Nearly all students admitted to the MS, MA, and PhD programs receive financial support in the form of "half-time" teaching assistantships. This generally involves 3-4 contact hours per week (classroom instruction), 20 hours per week total including preparation, grading, office hours, student tutoring, etc. The degree of supervision depends upon the level of the course and the experience of the teaching assistant. Nine month stipends for the Academic Year (August - May) begin at $16,300. Students who have passed the Admission to Candidacy (Qualifying) Exam receive $16,800, and those who have passed the PhD Comprehensive Exams receive $17,300. A limited number of summer teaching positions are available; the stipends range from $3,200 to $4,200, depending on the workload. Renewal of assistantships is subject to review, and depends upon a demonstration of satisfactory academic and teaching performance.
The Graduate School offers a limited number of recruiting incentive Fellowships, which are worth up to $8000 a year, renewable for up to four years if academic progress is satisfactory. The award may be taken as a stipend bonus or as a teaching reduction.
All students on support are charged in-state tuition. In 2008-2009 this is $467 per credit hour; the typical course load is 9 credit hours per semester. The department picks up 85% of the charge ($7150 out of $8406). The typical load in the Summer is one credit hour, and the department expects to give a subsidy of $410.
Other fees are $306 annually for use of the Thompson Student Health Center, a $50 matriculation fee ($550 for internationals), and $945 approximately for 12-month health insurance to cover medical problems that cannot be handled by the health center; in the past, the Graduate School has subsidized this amount by $225. Excess tuition charges and all other fees may be paid incrementally through payroll deductions (see VIP).