Ph.D. Programs > Demography Ph.D. > Financial Support

Virtually all students matriculating in the Graduate Group in Demography receive support for their tuition as well as a stipend for modest living expenses. The Admissions and Awards Committee awards a limited number of fellowships from various sources, including competitive University fellowships, and training grants from the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute of Aging, and the Hewlett Foundation. Research assistantships associated with externally funded faculty research projects and teaching assistantships may also be available. These financial resources are allocated primarily on the basis of merit, so all applicants are advised to check the appropriate financial support box on the first page of the application form. Because these financial resources are comparatively scarce, it is also highly advisable for prospective students to seek financial support from outside sources: for example, U.S. students should consider applying to the National Science Foundation; foreign students should consider the Fulbright Commission (with offices in most countries), as well as other sources of national support.

The Population Studies Center has various funds for graduate training in demography and population studies; all Ph.D. students are admitted with full funding, conditional on annual reviews of performance by the program faculty. These training funds are not tied explicitly to the Graduate Group in Demography. Students applying to other graduate groups, Sociology in particular, who will be doing work in demography or population studies may well wish to address themselves to the Chair of the Graduate Group in Demography, to let them know that they are applying to a related program at Penn. The Chair of the Graduate Group in Demography will consult with Population Studies Center faculty with relevant research or training grants, in the event that the non-Demography applicant is a good candidate for such support.