EVERYTHING STAFF NEED TO KNOW
ABOUT ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS
Questions? Please reach out to us! 202-633-7070 or siofi@si.edu
Internships
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Learning experiences that relate to an intern’s education, coursework, or career goals guided by a SI staff mentor
Have a defined start and end date
Last up to six months and may be extended with renewed mentorship commitment & learning objectives
Awardees do not qualify for Smithsonian group health coverage
Stipend Payments
 Are not considered salary
 Are limited to helping defray living expenses during the term of appointment and can’t be paid retroactively
 Begin 4 weeks after the awardee returns entire award agreement to OFI
 Arrive in equal installments around the 10th and 25th of each month
 May not exceed $600/week for full-time interns
 May specify an allowance for the onetime cost of R/T travel from intern’s point of origin to the SI duty station
 May not specify an allowance for insurance or research
 For U.S. citizens and those considered U.S. residents for tax purposes taxes are NOT withheld
 For non-U.S. citizens taxes may or may not be withheld depending on existing tax treaties the U.S has with the awardee's
country of origin
 Non-U.S. citizens have an option of checking-in with OFI before leaving their home countries so their first payment may be
available upon arrival in the U.S
 Awardees receive a financial summary at the end of each calendar year and are responsible for meeting their own state and
federal tax obligations
Fellowships
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Opportunities for independent study/collaborative research in fields pursued by SI staff
Can be awarded competitively or non-competitively
Awardees must be enrolled in a degree program or hold a terminal degree
Awardees may not have not been employed by the Smithsonian for at least 1 year
Last one 1 year but with research progress may be extended up to 5 years
Eligible for enrollment in Smithsonian group health insurance if appointment is full-time and lasts 3 months or more
Stipend Payments
 Are not considered salary
 Begin 4 weeks after the awardee returns entire award agreement to OFI can’t be paid retroactively
 Are made in equal installments at the end of each month with the 1st payment equal to 10% of the total stipend
 For appointments shorter than three months or involving awards less than $1,500, payment can be made in one lump sum
at the request of the unit
 May not exceed $30K/year for graduate fellows or pre-doctoral fellows ($35K/year for conservation), $45K/year for postdoctoral fellows ($50K/year for mineral scientist & earth sciences)
 May specify allowance for the cost of health insurance, travel, and/or research
 For U.S. citizens and those considered U.S. residents for tax purposes taxes are NOT withheld
 For non-U.S. citizens taxes may or not be withheld depending on existing tax treaties the U.S has with the awardee's
country of origin
 Foreign fellows have an option to check-in with OFI before leaving their home countries so their first payment is available
on arrival in the U.S
 Awardees receive a financial summary at the end of each calendar year and are responsible for meeting their own state and
federal tax obligations
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EVERYTHING STAFF NEED TO KNOW
ABOUT ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS
Intern
Smithsonian internships are learning experiences guided by a mentor, occurring during a specific time frame, which
provide benefits relating to an intern’s education, coursework, or career goals. With stated learning objectives and a
mentor’s commitment, interns may be appointed for a term of up to six months. As an intern’s experiential education
progresses, with revised learning objectives and a renewed commitment from a mentor, they may be reappointed.
Stipends issued by the Smithsonian are not considered salary, but are awarded to help defray living expenses for an intern
during the term of their appointment. Stipend payments for full-time interns should not exceed $600/week. Smithsonian
internship stipend awards may specify an allowance for the cost of travel. For U.S. citizens (and for those considered U.S.
residents for tax purposes) taxes are not withheld from stipend payments. Interns awarded stipends receive a financial
summary at the end of each calendar year and are responsible for meeting their own state and federal tax obligations;
interns are not eligible to enroll in Smithsonian group health coverage.
Interns receiving Smithsonian stipends should expect to receive payments no sooner than six weeks after this form
has been submitted and/or four weeks after they return their award agreement. Stipend payments are usually made
to interns in equal installments around the 10th and 25th day of each month.
Fellow
Smithsonian fellowships awarded competitively to graduate, pre-doctoral, or post-doctoral students - or granted noncompetitively to visiting professionals, students, scientists, or scholars – are offered to individuals who design and
develop proposals for independent study or collaborative research in fields pursued by and of interest to Smithsonian staff.
Research fellows receiving stipends through the Smithsonian are generally appointed to terms lasting between 1 to 3
years; with documentation charting progress, research fellow terms may be extended to 5 years. Non-stipend visiting
professional fellowship terms usually last one year.
Research fellows receiving Smithsonian stipends must be enrolled in a degree program or hold a terminal degree and
generally have not been employed by the Smithsonian for at least 1 year. Smithsonian-issued stipend payments to research
fellows are not considered salary, but are awarded to aid individual pursuit of independent study and research. Stipend
payments should not exceed $30K/year for graduate fellows or pre-doctoral fellows, $45K/year for post-doctoral fellows.
Fellows awarded full-time appointments with Smithsonian stipend funding for three months or longer are eligible for
enrollment in Smithsonian group health insurance. Smithsonian fellowship stipend awards may specify allowances for the
cost of health insurance, travel, and/or research.
For U.S. citizens (and for those considered U.S. residents for tax purposes) taxes are not withheld from stipend payments.
Fellows awarded stipends receive a financial summary at the end of each calendar year and are responsible for meeting
their own state and federal tax obligations. Stipend awards provided to non-U.S. fellows are subject to withholding of
taxes. Determination of non-U.S. fellows’ tax status and calculation of any taxes to be withheld are made at the beginning
of the fellowship appointment. Foreign fellows have an option to check-in with OFI before leaving their home countries
so their first payment is available on arrival in the U.S.
Otherwise, fellows receiving Smithsonian stipends should expect to receive payments no sooner than six weeks after
this form has been submitted or four weeks after they return their appointee agreement. Stipend payments are
usually made to fellows in equal installments at the end of each month, with 10% of the total stipend paid at the beginning
of the fellowship, provided the award agreement is returned at least 4 weeks before the appointment commences. For
appointments shorter than three months or involving awards less than $1,500, payment can be made in one lump sum at
the request of the unit.
s:\administrative\ofi forms\aaf instructions.docx
2/8/2016
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