Message from the Director of Graduate Studies
Financial Aid
Available
Department of Economics
Graduate Program
| Fellowships |
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Almost all admitted students receive financial aid from the Department of Economics, either in the form of teaching assistantships or fellowships. This aid usually includes full payment of tuition, partial payment of the health insurance premium and a stipend. Most financial aid packages are for five years, contingent upon remaining in good academic standing, and abiding by other terms listed in the offer letter.
Most of our students receive teaching assistantships, which require a maximum of 20 hours per week of work. In the first year, students start out as graders or leaders of discussion sections for Introduction to Microeconomics or Introduction to Macroeconomics. All students spend at least one semester as a recitation leader before teaching courses independently. More advanced students serve as teaching assistants for first-year graduate theory courses, teach advanced undergraduate courses or lead the large lecture for introductory undergraduate theory courses.A smaller number of students receive fellowships. These fellowships do not have a work requirement, but provide the payment of tuition, health insurance and a stipend. The stipends vary according to fellowships. For a list of fellowships offered by the University of Minnesota and other institutions, please visit our Fellowship page.
First year students often receive a combination of a teaching assistantship and fellowship.
Students who fulfill the criteria for satisfactory progress and have been offered multi-year financial aid packages from the department are offered part-time teaching assistantships or comparable support for the following years as defined by the offer letter, but usually through the fifth year. In order to receive this support, the student must perform the assistantship duties diligently and be making satisfactory progress through the program as defined in the Graduate Student Handbook. If the student is not a native English speaker, the student must pass the SPEAK test of spoken English by the end of the first year of the program.
Some students are employed as research assistants, although this is at the discretion of the individual faculty member. A limited number of students work at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis as research assistants. These appointments are usually reserved for more advanced students and are made at the discretion of the researcher. For more information about the Minneapolis Fed, please visit their webpage.
