Assistantships & Fellowships

Assistantships 

Graduate Assistantships

Graduate Assistantships are the most prevalent type of financial assistance offered at Penn GSE. Graduate assistantships are available to full-time and half-time degree candidates at both the master's and doctoral levels. Assistantship awards are made by the academic divisions and are based on financial need and/or academic qualifications. Graduate assistants receive a partial tuition scholarship, which is taxable, in exchange for providing academically relevant service such as supervised participation in faculty research projects, teaching support, outreach activities, admissions recruiting, student affairs and other activities at Penn GSE. The School makes every effort to provide multi-year support to all graduate assistants.

Research Assistantships

Research Assistantships provide a partial or full living stipend and/or tuition support in exchange for assisting faculty with eligible research projects. Research Assistantships provide valuable mentored research experiences for doctoral students and are often offered in conjunction with other forms of aid to create a financial assistance package.  

Fellowships

Dean's Fellowships

The Dean's Fellowship provides a tuition scholarship, a living stipend, and a research and teaching apprenticeship. A limited number of Dean's Fellowships are awarded through a school-wide competition to new full-time Ph.D. and Ed.D. students who show high academic potential. Candidates must have a combined GRE verbal and quantitative score of at least 1200 and an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.5. The scholarly apprenticeship promotes the development of the student's research and teaching skills and counts in full or partial fulfillment of the Graduate Group's research apprenticeship requirement. The award is renewable for up to two additional years for qualified candidates.

William Fontaine Fellowship

The William Fontaine Fellowship is a tuition scholarship and a living stipend awarded to outstanding new under-represented students pursuing full-time study toward the Ph.D. degree. The fellowship is named in honor of Dr. William Fontaine, who was a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania and the first African-American to become a fully affiliated professor of the University. Fontaine Funds support the education of the most under-represented groups in Ph.D. education nationally, including African American/Black, Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Native American, economically disadvantaged and first-generation college students. Candidates are recommended by the Graduate School of Education and approved by the Office of the Provost. The fellowship award for Ph.D. students also includes a scholarly apprenticeship that promotes the development of the student's research and teaching skills. The scholarly apprenticeship counts in full or partial fulfillment of the Graduate Group's research apprenticeship requirement.

Marcus Foster Fellowship

The Marcus Foster Fellowship provides a tuition scholarship, a living stipend, and a research and teaching apprenticeship. The fellowship is named for Dr. Marcus Foster, an African-American alumnus of the Graduate School of Education and an educational leader who brought determination and a sense of direction to troubled schools. The fellowship is offered to students who show exceptional academic qualifications and career goals similar to Dr. Foster's. The recipient should be someone who is committed to seeking change in educational systems and demonstrates a dedication to reforming problematic environments. The  scholarly apprenticeship promotes the development of the student's research and teaching skills and counts in full or partial fulfillment of the Graduate Group's research apprenticeship requirement. The award is renewable.

Pre-Doctoral Training Program in Interdisciplinary Methods for Field-Based Research in Education

Penn GSE offers a Pre-Doctoral Training Program designed to support and enhance the Ph.D. training of students in different disciplines who are committed to careers in applied, field-based education research. The initiative involves six University of Pennsylvania schools and multiple school districts in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and it is supported by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) in the U.S. Department of Education. Fellows receive financial support, access to specialized resources and experts in the field of study and become part of an emerging national network of students, faculty and practitioners conducting interdisciplinary research in the education sciences. For more information, click here.