Tuition Support

The North Carolina Legislature, the University, the Graduate School and the Department of Economics are all involved in the provision of tuition support and the requirements for eligibility. In particular, the North Carolina Legislature provides the required exemption for the out-of-state portion of the tuition while the University employer pays the in-state portion of the tuition.

Graduate School and University Requirements for Tuition Support

The University limits tuition support to 10 semesters. Students may receive tuition support through more than one department but the total tuition support is limited to at most 10 semesters.

Students must be receiving a stipend as a University fellowship student, a teaching assistant, or a research assistant in order to be eligible for tuition support. Each year, the Graduate School sets the minimum stipend required for tuition support eligibility, and the standard departmental stipend is at least the minimum.

Students who receive tuition support from any unit of the University may be responsible for tuition charges if they drop a course after the census date, which is usually the 10th class day of the semester and which is announced on the registrar’s calendar. The University has four graduate tuition levels corresponding to the number of hours of class enrollment: 0-2.9 hours, 3-5.9 hours, 6-8.9 hours, and 9 or greater. If a graduate student who is receiving tuition support from any unit of the University drops a course after the census date and thereby falls to a lower tuition level, then the Graduate School may hold the student responsible for part of the tuition. For both tuition and for academic reasons, students should talk with the Director of Graduate Studies before dropping or switching courses at any time during the semester. When students need to drop courses for medical reasons, there may be exceptions to the tuition rule. Please consult with the DGS. More details are available at http://gradschool.unc.edu/pdf/tuition_drop_dates.pdf.

Departmental Requirements for Tuition Support

Students must be making good academic progress and fulfilling their teaching and research assistant duties in order to be considered for financial support, including tuition support. (Note that the Graduate School must approve all tuition support so the correct wording is that the Department recommends to the Graduate School that a student be given tuition support.) Receiving a stipend does not guarantee tuition support but most (>95%) of the students on departmental support also receive tuition support.