New Grads: Financial Matters
California Residency
All US citizens and permanent residents who are not officially recognized as California residents for tuition purposes will need to establish California residency before the start of their second year of graduate studies. You’ll need to begin the process of establishing California residency as soon as you arrive. To establish residency, you’ll need to prove that you have lived and remained in California for at least one year. To do this, some things you’ll need to do are: open a bank account, use your credit and debit cards, collect documents, get a California driver’s license, update your local and permanent address in the UC system, and register to vote. For more details, please visit the Residency Office website. Remember that we expect all U.S. citizens and permanent residents to become legal residents of the State of California by the beginning of their second year. There will be a California Residency workshop as a part of Graduate Division’s New Graduate Student Orientation (NGSO).
Tax e-mail for International Students
If you are an international student in the US receiving a fellowship, you will receive an e-mail from support@online-tax.net about your GLACIER form and proper tax withholding. Since you must respond within 10 days of receiving it, we encourage you to add the above e-mail address to your contacts and to check your spam folder.
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
US citizens and permanent residents should submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by June 15. It does not matter that the deadline has passed. This form is required for certain types of financial support.
Graduate Student Instructors (GSI)
Any student who is a GSI and is teaching for the first time at Berkeley is required to take and pass either EE 375 or CS 375. These courses provide more information on being a GSI and should be taken during the semester in which you are first teaching. You register for your course through CalCentral. When you become a GSI, you must also go to 199M Cory Hall (on the mezzanine level) as soon as possible to complete GSI payroll paperwork. This paperwork triggers your GSI fee remission.
International GSIs
If you are an incoming student who stated on your application that English is not your native language and you do not have an undergraduate degree from a U.S. institution, please submit a language proficiency screening questionnaire by July 15. Language proficiency is a requirement for all GSIs. International GSIs are also encouraged to enroll in the Language Proficiency Program offered through the GSI Teaching and Resource Center in 301 Sproul Hall.