PhD Costs

You may be funded internally or externally, depending on the options available. The doctoral program leadership will determine which funding is most appropriate for all incoming students.

Students who choose part-time enrollment are responsible for paying for their own tuition, fees, and health insurance.Internal Funding

In exchange for a nine-month stipend (September - May), students may be funded as a Teaching Assistant to support School of Nursing courses at up to 16 hours a week. Incoming Teaching Assistants will receive a ten-month stipend (August - May). The stipend amount for 2023-2024 is $38,000.

External Funding

You may qualify for funding from the federal government such as NIH training grants (T32s), professional organizations or foundations, or other external agencies if your research goals and objectives are a good fit for the source of funding. Doctoral program leadership will carefully determine possible sources of external funding for accepted students. Additionally, our current students have been successful at obtaining prestigious pre-doctoral NRSA awards from the National Institute of Nursing Research that can fund doctoral study.

Supplemental Employment

Funding may not be able to cover all expenses. Students who are US citizens or permanent residents funded as Teaching Assistants or through external funding who are in good academic standing may work a maximum of 10 hours per week in a supplemental job. International students may work a maximum of 8 hours per week.

International Students

Non-US citizens or non-US permanent residents are not eligible for federal grants. Therefore, you must secure your own funding for any part of the doctoral program beyond the first four years. This potentially includes work after the fourth year as well as any English language training you are required to complete at Penn prior to the start of your first academic semester.

The charts below outline costs based on the school year. For full-time doctoral students , after the first five years the reduced rate is charged until the Doctorate degree is awarded, or for a maximum of five additional years.