They are required to write a paper based on research they have performed as well as give a talk in our annual Miniconvention at the end of their first and second years. The 2nd-year paper and completion of our basic course requirements generally result in the awarding of an MA degree. We encourage students to collaborate with more than one faculty member. In their third and fourth years, PhD students are focused primarily on research. All students accepted into our graduate program are fully funded, with either a graduate fellowship, a research assistantship, or a teaching assistantship.
Support consists of a stipend plus full tuition.
We guarantee four years of support, and have consistently been able to support students through their fifth year, if needed. We consider the best experience students can have to become productive researchers is to carry out, write up, and present their research projects. The content and methods courses are designed to provide students with the context and tools they need to produce world-class research on their own. After graduating, most of our students have gone on to research careers.