Fee Remissions

Graduate students who hold academic appointments (Graduate Student Instructor (GSI), Acting Instructor-Graduate Student (AI-GS), Reader, Tutor, or Graduate Student Researcher (GSR)) may be eligible for fee remissions that offset their fees.

The fee remission students are eligible for depends on the type of appointment that is held during the current semester. Students on Filing Fee status are not eligible to hold student academic appointments nor for fee remissions.

To qualify for a fee remission students must meet ALL of the following criteria:

1. Be registered by established university deadlines, but no later than by the end of the third week of classes. See here for the Berkeley Academic Calendar. Students are responsible for meeting all university deadlines for registration and enrollment.
2. Be enrolled in at least 12 units no later than the end of the third week of classes and remain enrolled in at least 12 units for the semester, (with exceptions for students with academic accommodations for disabilities, approved long-term leave and workplace accommodations).
3. Be appointed for the semester. For dates, see the Berkeley Academic Calendar.
4. Be appointed in a fee remission eligible title at 25% time or greater.
5. Meet the academic requirements (minimum GPA, no more than 2 incompletes, etc.)
6. There are no fee remissions associated with appointments during Summer Sessions.

Departmental time and leave records must substantiate the appropriate percentage of effort throughout the semester.

Failure to meet any of the above requirements will make students ineligible to receive fee remissions. As a reminder, students need to meet these basic appointment eligibility requirements.

Students should check their current student account status in the My Finances section of CalCentral to see the dollar amount of each type of fee that has been assessed by the Registrar, or check the fee schedule on the Registrar’s’ website.

1. Full** Fee Remission

Title Codes: 2320, 2850, 2860, 3282, 3141, 3151

Full Fee Remission for Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs), Acting Instructor-Graduate Students (AI-GS), Readers, and Tutors as well as Graduate Student Researchers (GSRs) working 25% or more time.

Fees paid by remission

• Student Service Fee
• Tuition
• Health Insurance Fee *
• Berkeley Campus Fee
• Class Pass (AC Transit) Fee
• Instructional Resilience and Enhancement Fee (IREF)

2. Full** Fee Remission and Nonresident Supplemental Tuition Remission

Title Codes: 3284

Full Fee Remission and Nonresident Supplemental Tuition (NRST) Remission for GSRs (doctoral students only) working at least 45% time.

Fees paid by remission

• Student Service Fee
• Tuition
• Health Insurance Fee *
• Berkeley Campus Fee
• Class Pass (AC Transit) Fee
• Instructional Resilience and Enhancement Fee (IREF)
• Nonresident Supplemental Tuition Fee (NRST)

Note: NRST remissions are available only for non-California residents who are: a) pursuing the Ph.D. or professional doctorate (as defined by the student’s department) as the terminal degree; b) within the departmentally-established normative time period; and c) not receiving any other support that funds nonresident supplemental tuition. U.S. citizens and permanent residents classified as non-California residents are eligible to receive NRST remissions or awards for their first year of graduate study at Berkeley only. All U.S. citizens and Permanent Residents are expected to establish California residency at the end of their first year of study and to maintain residency throughout their time in their program.

Undergraduate ASEs appointees may be eligible for Full** Fee Remission except SHIP.  Undergraduate students hired in courses in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (EECS) and Data Science courses offered by Data Science Undergraduate Studies (DSUS) should reference what is included in the local agreement as it relates to uGSIs. Undergraduate student fee remissions are paid through Award Entry by departmental staff.

* Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) premiums are automatically remitted as part of the fee remission program unless a student has a waiver of health insurance coverage on record with University Health Services. If a student has a SHIP waiver, then fee remission amounts will be reduced by the amount of the insurance fee. Any payments made toward SHIP will be returned to the funding source. Undergraduate ASEs appointees may be eligible for Full** Fee Remission except SHIP. 

**The contracts refer to “Partial Fee Remission” in Article 11: Fee Remission (ASE) and Article 10: Fee Remission (GSR) because, while locations will provide 100% campus fee remission for eligible ASEs (and GSRs), the fee remission program continues to be a partial fee remission of tuition and fees (e.g., could exclude course specific lab fees or a one-time document fee).

3. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Appointments

Students who have Graduate Student Research Assistant (GSRA) appointments at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) must remain employed at LBNL for the entire semester to be eligible for any fee remissions associated with the appointment. If the appointment is terminated before the end of the semester, the remissions will be canceled, and the student will be required to repay the entire amount of the LBNL remission. If the student begins a GSR appointment on campus at any point after the first day of the semester, that appointment may not meet the criteria to qualify for the remissions due to federal regulations related to eligibility for benefits only when on Active Payroll status.

The fee remission information reflected in a student’s CalCentral account is based on information provided by the hiring unit, which submits the data directly to their Berkeley Regional Services (BRS) hiring partners. Questions about an appointment and the associated fee remission should be directed to the hiring unit.

Students should consult their hiring unit for details regarding their specific appointment and to ensure that all necessary hiring paperwork is completed. The process may take several weeks from the time the hiring unit submits appointment information to their BRS partners to when employee onboarding is complete. If appointment paperwork is incomplete or not submitted on time, the paycheck and fee remission may be delayed; students are still responsible for covering 20% of assessed fees by the university deadline and enrolling in at least 12 units by the end of the third week of classes.

Students who become ineligible for a fee remission at any time in the semester may have their fee remission removed from their CalCentral account, and will be responsible for payment of the fee balance.