All applicants to our PhD program are automatically considered for the small number (ie, 6-8) of fully-funded slots available each year.

Full funding is awarded on a competitive basis and consists of five years of 100% tuition coverage, individual health insurance, and no less than $20,000 per year for living expenses, provided that steady, satisfactory progress is made toward the PhD degree. In exchange, fully-funded students not on NIH training grants are required to work with a faculty member on a research and/or teaching project for the equivalent of 20 hours per week. (See PhD PROGRAM: NIH TRAINING PROGRAMS for a description of work regulations for NIH trainees; see also PhD PROGRAM: TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIPS.) Students find this apprenticeship with faculty to be one of the most valuable parts of their education.  After five years, fully-funded PhD students who have not complete their study will receive a 75% departmental scholarship and will be required to pay for their own health insurance.

Regrettably, because of our small size and limited financial resources, we are unable to offer full funding to all students admitted into our PhD program. For students in this category, we offer a 75% scholarship, contingent upon satisfactory academic performance, for the second year and beyond of full-time study in the PhD program. In exchange, students in this category are required to serve as paid teaching assistants for five hours per week per term during the regular academic year. (See also PhD PROGRAM: TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIPS.) Students in this category are required to pay for their own individual health insurance.

As outlined in PhD PROGRAM: PART-TIME STUDY, except under special circumstances, part-time PhD study is actively discouraged. Accordingly, there is no financial support of any kind for tuition, health insurance, or living expenses for part-time PhD students.

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