Pew Charitable Trusts Make Grant of $2 M for Graduate Fellowships

The Pew Charitable Trusts has awarded a four-year grant of $2 million to support graduate students in economics, English, history, political science and sociology. The grant will expand the School’s Presidential Prize Fellowships Program, which supports Ph.D. students in the humanities and social sciences. The new fellowships will be awarded on the basis of merit by department graduate chairs.

“Penn’s faculty are at the forefront of research in their fields and benefit immensely from opportunities to train and collaborate with the upcoming generation of scholars,” noted Jack Nagel, the associate dean for graduate studies and Steven F. Goldstone Endowed Term Professor of Political Science. “Presidential Prize Fellowships give the very best scholars access to some of the world’s leading graduate programs here at Penn, regardless of economic background. We applaud The Pew Charitable Trusts’ commitment to the formation of tomorrow’s leading scholars.”

The Presidential Prize Fellowships Program addresses one of Penn’s highest academic priorities - to increase resources for graduate student fellowships. These prestigious awards are intended to attract the most outstanding students to Penn and to facilitate their academic progress. The fellowships also allow the University to advance its priority of access to all qualified students.

The Pew Charitable Trusts is driven by the power of knowledge to solve today’s most challenging problems. Pew applies a rigorous analytical approach to improve public policy, inform the public and stimulate civic life, and partners with a diverse range of donors, public and private organizations, and concerned citizens who share a commitment to fact-based solutions and goal-driven investments to improve society.