Financial Support

Research Assistantships

Students on Research Assistantships are employed by the professor who hired them. In the second year RA appointments are arranged. Beyond the second year, students must contact faculty directly to arrange for Research Assistantships. RA support provides salary and tuition allowance for ten units in Autumn, Winter and Spring quarters. In Summer, tuition allowance for an RA is usually for three units. RA positions receive a payroll check twice monthly and also receive a health insurance subsidy. RAs work an average of 20 hours per week during the quarter in which they are employed.  Some students are hired as RAs by faculty in other departments.

Teaching Assistantships

TA support provides salary and tuition allowance for ten units in Autumn, Winter and Spring quarters which are 12-week appointment terms. In Summer, the appointment span is only 9 weeks and tuition allowance for a TA covers one unit.  TAs are hired by the department and receive a payroll check twice a month, in addition to a health insurance subsidy. TAs work an average of 20 hours per week during the quarter in which they are employed.  Some students are hired to TA courses in other departments.

If you are an international student working as a TA for the first time, you must obtain language clearance from the Linguistics Department by taking the oral English proficiency test given by the English for Foreign Student (EFS) staff prior to starting the TA position.

Each graduate student will receive two separate stipends during their time in the department without having to apply for the funds. 

Relocation: The first $1,000 stipend will be paid to incoming first-year students to support their time in math camp and adjustment to campus life at the beginning of their first quarter of enrollment. This will be automatically entered in the system but will not be disbursed to the student until the start of the school year. Students must be enrolled to receive their stipend.

Job Market: The second $1,000 stipend is paid to students upon their entry to the job market in support of their career search. The student will receive this stipend in mid-October of their job market year. If you receive this stipend and then your plans change, forcing you to drop from the job market for a later year, you are not eligible for another stipend in that future year so please plan accordingly. 

Student stipends are taxable. Detailed information may be found here as the department cannot provide official tax advice.

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.

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 

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

Each student is eligible to request up to $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 as she 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 include payments to human subjects (IRB approval required); services (data entry, editing); data purchases or collection (including directly related travel); fieldwork; computer purchases considered based on research needs (not allowed during your final job market/graduation year).
• Ineligible expenses include living expenses; interview travel; dissertation production and 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 Student Services Coordinator in charge of administering these funds, Nayely Martinez.  Upon approval of your research application, Nayely will 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 and Jennifer Portillo.

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 najamart [at] stanford.edu (Nayely) 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 najamart [at] stanford.edu (Nayely Martinez) about Stanford travel and reimbursement policies. Nayely 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 Nayely 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 Nayely for further information, you must respond promptly to allow the process to progress in a timely fashion. 

Journal Submission Fees
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 that cost through a reimbursement. This process is managed with the support of najamart [at] stanford.edu (Nayely Martinez). 

To receive reimbursement, the student must submit a copy of the submission receipt, the name of the journal they are submitting to, the title of the article, and 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).

Tax Information for Graduate Students

Taxes constitute a complex subject. Below some general information is provided, but it should not be taken as official advice. Detailed information may be found at https://studentservices.stanford.edu/my-finances/1098-t-tax-overview-and-faqs.

Matriculated (Degree-Seeking) Students:

Tuition Support

• Tax exempt

Salary (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).

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.

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.