Graduate Student Grants, Prizes, and Other Support

Student Research Awards

The Institute for Economic Development welcomes applications from doctoral students in the Economics Department for student research awards.  The award can be used by the student to fund expenses for either the purchase of data or data collection travel costs.

Research grants will be limited until the Fall Semester of the year a student defends their thesis or the first six years of their enrollment in the PhD program, whichever is earlier. Applications should be submitted before any acceptance to conferences or purchase of data. All research grant applications are required to include a completed and signed cover sheet to include the following information:

• A written summary describing the need for this research grant (no more than three pages)
• Detailed budget (list anticipated trips for data collection and costs for each)
• A detailed recommendation from a faculty advisor

Submit applications to Kayla (264 Bay State Road, Room 510; iedcoord@bu.edu) at any time during the academic year. An IED faculty committee will review applications.

Upon approval of your grant, you can submit receipts for reimbursement. You must submit receipts with the following clearly indicated:

• Name of company/vendor
• Date of purchase
• If the receipts are in a foreign language, a written description of each receipt is required.
• Address where the reimbursement check should be mailed

Upon approval, data purchases can be acquired by the department, or you can purchase it yourself and be reimbursed, as long as you have a detailed receipt. Each student can apply up to $3,000 per academic year toward data purchases.

If you have any questions, please contact Kayla at iedcoord@bu.edu.

Please note: Any research you purchase can be included on the IED Research Data Network for department use, provided an institutional license is purchased for the data. The IED can provide funds to purchase such a license; please contact Kayla for approval before purchasing.

The IED offers travel grants to Economics PhD students to present their original research papers at approved conferences. Each student can apply for up to $2,000 per academic year toward travel. Grants will be awarded only for travel through the Fall semester of the year students defend their thesis, or the first six years of their enrollment in the PhD program, whichever is earlier. Applications should be submitted before accepting a conference invitation unless the student plans on paying for the travel regardless of approval for the grant. Applications must be submitted no later than four weeks in advance of the date of travel. Please note that travel grant funds cannot be paid in advance of the travel. You will receive your grant as a reimbursement after your travel. 

*New policy: Only 1-2 hotel nights will be permitted*

Please note: decision times may take up to 14 business days, all travel grants now require an additional approval from CAS due to budget constraints.

All travel grant applications are required to include a completed and signed cover sheet.

• Conference name and dates
• Your name
• Email
• BU ID number
• Address to which check should be sent
• Estimates for travel costs (air, hotel, etc.)
  • Please provide screenshots/receipts to show how you calculated the travel costs indicated on your cover sheet
• Advisor’s recommendation
• Invitation to conference
• Abstract
• Travel grant money received during that academic year

Upon approval of your grant, please submit your receipts in chronological order, clearly labelled with:

• the vendor name
• the date of purchase
• If the receipts are in a foreign language, a written description of each receipt is required.

Please note: IED Student Grants do NOT reimburse for food/meals.

Submit applications to Kayla (264 Bay State Road, Room 510; iedcoord@bu.edu).

Submit all receipts for reimbursement here.

To assist with the cost of publications, IED offers journal submission grants to Economics graduate students. Each student will be required to pay the first $25 toward the total amount of journal fees. Then the student is eligible to receive reimbursements of the remaining costs, including any subscription costs relating to the journal entry requirements. Student journal submission grants will be limited until the Fall Semester of the year the student defends their thesis or the first six years of their enrollment in the PhD program, whichever is earlier. Applications should be submitted after journal submissions have been submitted and must include a completed cover sheet with the following information:

• Journal name and copy of the publication and cost requirements
• Your name
• Email
• BU ID number
• Address to which check should be sent
• Advisor’s recommendation
• Abstract
• Receipts are listed in a table. If receipts are in a foreign language, a written description of each receipt is required. Receipts should be taped (not stapled) onto 8.5 x 11 paper in chronological order.

Once you have submitted a complete application, it will be reviewed and—if approved—submitted for reimbursement.

Applications should be submitted to Kayla (264 Bay State Rd, Room 510, iedcoord@bu.edu).

Application

The Department of Economics and Institute for Economic Development (IED) at Boston University are pleased to invite proposals for Abdala Fieldwork Research Grants for 2025-26 from Economics PhD students. These grants are made possible by a generous gift from alumnus Manuel Abdala and will be supplemented with grants provided by IED to assist students in conducting research fieldwork. Award amounts vary, usually falling in the range of $2,000 – $6,000.

