/TA/RA & Fellows health insurance plan. You will receive more information once the appointment form has been processed.
Once the appointment form has been processed by Graduate School you will receive an email to your @maine.edu account from our staff with further insurance instructions.
Students interested in setting up a payment plan may do so through the Bursar’s Office.
Graduate assistants are eligible for the Graduate Worker parking pass and fellows are eligible for a Graduate Fellow parking pass. You will be able to get the parking pass once the appointment form has been processed by the Graduate School.
scholarships
If you’ve been awarded a scholarship, here are the steps you need to complete to ensure the timely processing of your award.
Assuming you’ve received an official offer for your award, your first step is to accept. Follow up with the hiring or awarding unit if you have not received an award letter.
You must be enrolled in order to receive university funding, refer to the award letter for a minimum credit requirement. If you’ve received a scholarship through the Graduate School, once you accept your award our office staff will be sure to update MaineStreet to cover the tuition.
Students interested in setting up a payment plan may do so through the Bursar’s Office.
You must do this after you have enrolled in courses to avoid the $50-per-month late fee on your student bill. Go to the Bursar’s Office website for step-by-step instructions.
Workplace Policies
Work Schedule
Graduate assistants (TA/RA/GA) usually work 20 hours per week. Checks are issued on a bi-weekly schedule.
Domestic GAs may work additional hours, if applicable, with 30 hours per week during the school year and 40 hours per week during school breaks.
International GAs are generally limited to working 20 hours per week while class is in session and 40 hours during breaks.
Sick, Vacation, Holiday Policies
Please refer to the Graduate Workers Union Contract (Article 23) for the sick and vacation time policies.
Required Training for Student Employees
Please refer to the Office of Student Employment for standard annual training. Additional training may be required depending on the type of position; confer with your supervisor for more information.
Frequently Asked Questions
Employment Questions
Tax forms and direct deposit information can be completed in MaineStreet Self-Service once the appointment form has been processed fully by the Graduate School and Payroll offices.
Once your appointment form is completed and processed by payroll, you will receive an email confirming that your job is activated in MaineStreet and outlining the next required steps. You will then complete the first portion of the online I-9 via MaineStreet > Employee Self-Service > Personal Details.
When the first portion of your I-9 is completed AND the job is activated in MaineStreet, you will then go in person to the Office of Student Employment in Wingate Hall with your documents so that they can verify and complete the second portion of the I-9.
More information can be found on the Student Employment website.
Graduate assistants are not normally allowed to be employed outside the University of Maine without permission from their graduate program and the Graduate School.
Student Bill Questions
Tuition and insurance benefits are applied in MaineStreet when the appointment form has been processed by the Graduate School.
No. You will be responsible for paying the tuition for any courses dropped after the official drop period for that given semester unless extenuating circumstances exist. Contact our office if you have any questions.
International students are charged insurance when they enroll in full-time courses for Fall.
GA insurance is added later once the Grad School has processed an appointment form.
The voluntary insurance is not billed through MaineStreet and is not an automatic charge for students.
Graduate assistantships cover a minimum of 65% of the premium for the GA or international health insurance plan offered by Gallagher Student Health. They also cover 50% of the premium for up to one dependent, if applicable. 50% of the dental plan offered by UMS Benefits is also covered. Vision insurance is available for GAs, but assistantships do not cover any portion of the premium.
The premium for your health insurance is added to your Mainestreet bill, and the benefit amount is applied when your appointment form is processed. The premium for your dental and vision insurance is subtracted from your bi-weekly checks.
Contact Allyson Davis at allyson.davis@maine.edu.
Health INsurance Questions
Insurance is not required for grad students unless they are:
- Grad Assistants, GAs, TAs, or RAs
- Graduate Fellows or
- International students
Please see this page on the Student Financial Services website for updated health insurance premium costs.
International grad students are charged the insurance premium in MaineStreet when they enroll for 6 or more Fall credits. Enrollment or waiver should be completed online at the Gallagher Health Insurance site. The Office of International Programs can help with questions.
Domestic graduate students NOT on a GA or Fellowship can enroll in the voluntary plan online through Gallagher Health.
Fall course enrollment is necessary to prove eligibility.
Domestic Graduate Assistants or Fellows are charged the GA/Intl insurance in the MaineStreet student bill when their appointment form is processed by the Grad School. An email with instructions and the link to Gallagher Health Insurance will be sent to the student.
Enrollment or waiver can only happen 24-48 hours AFTER the appointment paperwork has been processed by Grad School staff. The Bursar’s office will upload the GA/Fellow student data to the Gallagher site (daily), so the student will be active to enroll or waive.
YES, grad assistants and international students have until September 15, to waive the UMaine plan online at the Gallagher Insurance site. If they do not waive out by then, they will be automatically enrolled and billed for the insurance.
Once the waiver has been completed online, it can take 24-48 hours to remove the premium charge on the MaineStreet student bill.
If GA’s chose to waive out of any of the plans because of their own health insurance, the waiver option will appear in a few days. Once the student applies for the waiver, they should receive an email stating that the waiver has been submitted and/or processed. Students should look out for an email from notifications@gallagherstudent.com.
Voluntary SHIP does not allow dependent enrollment, but the GA/International plan does. Students should complete the enrollment online after they have enrolled themselves. GA plan will cover dependents and domestic partners.
Both Voluntary SHIP and GA/International plans begin August 1, and end July 31, each year.
Yes, but only if they are going to be a December graduate. You must apply for graduation on Mainestreet and then contact Allyson Davis (allyson.davis@maine.edu) to request fall-only enrollment.
UnitedHealthcare Student Resources
P.O. Box 809025, Dallas, TX 75380-9025
1-866-948-8472 | customerservice@uhcsr.com | www.uhcsr.com
Contact Ally Davis (allyson.davis@maine.edu).
