Financial Support

Students are encouraged to pursue other sources of support to assist them during the research stage of their program. A short list of available resources is outlined below.
 

• King Center on Global Poverty and Development: 
  • Graduate Student Fellowships 
  • Graduate Student Research Grants
• Weiss Family Program Fund for Research in Development Economics
• Stanford Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies (SEED)
• PACS Center Research Fellowships
• IRiSS Research Experience Program (REP)
• McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society Graduate Student Fellowships
• RAISE Doctoral Fellowship Program
• CCSRE Dissertation and Teaching Graduate Fellowships
• Dwight D. Eisenhower/Clifford Roberts Fellowship
• Tobin Project Graduate Student Fellowship
• DARE (Diversifying Academia, Recruiting Excellence) Doctoral Fellowship Program

All incoming first-year graduate students will receive a $1,000 stipend to support their time in math camp and adjustment to campus life. No application is necessary. These funds will be disbursed at the beginning of their first quarter of enrollment. 

Student stipends are taxable. The department cannot provide official tax advice, but additional information can be found via Student Services.

A $1,000 is paid to students in support of their career search upon entry to the job market. No application is necessary for this stipend, which is generally disbursed in mid-October of a student's job market year. 

This is a one-time stipend; if your plans change, you are not eligible for another stipend in a future year. 

Student stipends are taxable. The department cannot provide official tax advice, but additional information can be found via Student Services.

Each student is eligible to request up to a total of $7,000 throughout their PhD career to support research and/or conference travel. Funds may be taken at different points throughout their time in the program. 

To use these funds you must fill out the departmental student funding application form. For more details on how these funds can be used and specifics about who to speak with check the research funding and conference travel sections below on this page. 

• Applications are accepted on a running basis, but please allow up to 6 weeks for processing.
• The ongoing total of the $7,000 funds is tracked by Anahi Rodriguez, who processes the requests.

For more information or clarification on this funding, please speak with the Assistant Director of Student Services, sburbank [at] stanford.edu (Stephanie Burbank). 

Research Funding

Econ departmental research funds are meant to complement other sources of funding, such as SIEPR research grants like Shultz, competitive H&S grants, and other external sources. 

All requests for research-related funding must be accompanied by an uploaded email of approval from your advisor.

Eligible research-related expenses 

• payments to human subjects (IRB approval required)
• services (data entry, editing)
• data purchases or collection (including directly related travel)
• fieldwork
• computer purchases are considered based on research needs (not allowed during your final job market/graduation year).

Ineligible expenses

• living expenses
• interview travel
• dissertation production 
• publication fees

Approval Process:

Once you have an email of approval from your advisor, submit the Departmental Student Funding Application form. This form obtains approval from the Director of Graduate Studies, Melanie Morten, and then is routed to the Assistant Director of Student Services, Stephanie Burbank, and the Faculty Administrator in charge of administering these funds, Anahi Rodriguez. Upon approval of your research application, Anahi will work to determine the appropriate method of payment (stipend, reimbursement, purchase agreement) and the documentation required to ensure compliance with Stanford University policy and procedures. She will work in conjunction with Stephanie Burbank.

We recommend filling out the online form to request research funding as soon as you know you will need financing because this can take time to process appropriately. If you have questions before submitting your form, please feel free to reach out to arod88 [at] stanford.edu (Anahi) or sburbank [at] stanford.edu (Stephanie) as it would be best to know what you are trying to spend money on to make sure it is allowable by Stanford policies. 

Conference Travel:

To qualify for reimbursement, students must either present at or serve as an organizer of a conference. Travel expenses will not be covered for students who only attend a conference as a participant.

• All travel must be directly related to the doctoral degree and will be reimbursed only after travel has been fully completed.
• Students will complete the departmental graduate student funding form before attending the conference and then complete the final piece upon return to upload all associated receipts.

Arranging Travel

Before filling out this form, students should speak with arod88 [at] stanford.edu (Anahi Rodriguez) about Stanford travel and reimbursement policies. Anahi can also assist in booking airfare and lodging using the department travel card if there are concerns about upfront costs.

While it is no longer required to book student travel through Stanford's Student Travel booking channels, it is still recommended. If the student chooses to book independently, they must follow Stanford's travel policies and submit all receipts for reimbursement.

• Eligible expenses include airfare (economy class at the lowest available airfare and in compliance with the Fly America Act), lodging, ground transportation, conference fees, and meals.
• It is suggested to check for discounted hotel rooms provided by the conference.
• If the student plans to depart a few days before or a few days after the conference for personal reasons, an airfare comparison will be required- the student will need to work directly with Anahi Rodriguez to determine the amount they will be reimbursed.

The form will ask for specific travel details that include travel dates, departure/arrival locations, airlines, hotels, and if you plan to stay additional days after conference dates.

If you do not speak to Anahi before booking your travel, she will work with you to reimburse what is eligible. This process can take some time, so please understand that you won't be reimbursed immediately. Please allow for a minimum of 6 weeks to process all receipts and when contacted by Anahi for further information, you must respond promptly to allow the process to progress in a timely fashion. 