Fieldwork is broadly defined as work and expenses necessary for research projects that cannot be carried out on campus, e.g., conducting surveys or field experiments, interviewing subjects, collecting archival/historical data not available in Boston. Grants will be awarded based on evaluations of the proposals based on expected research quality, policy relevance, the necessity of the fieldwork to carry out the research, and cost-effectiveness. A faculty committee appointed by the IED in consultation with the Department Chair will be selected from submitted applications. Following completion of the research, a project report needs to be submitted which summarizes the work completed, results obtained so far and policy implications (if any).

Most of the fieldwork should be planned to be completed by May 2026. Students receiving the grants will be required to submit a report of the work done.

Applications should be submitted by Sunday, March 16, 2025 at 11:59PM. They should include:

• A description (1500 words or less) of the proposed research, including motivation, design and nature of fieldwork to be carried out . If necessary provide additional details in an Appendix, but the main proposal should be self-contained.
• A budget with a detailed breakdown of different line items, with appropriate justification for each item.
• A timeline for different activities and completion of fieldwork.
• A recommendation letter to be submitted separately to the IED Program Coordinator by a faculty advisor by the submission deadline. Please indicate which faculty advisor will be writing your recommendation letter in your email submission. 

The Institute for Economic Development of the Department of Economics is pleased to announce the Call for 2024 Rosenstein-Rodan Essay submissions, in memory of Professor Paul Rosenstein-Rodan. A monetary prize will be awarded to the best research paper(s) in development economics or related field submitted by a PhD student at Boston University.

Eligibility

Any currently enrolled Boston University PhD student who has not been in the graduate program for more than five years may submit. Joint papers by students are eligible, with the prize shared equally; joint papers with faculty or post-doctoral fellows are not eligible. Past winners are NOT eligible.

Subject Matter

The paper can be in development economics or a related field (e.g., international economics, growth, political economy, organizational economics, migration, emerging markets, economic geography, urban economics, the economics of the family, and economic history). Theoretical, empirical or experimental contributions are all welcome.

Selection

Submissions will be reviewed by a selection committee composed of faculty members affiliated with the Institute for Economic Development.

Submission Instructions

The paper, not to exceed 40 pages in length, should present original, analytic research.

Papers must be emailed in .pdf format to iedcoord@bu.edu. Please mention the name of the faculty member who will submit an endorsement at the bottom of the cover page.

Submissions are due by Sunday, May 5, 2024 at 11:59PM.

The winner(s) will be announced by late May/early June.

Faculty Endorsements

The student’s advisor should communicate a short (approximately 150 word) endorsement and summary of the paper, highlighting its contribution.

Faculty should submit their endorsements to iedcoord@bu.edu. 

Published or forthcoming papers are eligible, provided they are researched and written while the student is at BU. A statement to that effect, corroborated by the advisor in the endorsement or by separate e-mail, should be included with the submission in that case.

Please send any questions to the IED Administrative Manager, Kimberly Huskins, at khuskins@bu.edu, or to the IED Program Coordinator at iedcoord@bu.edu.

For a list of past prize winners, please click here.

Computer Labs

IED maintains three computer labs with a total of 27 computers; the labs are located at 264 Bay State Road (Rooms 523, 525, and 540). All computers are equipped with word processing, spreadsheet, and mathematical and statistical software packages, and each lab has a black-and-white laser printer. 

Open hours

Normal business hours are M-F, 8 am to 10 pm. Weekend hours are dependent on planned events. The building and computer labs are closed during Intersession and on University holidays.

Accessing the computer labs

The IED computer labs have secured access; therefore, you will need to have a BU ID and Kerberos password before you can be added to the security system.

• BU ID instructions are found in your admission packet, or you can go to the Terrier Card Office (located in the GSU Basement).
• If you are already on campus but do not have, or have forgotten components of, your BU login name and Kerberos password, please submit a Help request.

Once you have all of the above, please go to 264 Bay State Road, Room 512, to request that you be added to the security system for the computer labs.

