Doctoral students with families will now be eligible for up to $2,500 per year from the University.
The grant — announced Tuesday by the Office of the Provost — was created in response to requests from Ph.D. candidates with families for additional financial support.
Ph.D. students typically receive a minimum stipend of $21,000, according to the School of Arts and Sciences graduate school website.
Although stipends vary by each department, “it’s hard to raise a family on a stipend alone,” said Anita Mastroieni, director of the Graduate Student Center and Family Resource Center.
The Family Grant Program will award Ph.D. candidates with children up to $2,500, depending on their financial needs, Vice Provost for Education Andy Binns said. While the need for grants is not yet entirely known, he hopes to see at least 100 grants pilot next fall.
The program intends to keep Ph.D. students in the academic and research pipeline by lessening the financial burden of having a family. The grants aim to supplement child care, insurance and day-to-day family expenses, Mastroieni said.
After students expressed that balancing family and doctoral work was a “major concern,” Binns said that the Provost’s office decided to create this initiative with the hopes that “it will allow students to attend Penn’s Ph.D. programs and thrive.”
Binns added that the Family Resource Center was also created in response to graduate students’ needs for family resources. “This is a clear indication to students that we are concerned,” he said.
“We really hope to be able to keep talented graduate students enrolled while maintaining families,” Mastroieni said. Having children “should have no bearing” on whether or not a student can continue his or her studies at Penn.
Mastroieni said the grants are the first of their kind at Penn. Princeton, Stanford and Cornell universities all have similar programs to aid graduate students with families.
Binns encouraged Ph.D. students to apply as soon as possible because of limited funds.
