Note: Due to federal regulations, entering students may not enroll in direct deposit until they have arrived on campus and registered for classes. Once on campus, students may register for direct deposit for the second semester.
DIRECT DEPOSIT: Fastest access (within 5 days of disbursement)
GSAS strongly encourages all students who receive stipends to enroll in direct deposit. Instructions for how to enroll may be found here.
In order for a stipend payment to be disbursed via direct deposit in a particular term, students must already be registered for that term when payment is initially processed. For fall stipends, students must be registered by the first week in August, and for spring stipends, before the end of the December registration period.
PAPER CHECKS: Access 1-2 weeks after disbursement
Students who are not registered by that time will have their payment processed as a paper check, which requires waiting an additional 7-10 business days from the date of disbursement until the time that the check is available for pickup at the Payments and Deposit Office. (International students have a 10-15 day timeline because their payments must be processed through Accounts Payable.) Checks will not be released to a student who is not registered for that term.
Payments and Deposit Office
Location: 205 Kent Hall
Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Monday – Friday
212-854-1541
Students who are unable to pick up their paper check in person may choose one of the following options in order to receive their funds:
1) Designate someone else to pick up the payment
Email cashiering [at] columbia.edu (Shewanna House) and CC ns2312 [at] columbia.edu (Norman Strong) in the Payments and Deposits Office, with the name of the person whom you have designated to pick up your check. Be sure also to copy your designee. The designee must bring a picture ID to verify their identity when retrieving your check from 205 Kent Hall.
2) Arrange for the payment to be mailed
Email cashiering [at] columbia.edu (Shewanna House) and CC ns2312 [at] columbia.edu (Norman Strong) in the Payments and Deposits Office, with the complete mailing address to which the check should be mailed via USPS. The Payments and Deposits Office will confirm the estimated time of arrival of the check.
3) Stop check payment and reissue as direct deposit
a. Please be aware that it is a time-consuming process to stop a check and reissue the payment as a direct deposit because this process involves multiple University offices. Students should anticipate a 3-to-6-week delay before receiving the reissued payment.
b. To initiate this process, please email the gsas-finaid [at] columbia.edu (GSAS Office of Financial Aid) for assistance.