Cloud-based storage

Students can take advantage of two different cloud-based storage offerings. Google Drive (part of the Google Apps suite) offers virtually unlimited storage and an easy-to-use interface – and is free to BU faculty, staff, and students. Students can sign up through Tech Web here: http://www.bu.edu/tech/support/google.

Students can also be provisioned a Microsoft One Drive account with 1 Terabyte of storage as part of their Office 365 account. To access One Drive, submit a ticket at www.bu.edu/casit and include a recommendation from your advisor.

Computing problems

All computer hardware and software problems should be reported to the IED Coordinator at iedcoord@bu.edu . Identify the location of the computer and the nature of the problem; your input is the only way we know the equipment is malfunctioning and therefore the only way we can get it fixed.

Printing problems

• Paper jams, low toner signals, and any other issues should be reported to the IED Coordinator at iedcoord@bu.edu. 
• Paper is supplied by IED and can be found in each computer lab.

Receiving

To receive a fax, send it to 617-353-4143, the fax machine in Room 510. Make sure it is clearly addressed to you (in English). If you are expecting a fax, please email the IED Coordinator at iedcoord@bu.edu.

Sending

To send a fax, ask the staff person in Room 512. It will be faxed to you as soon as possible. Once sent, it will be returned to your mail folder or mailbox.

Digital Sender

To create a PDF and send it to an email address, ask the staff person in Room 512.

Editing/writing grants are available to students at the rate of $.032 a word or $500, whichever is smaller. They assist with academic writing and ensure that final dissertations are presentable for publication and job market readiness.

• Presentations: One (40-page maximum) paper per student during any calendar year by an IED faculty committee
• One job market paper
• Dissertation: Final edits on dissertation after your defense

Your application must be submitted no later than four weeks before the date the final copy is needed. Your applications for editing/writing services must be submitted before your editing and should include a completed and signed cover sheet (must include word count) along with the following information:

• Abstract
• A copy of a letter that the paper has been accepted for presentation at a conference or documentation that it is required as part of a job application
• A recommendation from a faculty advisor
• For Dissertations: Details of the number of pages/words excluding non-critical parts such as Appendices

Previous students have received quotes from or have worked with the following companies:

Studybay, Editor World, Dissertation Editor, Scribbr, Scribendi, Wordvice, Cambridge Proofreading and Editing, Paper True, Ackeredit, Scholaris Academic Editing.

Applications and questions should be submitted to Kayla (264 Bay State Rd, Room 510, iedcoord@bu.edu).

The IED works closely with the department faculty and to ensure both Mugar and Pardee Libraries contain economics materials. In addition, BU subscribes to many online economics databases and journals. While the journals are often accessed through Science Direct and JStor, the easiest way to find out whether BU subscribes to a journal is to search by title here. You can also search the BU Libraries website for resources by subject, e.g., economics.

If there are inaccessible materials that several students would like to access, please email the IED Coordinator or khuskins@bu.edu. Purchase of materials may be possible upon review.

The Institute for Economic Development offers a peer advising service for incoming international students to help with the transition to living and studying in Boston. Peer advisors answer questions about the programs and the department, may meet students at the airport, and help students find housing, banking, and shopping.

If you are interested in having a peer advisor, please contact Chelsea Carter, the peer advising coordinator, at cecarter@bu.edu.

The IED encourages PhD students to form reading groups in different fields. 

The department expects reading groups to be formed spontaneously and managed by students themselves, with the support and involvement of at least one faculty member. The main intention is to encourage the presentation of research in progress to generate feedback and discussion. We need some coordination across groups to prevent excessive overlap or duplication of fields. They could be organized by the standard PhD fields such as macro or micro theory, econometrics, empirical micro, IO and health, development, etc. But a reading group could also be formed around other field definitions (e.g., political economy, international economics, or finance), which attract 10 or more PhD students. Once formed, every group should be ready to accept any PhD student in the department that wishes to join.

To form a reading group for any given semester or academic year, we need at least two organizing students and a faculty member to apply, providing the following information to Kayla at iedcoord@bu.edu:

• Group name
• Meeting purpose
• Location
• Day
• Time
• Member names

Once you’ve received a confirmation that your reading group is all set, you will need to set up the schedule and post it on the departmental website; you should also include the group name and a short sentence giving the place, time, and frequency that you will be meeting, as well as an email address so that interested students/faculty can contact the group. Schedule info must include the date, author(s), and paper title for each meeting.