Students typically receive tuition support for two or three courses per semester (a normal course load) and a monthly stipend for serving as a research or teaching assistant. Support is usually renewed for up to four additional years, pending satisfactory progress in the program.

Applicants are encouraged to seek outside sources of support such as the National Science Foundation Graduate Student Fellowship, National Institutes of Health graduate fellowships, or Danforth Foundation Grant Fellowships. Supplemental summer support is available to a limited number of students through faculty research grants.