The students also receive medical insurance benefits and a tuition waiver during the academic years. A ssuming normal progress in coursework and satisfactory performance of teaching assistant duties, students receive aid for three years. Financial aid also covers the Graduate School residency requirement. A fter passing preliminary written and oral examinations, usually in the spring of the third year, students are eligible for a wider set of opportunities. Each year a few students win dissertation fellowships in a university-wide competition.
Some students continue to receive assistantships.
Most students secure an instructorship and thereby teach a course of their own during this period. The department's general policy is to offer all graduate students the opportunity to teach at least one course of their own before graduation.