Last updated May 13, 2022
Following ProFellow Founder Dr. Vicki Johnson’s article on How To Fully Fund Your PhD, we began a series on fully-funded PhD programs in various disciplines. In this article, you’ll learn about the many fully-funded PhD Programs in Economics that are available.
We have many fellowships for doctoral study and dissertation research in the ProFellow database; however, external doctoral fellowships are highly competitive and are usually short-term. Therefore, we recommend researching PhD programs that provide full funding to all incoming PhD students. “Full funding” typically includes full tuition and a stipend for living expenses for the four to six-year duration of the student’s doctoral studies. Not all universities provide full funding to their doctoral students, which is why we recommend researching the financial aid offerings of all the potential PhD programs in your academic field, including small and lesser-known schools both in the U.S. and abroad.
Below is a list of universities that offer full funding to all of the admitted students to their PhD Programs in Economics:
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1. Cornell University, Department of Economics
(Ithaca, NY): Financial aid packages for incoming students are typically guaranteed, given satisfactory performance, through the Spring semester of the fifth year of study. Graduate research and teaching assistantships cover tuition, as well as an academic year stipend and medical insurance.
2. Harvard University, Department of Economics
(Cambridge, MA): Economic students receive full tuition and stipend support while they are enrolled and making satisfactory progress toward their PhD degree.
3. University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business, PhD in Applied Economics
(Philadelphia, PA): All admitted Wharton doctoral students are provided guaranteed funding for five years that covers the cost of tuition, fees, health insurance, and a stipend. In contrast with other top Economics PhD programs, Wharton only requires one semester of teaching assistant work during the program’s third year, and one semester of research or teaching assistant work during the fourth year.
4. Vanderbilt University, PhD in Law and Economics
(Nashville, TN): Students are fully funded by a competitive package of fellowship support covering tuition and stipend for both degrees.
5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, PhD in Economics
(Cambridge, MA): Scholarship offers include full tuition for the academic year, health insurance, and a stipend/salary to cover living expenses for the nine-month academic year. Continuation of financial aid for years two through five is dependent on satisfactory academic progress. In the third through fifth year, financial aid typically takes the form of a Teaching or Research Assistantship. The 9-month stipend for teaching assistantships is about $35,000.
6. Fordham University, PhD in Economics
(New York City, NY): Fordham offers a 3-year fellowship package with optional funding for two to three additional years.
7. Binghamton University, PhD in Economics
(New York, NY): Approximately two-thirds of full-time Ph.D. students in the Economics Department are supported by fellowships and assistantships carrying an annual stipend plus a tuition scholarship and medical insurance. These awards are based exclusively on academic merit.
8. Duke University, PhD in Economics
(Durham, NC): 90 percent of admitted students or more receive six years of funding, so long as they remain in good academic standing.
9. Rice University, PhD in Economics
(Houston, TX): All admitted students receive an offer of financial support covering five years in return for a teaching or research assistantship. Continuation of the financial support beyond the first year is contingent upon satisfactory academic progress. Funding may be available beyond the fifth year for students who show exceptional promise.
10. Emory University, PhD in Economics
(Atlanta, GA): Students in the Economics Ph.D. program at Emory typically receive full funding for five years through the Laney Graduate School, as long as they make good academic progress.
11. Columbia University, PhD in Economics
(New York, NY): Columbia offers multi-year financial aid packages to admitted students that include fellowships and appointments to teaching and/or research positions. PhD students receive an annual stipend, tuition, and health fees for five years if they remain in good academic standing.
12. University of Kansas, PhD in Economics
(Lawrence, KS): Each year, a class of 7-10 students is awarded full funding. The five-year financial support package typically includes a full tuition waiver, a paid assistantship position, funding for conference travel, and more.
13. University of Wisconsin-Madison, PhD in Economics
(Madison, WI): All students will automatically be considered for five years of funding during their doctoral studies. Admitted students receive a guarantee of support for years two through five, contingent on maintaining satisfactory academic progress.
14. Johns Hopkins University, PhD in Economics
(Baltimore, MD): The department guarantees financial support for a minimum of five years of graduate study through a teaching or research assistantship conditional on satisfactory performance. The departmental fellowship covers full tuition costs plus an annual stipend of $33,000 and full student health insurance coverage.
15. University of California-Santa Barbara, PhD in Economics
(Santa Barbara, CA): The Department expects to offer a full financial aid package to all accepted Ph.D. students, which will cover full tuition, health insurance, and a stipend. Financial aid packages, which are a combination of Teaching Assistantships and fellowship money, are guaranteed for five years for students making satisfactory progress.
For application tips on applying to a PhD program, see How To Get Into a Fully Funded PhD Program: Contacting Potential PhD Advisors.
© Victoria Johnson 2020, all rights reserved.
Thanks for this article, I found it helpful.
You can add Yale and Princeton to this list (based on information available on October 13, 2016).
http://economics.yale.edu/graduate/application-info (under Financial Assistance)
https://gradschool.princeton.edu/costs-funding (paragraph beginning with “Princeton guarantees funding…”)
These might even apply more broadly than just the economics PhD program too!