The Economics Department has some limited merit-based financial aid available for graduate students each year. Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTAs) and tuition credits are available for both international and domestic students. We award the financial support mainly on the basis of scholastic ability, though with some concern for need, and the ability and willingness to assist us in some of our undergraduate courses. One?s chance for obtaining financial aid also depends on the level of competition from other applicants.

In recent years most students who have received aid have approximately 50 percent of their 45 hours of tuition required for the degree supported. There is a limited amount of need-based grant aid and federal financial aid, including federal student loans and work study funds. To be considered for need-based and federal financial aid, you must complete and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online at www.fafsa.ed.gov by March 1. International students are not eligible to apply for federal financial aid and do not need to file FAFSA.  Any further questions can be addressed to the Financial Aid Office at 303-871- 4020 or finaid@du.edu.

GTA Positions

For each academic year in the recent past we have been able to distribute two full GTA positions  Each full GTA position involves 20 hours of work per week and carries a 30 credit hour tuition waiver during an academic year plus a stipend. The stipend for the 2010-2011 academic year is US$14,000 which is distributed over a nine-month period (the rough equivalence of the combined lengths of the Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters). Because the competition between highly qualified students for financial assistance typically becomes fierce, the Department often divides the financial support packages into fractions (e.g., three-quarter, half-, or quarter-time GTA-positions) to spread the support among several students. 

Department Scholarships

We typically also award 75 credit hours of scholarship money to qualified students. There are no specific requirements for qualifying for this money except that the recipient be a full-time student. Again, this money is often divided up between several qualified students rather than awarded to just one student. 

Competition and Personal Funds

Every year we receive numerous inquiries from potential applicants, especially international ones, about our program, and every year, many of these students apply. It is imperative that students realize that they will almost always have to supply some personal funds because of the level of competition for limited funding. A number of well qualified students apply each year and unfortunately, even the most exceptional are sometimes unable to come as they have not yet accumulated sufficient personal funds to supplement what we can offer. This is an especially important consideration for international applicants.