The Economics department has a number of Fellowships and Research Scholarships that are awarded through a broad-based competition open to all PhD students in economics. The primary criterion for receiving a fellowship or scholarship is evidence of research excellence.
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Caves Dissertation Fellowship
This fellowship was established by Douglas W. Caves (PhD, Economics, 1980) and Sherry A. Caves to support graduate students in the Department of Economics at UW-Madison doing dissertation level empirical research in the doctoral program. The intent of this fellowship is to reward and distinguish excellence and scholastic merit in the doctoral program. (Previous Winners)
Christensen Dissertation Fellowship in Empirical Economics
This fellowship was established by Lau and Dianne Christensen. Lau was a faculty member at UW-Madison from 1967 to 1987, and Dianne was a Visitor in the Economics Department for several years in the 1980s. This fellowship is awarded to a student doing an empirical dissertation. (Previous Winners)
Christensen Scholarship in Empirical Economics
Lau and Diane Christensen established this scholarship. Lau was a faculty member here from 1967 to 1987, and Dianne was a Visitor in the Department for several years in the 1980s. The purpose of this joint student-faculty award is to A) encourage and support research by PhD students doing empirical work with contemporary estimation methods, and B) to support faculty who serve as mentors for Ph.D. students doing dissertations. (Previous Winners)
Culbertson Scholarship for the Best Field Paper
The Culbertson Scholarship was established with a generous contribution from Dr. Francis Culbertson, in memory of her late husband, UW Madison Economics Professor John M. Culbertson. The scholarship is for the PhD student who writes the best field paper. (Previous Winners)
David Edwin Davies Dissertation Fellowship
The David Edwin Davies Dissertation Fellowship is based on outstanding research potential and overall research excellence. This fellowship was established by a trust created by Richard Davies (BA, Economics and Political Science, 1979). (Previous Winners)
Alice S. Gengler Dissertation Fellowship
The late Alice Gengler received her BA in Economics from the University of Wisconsin in 1927. The Alice Gengler Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowship is made possible by the generosity of Alice Gengler and her family. It is awarded for excellence in research. (Previous Winners)
Donald D. Hester Dissertation Fellowship
This fellowship is named after the late Donald Hester, a UW Madison Economics Professor from 1968 to 2000. Preference is given to students who excel in teaching and conduct research in macroeconomics. (Previous Winners)
Walter A. Morton Dissertation Fellowship
This fellowship supports a meritorious doctoral student in the Department of Economics and was created through a fund established in 1984 by Rosalie Morton (BS 1928), widow of late UW Economics Professor Walter Morton (Ph.D. 1927), and her son Stephen D. Morton (Ph.D. 1962). (Previous Winners)
Mary Claire Aschenbrener Phipps Dissertation Fellowship
This fellowship was established by Charles Phipps in honor of his late wife, Mary Claire Phipps (BA ’51, Economics) to attract more female economists to the University of Wisconsin to inspire the next generation of female economists. The fellowship supports an outstanding female doctoral student. (Previous Winners)
JPGI funded Fellowships and Scholarships
The JPGI honors UW-Madison alumna Juli Plant Grainger. The following fellowships and scholarships are made possible by a substantial investment in the Department by David W. Grainger and the Grainger Foundation.
JPGI Summer Fellowships
These fellowships are funded by the Juli Plant Grainger Institute for Economic Research. They are awarded to students with unusually promising research proposals. (Previous Winners)
JPGI Teaching Assistant Scholarships
These scholarships are funded by the Juli Plant Grainger Institute for Economic Research. They are awarded to students with exceptional classroom performance as a teaching assistant in any Economics course, either graduate or undergraduate. (Previous Winners)
JPGI Outstanding Dissertator Fellowship
These fellowships are funded by the Juli Plant Grainger Institute for Economic Research. They are awarded to students with exceptionally promising dissertations. (Previous Winners)
Dorothy Rice Dissertation Fellowship
The Dorothy Rice Dissertation Fellowship was created in memory of health care economics pioneer and UW Alumna Dorothy Rice (Ph.D. 1941) who left a lasting legacy on the Federal Health Care Policy. Her research paved way for the creation of the Medicare program. The fellowship is awarded to an outstanding doctoral student in the Department of Economics. (Previous Winners)
Shih Graduate Student Fellowship (Ko and Ying Shih Graduate Fellowship)
May Shih and Willy Shih have honored their parents, Ko and Ying Shih, by establishing a fellowship in their names to assist graduate students in the Department of Economics. Ko Shih received his PhD in Economics (1950) and Ying Shih received her PhD in Applied Statistics (1952) at UW-Madison. Both Ko and Ying Shih were international students, so their children, May Shih and Willy Shih, would like the funds to be used for a dissertation fellowship with a slight preference given to international students. (Previous Winners)
Richard E. Stockwell Dissertation Fellowship
This fellowship was established by a trust created by Richard E. “Archie” Stockwell. Archie received his B.S. in 1940 from the University of Wisconsin. The fellowship is awarded to a graduate student who has demonstrated excellence in research. (Previous Winners )
Robock Scholarship in Empirical or Experimental Economics
The late Dr. Stefan Robock established this scholarship. Professor Robock received his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin in 1938. He did graduate work at Wisconsin and Harvard. The purpose of Dr. Robock’s gift is to support students and research by students and faculty in the Department of Economics, with preference being given to those doing empirical and/or field research or working in the field of experimental economics. (Previous Winners)
Susan B. Kocin Scholarship for Labor Economics
This scholarship, funded by the Kocin family, is awarded to promote women in the field of labor economics. (Previous Winners)
Walker Family Dissertation Fellowship
This fellowship, offered by the Department of Economics, was established by a trust created by Willard T. Walker (BA Economics 1955) and Willard T. Walker Jr. (BA Economics 1984) and Molly Walker Allen (BA Journalism and Mass Communication 1989) to recognize outstanding research potential and overall research excellence. The annual one semester dissertation fellowship is designed to support a doctoral student in Economics. (Previous Winners)
Caves Dissertation Fellowship





Christensen Dissertation Fellowship in Empirical Economics



Christensen Scholarship in Empirical Economics






Culbertson Field Paper Scholarship








David Edwin Davies Dissertation Fellowship




Alice S. Gengler Dissertation Fellowship




Shih Graduate Student Fellowship (Ko and Ying Shih Dissertation Fellowship)





Richard E. Stockwell Dissertation Fellowship



Robock Scholarship in Empirical or Experimental Economics





Susan B. Kocin Scholarship for Labor Economics



