The department makes financial awards (departmental or university fellowships) to six to eight entering students each year. Pending funding available to the department, those students who do well continue to receive financial assistance in years two, three, four and five. During that time most will serve as teaching assistants and in that capacity will lead discussion sections, grade examinations, and give occasional lectures to undergraduate classes. Some, however, will be invited to work as research assistants on a grant-funded faculty project. Non-native English speakers should note the English proficiency requirements associated with serving as a graduate assistant.

The department strives to ensure that all students making satisfactory progress toward the PhD receive financial aid. However, awards may be terminated at any time if a recipient is not satisfactorily performing all duties connected with the appointment or stops making satisfactory progress toward a graduate degree. A student who fails to maintain "good standing" is not making satisfactory progress toward a degree (see the section in the Guide to Doctoral Study on Good Standing, Satisfactory Progress…).

Terms of employment for graduate teaching and research assistants represented in collective bargaining by COGS. For more information, please see the Graduate College's website.