Economics DepartmentThe Duke University Graduate School and the Economics Department provide full funding for PhD students through the fifth year, including tuition, mandatory fees, health and dental insurance, and12-month stipends. Of the approximately 17 new Economics Ph.D. students each year, 90 percent or more are fully funded for a sixth year, so long as they remain in good academic standing, and the remainder are either supported by external funding sources or are self-supported. The department often offers partial employment for self-supported students through hourly payment for grading papers, tutoring, etc.Loansmay be available to Ph.D. students in years beyond funding and for whom limited departmental or institutional aid does not meet the cost of attendance budget.
See theCost to Attendpage of the Graduate School website for further details about tuition, mandatory fees, and estimated living expenses. Additional funding opportunities includeconference travel fellowships, dissertation research fellowships, and others. See theFind Fundingpage for a searchable list of funding opportunities for graduate students.
First Academic Year
First-year funding is provided as a fellowship, with no obligation outside of coursework.
First and Second Summers
The Graduate School and Trinity College guarantee summer funding, in the form of asummer research fellowship($9,650 in June-August 2024), to all students who otherwise would not have funding during their first and second summers.
Academic Years Beyond the First
After the first year, funding is provided to students via teaching assistant, research assistant, graduate assistant, and other positions. The allocation of departmental graduate funding occurs in multiple stages, although students and faculty make individual arrangements for funding through outside grants and may choose not to participate. Academic-year positions are determined during the spring semester of the previous year.
- Teaching assistant (TA)assignments are made to all second-year students and any qualified students third-year and above.
- Faculty with outside grant funding hire students in years three and up asresearch assistants (RA)to work on the project sponsored by the grant.
- Faculty bid for the right to hire students in years three and up asgraduate assistants (GA), who provide research or instructional assistance as needed.
- Students who are not matched with a TA, RA, or GA position during the matching window are assigned to other jobs in the department, such as grading, Head TA for an undergraduate core course, or TA for a non-core course.
Students who decline employment contracts forfeit eligibility for guaranteed funding. Guaranteed funding is contingent upon remaining in good academic standing.
Summer Funding
In the summers following the third and fourth years, students are guaranteed full fellowship funding if they have passed their field and preliminary examinations and are remain in good academic standing. Students are eligible for a departmental dissertation fellowship ($9,650 in June-August 2024) if they have applied for but did not receive theGraduate School Summer Research Fellowshipor other funding. Alternatively, students may teach summer courses, work as Research Assistants, or participate in paid internships. In the fifth summer students are funded by Graduate School or Trinity College fellowships; paid experiential positions such as instructor-of-record for summer courses, RA positions, or internships; or departmental fellowships if they meet certain conditions.
Fees
Each academic year and summer in which a student is funded, payment of the following is made to the Bursar's office:
- Tuition
- Health and dental insurance (paid by The Graduate School through year six)
- Recreation fee (optional)
- Student activity fee (student government)
- Health fee (access to Student Wellness Center)
Please note:The Department of Economics, the Graduate School, or external research grants pay for all mandatory fees through year five, and usually including year six. The recreation fee, optional after the third year and during summers, is paid by the department upon request through year six. For details, visit theCost to Attendpage of the Graduate School website.