SU to provide eligible graduate students with subsidies to help cover costs of childcare
Delaney Van Wey | Asst. News Editor
Graduate students with children are now eligible to receive childcare subsidies if they meet the program's requirements
Starting this fall, Syracuse University will provide eligible graduate students with a subsidy to help cover the costs of child care.
SU announced on Friday the program will provide full-time graduate students $500 per dependent child — for up to two children — for a maximum of $1,000 per household, per academic year.
“This is going to be a great benefit for graduate students who work hard to meet the demands of parenting while pursuing post-graduate scholarship,” Graduate Student Organization President Rajesh Kumar said in an SU News release. “The graduate students here at Syracuse are an important part of the academic community, and this subsidy program is an important way to affirm and support them in pursuit of their academic and professional goals.”
The subsidy program — which was originally piloted in 2015 — addresses “a need that graduate students have expressed about the high costs of child care,” according to the news release.
Graduate students and their children must meet several requirements to be eligible for the program. Graduate students need to have a gross household income of less than $65,000, and their children cannot already be claimed on another university’s “child-care subsidy application,” such as the faculty/staff child care subsidy, per the release. Children must be younger than 6 years old to participate in the program.
Students must be able to claim children on their income taxes, and with married graduate student couples, only one student can apply for a grant for any one child.
Applications for the subsidy program are due by Sept. 15.
The subsidy program was initiated with support from Chancellor Kent Syverud, Vice Chancellor and Provost Michele Wheatly and Graduate School Dean Peter Vanable, according to the release, in partnership with the GSO.
“Syracuse University is fortunate to have such a vibrant community of graduate scholars, and we want to be sure they have the support they need to thrive during their time here,” Vanable said in the SU News release. “For graduate students who are also parents, child care is their number-one concern. This subsidy program recognizes and honors these students’ dual commitment to family and scholarship and helps meet an important need.”
Published on April 30, 2017 at 9:33 pm
Contact Sam: sfogozal@syr.edu | @SamOgozalek
