Graduate Program

Fees and Financial Aid Information

for International Applicants



Please note: the figures quoted below reflect information available at the time this document was prepared. The information provided below is not meant to be accurate and should be taken only as an indication of the actual figures.



WHAT ARE MY CHANCES FOR ADMISSION AND/OR FINANCIAL AID?
    It will depend on how each applicant’s record compares with those of many other applicants. It is therefore impossible to estimate an individual’s chances until all applications have been received and examined.



ESTIMATED COST PER YEAR FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
    For an international student the estimated cost per year at UC Davis is $32,500 (thirty-two thousand five hundred dollars). This sum covers fees, tuition (see detailed information below) and living expenses.
    Usually, the most financial assistance a new international student is likely to receive is a Teaching Assistantship ("TAship"). However, since TAships do not provide full funding, International students offered a TAship still have to incur costs of $12,621.97 per year: see below).



IN-STATE FEES
All graduate students (international and domestic) must pay "In-State Fees".  Per Quarter, the In-State Fees are:

Fall 2003: $1,833
Winter 2004: $1,833
Spring 2004: $1,831

TOTAL In-State Fees = $5,497 for the 2003-04 academic year.
(In-State Fees are reduced for Teaching Assistants; see further information below.)



NON-RESIDENT TUITION FEE
In addition to In-State Fees, international students (and domestic students who are not California residents) must pay the "Non-Resident Tuition Fee":
Per Quarter, the Non-Resident Tuition Fee is:

Fall 2003: $3,711
Winter 2004: $3,711
Spring 2004: $3,710

TOTAL Non-Resident Tuition Fee = $11,132 for the 2003-04 academic year.


TOTAL FEES PER YEAR FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS 


WHO ARE NOT TEACHING ASSISTANTS:   (In-State + Nonresident) = $16,629



TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIPS
    The Teaching Assistant salary for the 2003-2004 academic year is $14,145.03. It is paid monthly in 9 equal installments beginning November 1 ($1,571.67 per month). (Since each Quarter is 3 months, there are 3 payments per Quarter)
    Teaching Assistants are entitled to reduced In-State Fees (see fee information below).
In addition, international students (and domestic students who are not California residents) who are offered a TAship for the entire academic year at 50% time, are entitled to some funding towards the cost of moving to California (this amount varies, depending on mileage). This funding will be paid after arrival in Davis, sometime after the Fall Quarter begins. New student TA's moving to Davis from outside the U.S. usually receive an offer of about $440 towards the cost of moving to California.
    Usually about 50% of the new graduate students each year are offered a TAship (of about 190 applicants,  90 are admitted and, of those, about 25 enroll at UC Davis).

    TAship offers to International students whose mother tongue is not English are conditional on the student's being sufficiently proficient in English. Proficiency is ascertained according to the following rules.
In accordance with University policy, international students whose mother tongue is not English are required to take the SPEAK test (administered by UCDavis) as soon as they arrive in Davis. A score of 50 is considered to be the minimum acceptable (in the past, students who scored less than 50 encountered serious communication problems and in some cases their TAship had to be revoked). In addition,  the following applies. (1) Every international student who intends to be a TA, irrespective of his/her SPEAK test score, has to give a 15 minute presentation  in the presence of  the Graduate Studies Committee chair and any students and faculty who might wish to attend. (2)  If the TAship in question is for Winter or Spring, the presentation will take place in the Fall Quarter during a meeting of Ecn 397. If the TAship is for Fall Quarter and the student being considered is not a newly admitted student, then the presentation will take place in the preceding Spring Quarter. If the TAship is for Fall Quarter and the student being considered is a newly admitted student, the presentation will take place at the time when Math Camp begins. (3)  After the presentation the GSC chair will consult with  those who attended and make a recommendation to the Chair of the Department.  If the recommendation is that the student not be appointed as a TA until he/she can demonstrate improved communication abilities, the student can appeal to the Department Chair. In this case the Department Chair will arrange for another presentation by the student, attended by the Chair and at least one other faculty member and at least one student.  This second presentation will take place within 10 days of the first presentation.  After the second presentation the Department Chair will make  a decision in consultation with those who attended.



REDUCED "IN-STATE FEES" FOR TEACHING ASSISTANTS
Teaching Assistants are entitled to a discount ("partial fee remission") on In-State Fees of $5,293 per year ($1,765 per quarter):
Per Quarter, the IN-STATE FEES FOR TEACHING ASSISTANTS are:

Fall 2003; $68.00
Winter 2004: $68.00
Spring 2004: $68.00

TOTAL In-State Fees FOR TEACHING ASSISTANTS = $204 for the 2003-04 academic year.


TOTAL FEES PER YEAR FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS 


WHO ARE TEACHING ASSISTANTS:   (In-State + Nonresident) = $11,336



NON-RESIDENT TUITION FELLOWSHIPS
    Nonresident Tuition Fellowships (to cover all or part of the non-resident tuition fee) are generally not available for new international students. Occasionally a nonresident tuition fellowship for the first year is offered to at most one new international student in recognition of a truly outstanding and exceptional academic record. Given the present level of funding provided to the Economics Department, full financial support for international students is virtually impossible. International applicants do not need to submit a fellowship application.



WHEN ADMISSION AND FINANCIAL AID DECISIONS WILL BE MADE
    Admission and financial aid decisions about many international student applicants will probably not be made until sometime after the March 1 application deadline because many applications are received and need to be compared, in order to admit the best applicants. The department can not predict exactly how soon decisions will be made, but applicants will be informed after decisions have been made.



INFORMATION FOR ADMITTED INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS ABOUT FILLING OUT THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT
    When you receive your formal admission letter from the Graduate Admissions Office, there should be an enclosed "financial statement" form. The university requires that international students fill out and submit the financial statement, indicating that they can afford $29,000 for their first year at UC Davis, before the university will send the form needed to order a visa to come to Davis ($32,500 is the estimated cost of the first year at UC Davis for international students).

If you have received a financial aid offer:

Indicate on the financial statement that you have received the aid offer and send a xerox copy of your aid offer letter along with the financial statement when you mail it back to the university, to prove that you have been offered that amount of aid. Subtract the total amount of the aid offer from the $32,500, and also indicate on the financial statement that you can afford to pay the remaining balance.
(Be careful to notice the "total amount" of your own aid offer, when you figure out the balance that you need to afford to pay (if your aid offer is for a different amount than shown in the example below, you will need to pay a different balance amount than that shown).

Example:

   If you have received an offer of a Teaching Assistantship ($14,145.03), plus the $5,293 discount of the In-State fees ("Partial TA Fee Remission), plus $440 towards moving to California, your "total aid offer" from the university would be $19,878.03 , so the "balance" of the required $32,500 that you would need to indicate on the fee statement that you can afford to pay on your own would be: $12,621.97 (= $32,500 - $19,878.03).