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Semester Dissertation Fellows

The Semester Dissertastion Fellowships (Wylie Fellowship, Lee Thornton Fellowship and McNair Final year Fellowship) are full-time fellowships and provide full support for one semester (a $15,000 stipend, a credit for mandatory fees, tuition remission for 899, and up to $1,500 reimbursement for health insurance.) The goal of the Semester Dissertation Fellowship is to provide students with time during the semester in order to fully focus on writing. Therefore, Dissertation Fellows cannot hold a GAship during the fellowship semester. 

If you have insurance through your GAship, the insurance will end on the last day of the month that your GAship ends. This means you will need to find a new insurance plan while on the Semester Dissertation Fellowship. 

Some students ask if there is a way to keep the State of MD Employee Health Plan. The only way to keep that plan would be to purchase it through COBRA, but this is a very expensive option.  

Most Dissertation Fellows choose to enroll in the Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP).  SHIP is the default insurance for all full time registered graduate students. Fellows can choose other plans, if available, such as a spouse's plan or a plan through healthcare.gov/ or edusure.com.

Please note, if not enrolling in SHIP, you must submit the annual SHIP waiver to avoid the SHIP charge. Submit a SHIP Waiver at umd.myahpcare.com/.

Reimbursement for Health Insurance while on Fellowship

Fellows are eligible to request reimbursement for up to $1,500 from the Graduate School to help offset the cost of health insurance during the fellowship semester.  Here is the reimbursement form. 

Before the Fall Semester: When your Graduate Assistantship ends in May or June 2026, your insurance will end as well. The insurance remains active through the last day of the month that your GAship ended. This means you will need to find insurance for Summer 2026 and Fall 2026.  If your Graduate Assistantship ends in July or August 2026, then you will need to purchase a new insurance plan for Fall 2026.  Most Fellows choose to purchase the SHIP, but you are free to purchase acceptable insurance from a different source such as a spousal plan, or available plans on healthcare.gov/ and edusure.com/. 

  • The Summer 2026 SHIP provides coverage through July 31, 2026.  To enroll for the Summer 2026 SHIP, please use the Qualifying Event process.  Be on the lookout for the end of the coverage letter from the State of Maryland Benefits Office (ebd.mail@maryland.gov /410-767-4775.) . You will need to use that letter to enroll in the SHIP using the qualifying event process.  You have a 30 day window (after your insurance coverage ends) to enroll in SHIP using the qualifying event process.  When using the qualifying event process, you will pay the premium at the time of enrollment on the AHP website. 
  • The Fall 2026 SHIP provides coverage from August 1, 2026 - December 31, 2026. To enroll for Fall 2026 SHIP, go to umd.myahpcare.com/ during the SHIP Fall Open Enrollment.  When enrolling during SHIP Open Enrollment, your student account will be charged for the SHIP premium.  Once your SHIP is activated, you will get an email from the carrier (Aetna) which will direct you on how to create and account and obtain your insurance ID card. 

After Fall Semester (The end of your Fellowship):  

If you are still an enrolled student for Spring 2027, SHIP will automatically continue and your student account will be charged.  If you do not want the Spring 2027 SHIP, contact the University Health Center at UHC-Insurance@umd.edu to request a spring waiver. 

If you graduate in December 2026, SHIP enrollees are eligbile to extend health coverage for one month using the SHIP Bridge Plan.  To use the SHIP Bridge plan, please contact UHC-Insurance@umd.edu.

Deciding on whether or not to keep SHIP for Spring 2027?

  • If you continue with SHIP for Spring/Summer, you will have insurance through July 31, 2026 (even if you graduate in May 2026).  Your student account will be charged for the Spring Summer plan. The Terp Payment Plan to assist you with paying this amount over 3-4 months.
  • If you were on SHIP for Fall, and you decide to enroll in the State of Maryland Employee Health Plan again or another external plan, you need to remember submit a Waiver for the Spring 2027 SHIP.  Contact the University Health Center at UHC-Insurance@umd.edu to request a mid-year waiver.  If this step is not done, you will be charged for Spring SHIP. 
  • If opting out of SHIP for Spring in order to enroll in the State of MD plan, please be cognizant of your GA start date.  If your GA start date is in December 2026, then a State of Maryland Employee Health Plan would become effective January 1, 2027.  But, if your GA start date is in January 2027, then your State of MD insurance will become effective on February 1, 2027.  To assist with this gap in coverage, SHIP offers a Bridge Plan which will enable you to extend your fall SHIP coverage for one month (January only).  

Before the Spring Semester: When your Graduate Assistantship ends in December 2026 or January 2027, your insurance will end as well.  This means you will need to find insurance for Spring 2027 and Summer 2027.  Most Wylie Fellows choose to purchase the SHIP, but you are free to purchase acceptable insurance from a different source such as a spousal plan or avaialbe plans on healthcare.gov/ or edusure.com/.  If you choose to purchase insurance from a different source, your Fall 2027 SHIP waiver remains in place since it is good for one year.  But if you choose to enroll in SHIP for Spring 2027, you will need to request a waiver reset.  To request a waiver reset, contact the University Health Center at UHC-Insurance@umd.edu.

Additional infomration about Spring/Summer 2027 SHIP:

  • The Spring/Summer SHIP provides coverage from January 1, 2027 - July 31, 2027 (even if you graduate in May 2027). 
  • Option 1:  Enroll during the Winter SHIP Open Enrollment:  First, contact the University Health Center at UHC-Insurance@umd.edu to request a Waiver reset (when you submitted the fall waiver, it was good for both fall and spring, and they need to cancel the Spring Waiver). Once your Spring Waiver is cancelled, you can enroll by going to umd.myahpcare.com/ and clicking on "Begin Enrollment," then scroll down to "Graduates". 
  • Option 2:  Enroll using the qualifying event process:   Go to umd.myahpcare.com/ go to enroll/cost, then click on the last option "Students with a Qualifying Event."  When enrolling using the Qualifying Event, you will need end of coverage letter from your current insurance. Contact the State of MD benefits office at EBD.Mail@Maryland.gov or 410-767-4775 for more information about the end of coverage letter.  

After the Spring Semester: 
If you have the Spring/Summer SHIP, your SHIP coverage continues through July 31, 2027.  After July 31, 2027, you will need to secure a new plan. 

SHIP Bridge Plan 
The SHIP Bridge Plan is available to SHIP enrollees to extend SHIP coverage for one month.  The Bridge Plan is in place to assist SHIP enrollees as they transition to a new plan.

Additional questions?  Please reach out to Robyn Kotzker (rkotzker@umd.edu). 

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