Graduate Students in Physics and Astronomy receive Financial Aid in the form of research, teaching, or non-service fellowships. The department attempts to support all students during the course of their work for the Ph.D. In the first two years, all students in good academic standing** are fully supported, and essentially all students are supported for the duration of their studies. The financial support includes full tuition, an annual stipend and health benefits.
Entering graduate students are usually supported as teaching fellows. Teaching Fellowships require no more than twelve hours of service per week; this amount of time does not interfere with a student's progress toward his or her degree.
Most second-year students and virtually all advanced students are supported as research fellows. Second-year students whose interests have not crystallized sufficiently to allow them to choose a field of specialization serve as teaching fellows for a second year. Research carried on as a fellow is either part of or preparatory to dissertation research.
** A student is not in good academic standing if his or her average is below B+ in two consecutive semesters. A foreign student is not in good academic standing if he or she has not passed the English competency test by the beginning of their second year. Failure to competently perform as a teaching assistant may also threaten future financial support.