Admission to candidacy for the Ph.D. is earned by passing a comprehensive oral examination. The final step is presentation and defense of a dissertation describing the original research. Most graduate students are supported by teaching or research assistantships. Tuition is waived for teaching assistants, who usually are considered half-time and are expected to devote an average of 20 hours a week to preparing and teaching one of the various laboratories or courses. Research assistantships are available through sponsored research programs of individual faculty members.
All research assistants pay resident tuition and fees.
Offers of appointments ordinarily are made by April. Applicants interested in financial support should therefore complete their application files by mid-February to be considered for fall appointments. Fellowships and Scholarships University awards are made on a competitive basis to students who have demonstrated superior scholarship and research capabilities. Recipients devote full time to study and research. Application for university-supported fellowships is made on the Graduate School application form.