The President’s Ph.D. Initiative

Announced in Fall 2020, the President’s Ph.D. Initiative is a six-year, $30 million initiative to support doctoral education at Penn. The Initiative creates and supports Presidential Ph.D. Fellows, drawn from among the most accomplished and diverse doctoral students at or newly recruited to Penn. Each Presidential Ph.D. Fellow will receive a three-year fellowship, including summer support and funds to support their research. The inaugural group of fellows was selected entirely from existing Penn Ph.D. students during the 2021-22 academic year. From 2022-2024, fellowships have been awarded to incoming Ph.D. students. We are nearing the end of this six-year initiative, and no more fellows will be named after 2024. Read more about some of our extraordinary Presidential Ph.D. Fellows.

FAQS

Presidential Ph.D. Fellows are chosen from among incoming Ph.D. students. Students do not need to apply for the fellowship; they will be selected based on their admissions materials.

All Presidential Ph.D. Fellows:

  • Demonstrate exceptional academic promise, especially in terms of having an innovative research plan;
  • Contribute to increasing impact in their fields; such contributions could be demonstrated as follows:
    • The candidate could produce scholarship that contributes to better understanding of issues of diversity/inclusion/inequity; and/or
    • The candidate could express an interest in pursuing community-engaged scholarship or interdisciplinary research within their fields; and/or
    • The candidate could demonstrate an interest and capacity to enhance a broadly diverse and inclusive learning community
  • Demonstrate leadership potential (through University service, student government, society engagement, etc.).

Each Presidential Ph.D. Fellow will receive a fellowship for up to three years, which will include a 12-month stipend, tuition, fees, Penn Student Insurance Plan coverage, and research funds. In 2023-24, the annual stipend will be $42,000 with research funds of $10,000/year. The fellowship will renew automatically for students in good academic standing.

No, all of the academic requirements of the program, including teaching and research, remain in place for Presidential Ph.D. Fellows.

Yes, this initiative is dedicated to supporting Ph.D. students at Penn.