Department Financial Support


General Funding Guidelines

The following guidelines for the allocation of funds have been established (consult the department for possible changes):

  • Entering Students: the Department offers a limited number of Teaching Assistantships (TAships), tuition and/or fee scholarships to first year students when admission decisions are made. San Diego Fellowships are awarded as part of the UC San Diego's Graduate Student Outreach and Recruitment Program. These fellowships include a stipend, tuition (if applicable) and fee scholarships.
  • Second Year through Fifth Year: full-time students making normal progress in the program are assured at least partial aid during the second through fifth years. The amount of aid depends upon the availability of funds, the number of eligible students and group standing. Foreign students should note that tuition scholarships are limited and based on academic progress. TAships are also contingent upon receiving satisfactory teaching evaluations and proficiency with English.
  • Graduate Student Researcher (GSR) and Teaching Assistant (TA) Responsibilities: the work required for TAs and GSRs vary with each assignment. No student is allowed to work more than an average of 20 hours per week during the regular academic year. Teaching assistants are expected to take their responsibilities seriously. Poor teaching evaluation ratings will result in the loss of aid.
  • Outside Jobs: fellowship holders are generally prohibited from holding outside jobs. Although the Department does not prohibit outside jobs for GSRs and TAs, their assistantships may be withdrawn if their performance as teaching or research assistants is compromised.
  • Course Load: the University requires foreign students and recipients of most kinds of aid to carry a full course load, defined as twelve or more units.
  • Language Assistantships: foreign students whose native language is French, German or Spanish are encouraged to apply for language assistantships. Foreign students' spouses sometimes also qualify for language assistantships.  These positions are offered by the Department of History and Department of Linguistics.
  • Student Loans: a limited number of loans are available to U.S. Citizens or Permanent U.S. Residents. This type of financial aid is administered by the University’s Financial Aid Office.
  • Summer Jobs: research and teaching assistantship positions are available during the summer. These positions are scarce therefore no student is guaranteed summer employment.

General Departmental Information & Criteria for Awarding Financial Support

In April/May and October/November of each academic year, student’s progress is evaluated by their advisor and if necessary, the Graduate Committee places him or her on probation. Probation normally lasts from three to twelve months. A student may be dismissed from the program any time after the probationary period if, in the judgment of the graduate committee, the probability of the student's completing the above requirements, attaining candidacy, and writing an acceptable dissertation is low. The student has the right to appeal this decision, first to the Graduate Committee and then to the Department Chair. If a student feels that due process was not followed or that personal prejudice was involved, he or she may appeal the decision to the Dean of Graduate Studies.

Support Criteria

  • All graduate students must have a GPA of at least 3.0.
  • Group standing is based on performance in the program and is determined at the start of classes in fall quarter. For the remainder of the academic year group standing will only be adjusted based on qualifying events (passing Qualifying Exams or Advancement to Candidacy).
  • To continue to receive a Teaching Assistantship (TAship) a student must have performed satisfactorily scoring at least a 2.0 or better on past TA evaluations.
  • All graduate students must be enrolled in appropirate Ph.D. courses and registered in at least 12 units
  • The University support time limit stipulates that no student receive more than six years of financial assistance of any kind.
  • The department guarantees at least partial funding to students in good standing through the 5th year. Students who are not in good standing, or are beyond their 5th year, will not normally receive funding.

For Those Admitted On or After Fall 2008

Procedures for allocating TA positions and other financial support

The Department bases the allocation of TA positions and other funding on a student's group standing as classified by the Graduate Committee. Students may be reclassified if they pass qualifiers or the C.Phil. exam prior to the 1st day of instruction in Fall, Winter and Spring quarters. Find out the current TA salary. Those in a higher group standing have priority over those in a lower group standing in the allocation of financial support. While future resources can never be guaranteed, our past practice has been to provide:

  • Group A receives 50% TA appointment plus full fees and tuition.
  • Group B receives at least a 35% TA appointment plus two-thirds of quarterly balance of tuition and fees.
  • Group C receives at least a 25% TA appointment plus one-third of quarterly balance of tuition and fees.
  • Group D receives support if TA appointments are available.
  • Other funding is provided based on availability of funds.

The rules for determining group standing are as follows

For purposes of the descriptions below, an nth year student is a student who will enter his/her nth year of graduate study at UCSD the following September.

All Graduate Students Must:

YEAR

GROUP

RULES
2nd A

Passed both Microeconomics and Macroeconomics Qualifying Exams

Fall 2009 or after: passed any two qualifying exams.

B

Passed at least one Microeconomics and Macroeconomics Qualifying Exams

Fall 2009 or after: passed one qualifying exam.

C All remaining students
3rd A Passed all Qualifying Exams and passed four elective courses
B Passed all Qualifying exams and passed three elective courses
C Passed all Qualifying Exams
4th A Advanced to Candidacy
B Fulfilled all pre-candidacy requirements in the Fall Quarter
C Fulfilled all pre-candidacy requirements in the Winter or Spring Quarters
5th A Advanced to Candidacy
B NA
C Fulfilled all pre-candidacy requirements

Note: If students do not meet the above requirements, they will be classified as Group D.

For Those Admitted Before Fall 2008

Procedure for Determining Standing

The Department bases the allocation of TA positions and other funding on a student's group standing as classified by the Graduate Committee. Students may be reclassified if they pass qualifiers or the C.Phil. exam prior to the 1st day of instruction in the Fall, Winter and Spring quarters. Find out the current TA salary. Those in a higher group standing have priority over those in a lower group standing in the allocation of financial support. While future resources can never be guaranteed, our past practice has been to provide:

  • Group A receives 50% TA appointment plus full fees and tuition.
  • Group B receives at least a 35% TA appointment plus two-thirds of quarterly balance of tuition and fees.
  • Group C receives at least a 25% TA appointment plus one-third of quarterly balance of tuition and fees.
  • Group D receives support if TA appointments are available.
  • Other funding is provided based on availability of funds.

The rules for determining group standing are as follows

For purposes of the descriptions below, an nth year student is a student who will enter his/her nth year of graduate study at UCSD the following September.

All Graduate Students Must:

YEAR

GROUP

RULES
2nd

A

 GPA of at least 3.67
or
GPA of at least 3.5 and passed the Microeconomics and Macroeconomics Qualifying exams

B

 GPA of at least 3.5
or
GPA of at least 3.33 and passed at least one of the Microeconomics and Macroeconomics Qualifying exams
C GPA of at least 3.0
D GPA less than 3.0
3rd A Passed all three Qualifying Exams
Taken four of seven elective courses
GPA of at least 3.67
B Passed at least two Qualifying Exams
Taken four of seven elective courses
GPA of at least 3.33
C

Passed one Qualifying Exam
GPA of at least 3.00

D Have not passed at least one Qualifying Exam
4th A Advanced to candidacy
B Fulfilled all pre-candidacy requirements
C Passed at least two Qualifying Exams, one elective sequence, the third year paper and presentation requirements
GPA of at least 3.0
D Have not passed:
At least two Qualifying Exams
One elective sequence
Third-year writing and presentation requirements
5th A Passed the candidacy exam
Judged by the thesis committee, as indicated on the student's semi-annual Progress Report, to be making solid progress
B NA
C Passed the Candidacy Exam
but
Judged by the thesis committee, as indicated on the student's semi-annual Spring Progress Report, not to be making solid progress
D Have not advanced to candidacy

Notes: Members of Groups A and B are in good standing and members of Groups C and D are not in good standing. GPA refers to calculated GPA of graduate economics courses only, excluding ECON 205.