Submitting to a journal is a significant part of your Ph.D. career and the department wants to support our students in this process. 

• If you are submitting in conjunction with a faculty member, the department would expect the cost of the journal fee to be covered by that faculty member. 
• If the submission is solely yours, the department will cover the cost via reimbursement. This process is managed with the support of arod88 [at] stanford.edu (Anahi Rodriguez). 

To receive reimbursement, submit the following: 

• A copy of the submission receipt
• The name of the journal to which the publication was submitted
• The title of the article
• The submission date. 

Please allow up to 6 weeks for processing. 

Journal submission is covered solely by the department and is not part of the $7,000 student funds. However, for tracking purposes, students must complete the graduate student departmental funding application form. For any questions, please feel free to contact the Assistant Director of Student Services, sburbank [at] stanford.edu (Stephanie Burbank).

Students in social science or humanities disciplines who are making satisfactory academic progress and are in years two through five of their doctoral program may apply.

• Application deadlines are in mid-November and early April
• Stipend amount up to $5,000
• Recipients of previous GRO fellowships are not eligible

Successful applicants must be registered in the quarter they receive GRO funds. Grants will be issued by the end of November for the Fall recipients, and May for the Spring recipients.

More information is available on the HumSci fellowships and funding site.

Taxes constitute a complex subject. Some general information is provided below, but it should not be taken as official advice. Detailed information may be found at My Finances.

Matriculated (Degree-Seeking) Students:

Tuition Support

• Tax-exempt

Stipend (Fellowships)

U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and resident aliens for tax purposes:

• The stipend is taxable; however, it is not subject to withholding or reporting by Stanford.
• Students are responsible for making any necessary estimated tax payments.
• Federal Form 1040-ES is available in the Bursar's office. California Form 540-ES is enclosed with the CA tax return (or call 1-800-338-0505).

International students:

• The stipend is subject to 14 percent withholding; however, students may be eligible for a tax exemption if their country has a tax treaty with the US (Form W-8Ben, Payroll office).
• Stipend and tax withholding are reported by Stanford on Form 1042-S (not W-2) and mailed to the student Should file federal tax Form 1040NR and probably CA Form 540 at tax time each year.
• All fellowship recipients can reduce their taxable income by amounts spent on fees, books, supplies, and equipment (usually not computers) specifically required for courses; students should keep all receipts for these items.

Salary (Research or Teaching Assistantships)

• Taxable and subject to withholding (but not FICA, Medicare or VDI)
• Reported by Stanford on a W-2
• International students may qualify for federal "tax treaty exemption" if one exists between the US and their country (Form 8233, Payroll office). The exempt amount is reported on Form 1042S. Should file federal Form 1040NR (available at the International Center at tax time and online) each year, and probably CA Form 540 (also available online).

Nonmatriculated (Not Degree-Seeking) Students, for example, postdoctoral students:

All support (tuition, stipend. and salary) is taxable

• Exception: International students may claim a tax treaty exemption - if one exists between the US and their country - on whatever support the treaty covers.
• Exception: the tuition of "student employees" paid 10% or more by Stanford payroll may be tax exempt (See the "Working Condition Fringe" statement cited in the memo on Taxation of Postdoctoral Fellow Tuition Payments in Tax Year 1994 J. McGuire, 10/27/94).

Salary (Postdoctoral Research Affiliates and Clinical Specialists)

• Subject to all withholding
• Reported by Stanford on a W-2
• International students may qualify for federal "tax treaty exemption" if one exists between the US and their country (Form 8233, Payroll office). The exempt amount is reported on Form 1042S. Should file federal Form 1040NR (available at the International Center at tax time and online) each year. And probably CA Form 540 (also available online).

Stipend

U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and resident aliens for tax purposes:

• Though taxable, the stipend is not subject to withholding. The stipend will be reported to CA and the IRS (Form 1099). Students are responsible for making any necessary estimated tax payments.
• Federal Form 1040-ES is available at the Payroll office.
• California Form 540-ES is enclosed with the CA tax return (or call 1-800-338-0505).

International students:

• The stipend is subject to 14% withholding; however, students may be eligible for a tax exemption if their country has a tax treaty with the US (Form W-8Ben, Payroll office).
• Stipend and tax withholding are reported by Stanford on Form 1042-S (not W-2) snf mailed to the student.
• Students should file federal tax Form 1040NR and probably CA Form 540 at tax time each year.

Note: The brief discussion of tax items in this memo is not to be considered tax advice. Please refer to the IRS publications listed below. Where needed, students should seek competent tax counsel. IRS Publications: #4 Student's Guide to Federal Income Tax; #501-Exemptions, Standard Deductions and Filing; #505-Tax withholding and Estimated Tax; #508-Educationa1 Expenses; #515-Withholding Tax on Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Corporations; #519-US Tax Guide for Aliens; #520-Scholarships and Fellowships; #525-Taxable and Nontaxable income; #901-US Tax Treaties. To order. call 1-800-829-3676.