Overview for Advisors & Administrative Assistants

The 12 month GRA pay period for graduate students begins new each year effective October 1st through the end of September. It is very important that you notify the Physics Graduate Office when a new student joins your research group, even if they are fully supported by a Caltech or outside fellowship. Teaching assistantships (TAs) are paid from Institute funds and supplemented by the advisor. You are responsible for providing a PTA to cover the GRA supplement if your student is a teaching assistant.  If your student is to be paid as a graduate research assistant (GRA) you are responsible for providing a PTA to cover the salary. You are not responsible for providing a PTA if your student is a full fellowship recipient, in most cases, unless the student receives a named donor sponsored department award and it is necessary to change their payroll assignment from a GRA or TA/GRA supplement payroll assignment to a fellowship assignment.  Please notify the PGO in these cases.  

All graduate students are paid near the end of each month, approximately the 25th, for that month depending on holidays. Please see the monthly payroll calendar for important dates. GRA salaries paid at the end of the month will still cost against your grants on approximately the 20th to the 23rd of the month, which is before the actual student payday. Labor changes before the end of the monthly payroll costing date are simple schedule line changes; labor changes after the the salary has costed require a retroactive adjustment including the justification. Please see the PMA Division list of Forms for more details.

The tuition remission overhead against graduate assistantships charged to your grant does not directly cover your student's "Tuition & Fees" as charged by the Institute. This is an overhead cost that contributes to the Dean's tuition pool. "Tuition & Fees" is awarded to graduate students by the Dean of Graduate Studies based on either a full-time research or teaching assistantship or fellowship award.