The Combined Award Policy is also known as the 130% Rule. Ph.D. students and M.D./Ph.D. students (during their GSBS years), may be eligible for the 130% Rule under the following conditions:
- If a student applies to a funding agency outside the university and is awarded a fellowship under their name, the student may receive combined compensation from the outside fellowship and their GRA, up to 130% of the standard GSBS stipend level (or maximum of $41,600/year)
- Advisor or department has the discretion of providing combined compensation at the standard GSBS stipend level ($32,000/year), or up to 130% of that level ($41,600/year), during the duration of the student's fellowship. Documentation must be provided (e.g. Notice of Grant Award)
- If the amount of the outside fellowship is, by itself, greater than the 130% limit, the student is permitted to accept and use the fellowship regardless of the amount provided. In such a case, the student may not hold a GRA nor may the outside fellowship be supplemented by other funds.
- At the end of the outside fellowship, the student's stipend must return to the GSBS stipend level of $32,000/year.
Examples:
- A student qualifies for the 130% Rule if the grant is an outside fellowship awarded directly to and under their name. Some examples: National Institutes of Health (NIH) F grant, National Science Foundation (NSF), American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM).
- A student does not qualify for the 130% Rule if the grant award is not directly under their name. Some examples: Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) and NIH training grants awarded to the institution, GSBS internal fellowships.
International students who are not U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents are restricted, by the term of their visas, to salaried appointments that may not in total exceed 50% of a full-time equivalent position. Accordingly, if an international student holds a 50% GRA appointment and is eligible for additional support, that support must be in a form (such as fellowship stipend) that does not increase the student's salaried level of effort to more than 50%.