Dear Future IEDPers,
Moving to a new country and paying so much for your course can be overwhelming! Well, here are several opportunities for you to cut-down costs of living in Philly and build your skill-set:

IEDP Graduate Assistant (GA):

As an IEDP GA, you work on strengthening the IEDP community through social media, events, and any other support the program faculty may need! You would typically work in a team of 4 to 5 people and get paid weekly based on the number of hours you work that week (about 5 hours).

Graduate Resident Advisor (GRA):

As a GRA, your living costs are covered SIGNIFICANTLY! You will live in a college house and are responsible for ensuring the well-being of the undergraduate students in that house. The number of work hours range from 15 to 20 hours per week. As of Spring’23, GRAs do not get additional pay as they have free housing and meal swipes for the dining halls on campus. (This may be subject to change.) Read more about this role and the application process here.

Note that RA stands for ‘Resident Advisor’ and it is open to both graduate and under-graduate students. Since you are a graduate student, you would be called a ‘Graduate Resident Advisor’.

Watch the video below to know more about the experience from IEDPers who are also GRAs and GAs:

There are also several opportunities to work as GA for other programs, or assist faculty members part-time. Once you get to campus, student organisations, program managers, and faculty would be more than happy to connect you to the best fits!