Doctoral Program Funding
If your application is submitted with required supplementary materials by December 5th, you will automatically be considered for funding for five years of support during your doctoral studies. Please see the department application requirements for detailed information on when materials are due. Admitted students receive a guarantee of support for years two through five, contingent on maintaining satisfactory academic progress. Please see the Graduate Program Guidelines for information on satisfactory progress.
The department offers a number of financial support packages to incoming students with outstanding records and will be in the form of a Project Assistantship, Research Assistantship, Teaching Assistantship or Fellowship and will include tuition remission, a stipend, and benefits (including health insurance).
Admissions Funding Packages:
University Fellowships
Fellowships involve no work obligations and include health benefits and a tuition waiver. The fellowship stipend is over $26,000 and is often accompanied by departmental scholarships.
Department Fellowships
Department fellowships offer full-time study with no work responsibilities. The stipend varies and includes health benefits and a tuition waiver.
Graduate Research Scholar Fellowships
GRS Fellowships support the recruitment and retention of highly qualified eligible underrepresented students. They include a stipend with no work requirements, health benefits and a tuition waiver.
Teaching Assistantships
Teaching Assistantships (TA) provide a stipend, tuition waiver, and health benefits. First time TAs typically teach for large undergraduate introductory economics courses, leading 3-4 discussion sections each week and attending lecture.
There are other sources of funding, like loans, through the Office of Student Financial Aid, as well as sources that are external to the university (e.g. grants, fellowships). However, the application process for those financial sources is not related to the process of admission to the Department of Economics. For more information, visit the Graduate School Funding page. This page will contain basic information detailing the funding resources available at UW-Madison, as well as contact information for initiating a search for other sources of funding.
The Bursar’s Office provides more information about tuition and required fees.