The Department of Economics recognizes the importance of financial support to students' success in the Ph.D. program. Most admitted students receive coverage for tuition, fees, Penn Student Health Insurance, and a competitive 12-month stipend for five years. Please note premium dental is not covered.
The School of Arts and Sciences offers Benjamin Franklin fellowships as well as Fontaine Fellowships that support the academic development of PhD students, and are awarded to students whose background, research and experience demonstrate both the interest and capacity to enhance a broadly diverse and inclusive learning community.
In the first year, students are supported with a fellowship but in years two through five, support is provided mainly by research and teaching assistantships. The specific duties of assistants are diverse, but in general they require from 15 to 20 hours of work per week. Research assistants often help in the statistical analysis of economic data, while the duties of teaching assistants span the spectrum from grading and tutoring to being responsible for teaching a section of introductory economics.
Unless there are specific teaching and research assistantship needs, the department will not fund students in their sixth year and above. These students may find other teaching and research assistantship opportunities in other departments within the University.
For your convenience, we have provided a link of estimated living expenses for a year in Philadelphia (Living Expense Budgets).