Financial Aid

Financial aid and awards are available to Ecology graduate students. Ph.D. students in the Ecology program are normally funded for five years; M.S. students receive two years of funding. Please discuss funding options with your potential faculty advisers or the program chair.

Tuition, Stipend, and Research Costs

Students may be funded through research or teaching assistantships, fellowships, or grants.

  • Research assistantships are coordinated through the student's faculty adviser and should be discussed directly with this (potential) adviser.
  • A limited number of research assistantships are available through funds from the Huck Institutes and the Graduate School.
  • Additional funding may be available if the student is an underrepresented minority
  • Teaching assistantships are available through the adviser's home department, or in special cases in the Department of Biology as arranged by the Ecology program.
  • University Graduate Fellowships may be available to highly-qualified students.

Funding typically covers tuition (or provides a tuition waiver), plus a stipend. Some funding sources may also cover certain research costs.

Supplementary Funding

Travel Awards

Current Ecology students can apply for two awards, which are available to a limited number of students in the program each year:

Ecology Awards

One Ecology student each year will receive this award, based on peer and faculty nominations:

Other Awards

A number of financial awards are available from internal (e.g., the Graduate School at Penn State) and external (e.g., NSF, DOE, private donors) sources.