The Department of Economics offers fellowships/assistantships to students who meet the standards for entrance or continuation in the PhD program.

All Ph.D. students are given a departmental fellowship which includes a full tuition and fee waiver , followed by a teaching assistantship (TA) or research assistanceship (RA) through the fifth year. Beyond year 5, funding is not guaranteed, but sixth year students typically receive a TAship as well if needed. 

International Students

International students are not eligible for teaching assistantships unless they have either scored at least a 24 on the speaking portion of the TOEFL or passed the English Placement Interview (EPI) which is administered by our Center for Teaching Excellence. Visit our International Student page for more information.

First year students will take the EPI during their first or second semester on campus. If the EPI is passed, the student is eligible for a teaching assistantship. If the EPI is not passed, the student is required to take an ESL (English as a Second Language) course or participate in a minimum of ten hours with a tutor approved by the Center for Teaching Excellence. The EPI can be taken a maximum of three times.

Note: International students have additional requirements to be a TA, please visit the Graduate College website for additional information.