Most of our incoming Ph.D. students receive fellowship or assistantship funding for five years. Funding is subject to continued university and department availability of funds, making satisfactory progress in the program, your arrival in the U.S. and registration for courses, submission of appointment documentation, and the policies of the University, the University System of Maryland, and the Graduate School. Typically, students receive financial support from one of two sources. Some funded first-year students are awarded assistantships. These assistantships usually require about 15 hours per week of service as a teaching or research assistant and come with a stipend of approximately $28,594 and an attractive package of benefits including health insurance and full tuition remission. Other funded first-year students are offered one-year fellowships that include a stipend of approximately $28,594 per year, university health insurance, and full tuition remission, but do not require students to work as teaching or research assistants. In subsequent years in the program, most funded students are awarded assistantships.

Students who enter the program without support can become eligible for support by compiling an above-average record in their coursework and comprehensive exams, and by demonstrating potential for research, although availability of such funding is contingent on departmental needs and resources.

Many students are able to supplement their academic-year stipends by teaching summer or winter classes for the department, or by working off-campus during the summer or winter breaks; our department's proximity to Washington, DC gives our students an advantage in getting internships in nearby government and international agencies.  

In addition to fellowships and assistantships, subject to resource availability, the Department supports the professional development of our students by helping cover the cost of travel to professional conferences at which students present their research, and can help with research expenses such as costs of purchasing a data set. Students on the job market get help with expenses such as mailing, copying, and travel to the annual professional meetings at which interviews are held.