The University of Pittsburgh offers education benefits to faculty, librarians, research associates, post-doctoral associates, post-doctoral scholars, staff, their spouses, domestic partners, and dependent children. This benefit is available at the Pittsburgh campus and all regional campuses.

General Provisions and Policies

The education benefit is applied to tuition only, and remains on your account irrespective of the grade received. All other charges and fees are the responsibility of the employee. Any error in the distributed amount of the education benefit will result in the recalculation of the benefit. Education benefits are administered by the Benefits Department. Staff education benefits are governed by University Policies ER 06 and ER 05. Faculty education benefits are governed by University Policies AC 21, AC 20, and AC 69. It is recommended that you review the University Policies for your position type prior to applying for the education benefit.

For information regarding tuition rates and other fees, please visit tuition.pitt.edu.

Eligibility for Education Benefits at the University of Pittsburgh  

Select your position type below to view the education benefits offered:

Planning to retire or already retired from the University? Learn about your education benefits.

Program Exclusions

Eligibility for the education benefit does not guarantee admission to or retention in any academic program.

It is at the discretion of individual schools on whether or not to participate in the education benefits program and what programs within the schools are eligible for the benefit. Individual schools within the University of Pittsburgh reserve the right to exclude certain programs from participating in the University's education benefits.

The Executive MBA and the Executive MBA in Healthcare programs through the Katz Graduate School of Business are not eligible for the education benefit. The Center for Executive Education programs and courses offered through the Katz Graduate School of Business, such as the Business Analysis, Project Management, and Customized Education courses/programs, are also not eligible for the education benefit. Other exclusions and restrictions may apply.

For questions regarding a specific program, please contact the Benefits Department.

Taxation

Under IRS tax code, the value of certain educational benefits applied to graduate-level courses is considered taxable income. This requires University employees to pay taxes on a portion of the educational benefit they receive for graduate-level courses for themselves or for their spouse or domestic partner. For University employees, the first $5,250.00 (in a calendar year) is awarded on a pre-tax basis because the University has an IRC §127 Tuition Benefit Plan in effect. After this amount is met, the withholding regarding this benefit is at a rate of 29.65% (rate effective as of January 1, 2020). For spouses and domestic partners, there is no pre-tax value and the benefit will be taxed during all three terms of a calendar year. For domestic partners, the undergraduate benefit is also subject to taxation.

Learn more about the taxability of education benefits.

Responsibility for Full Tuition Repayment 

To avoid full payment of the tuition if you voluntarily resign during a semester, the following time frame applies:

Related Education Programs

Tuition Exchange (TE) Scholarship: The Tuition Exchange Scholarship organization is a non-profit organization that serves as the coordinating body for a partnership of more than 550 schools nationally who offer "exchange" scholarships to dependent children of faculty and staff at member institutions.

Falk Laboratory School: Falk School scholarships, up to one quarter tuition, are available to dependent children of regular full-time faculty, librarians, and staff employees who have been on the University payroll for 12 consecutive months. The 12 month waiting period is only applicable to staff.

Study Abroad Program: The University of Pittsburgh encourages international study and endeavors to make available education benefits to eligible staff dependent children.

English Language Institute (ELI): The ELI program is eligible for the tuition benefit. The student receiving the benefit is responsible for $30/credit and the remaining tuition balance is paid by the benefit.

• For employee's using the education benefit for themselves at the ELI, the benefit requires a manual override processed by the Benefits Department.
• For employee's using the education benefit for their spouse/domestic partner, the benefit must be requested via the Education Benefits Form for Spouse/Domestic Partner (note: there is a place on the form to select ELI enrollment).