Currently almost all of our graduate students receive financial support either through teaching or research assistantships.  Normally, first-year students receive teaching assistantships with opportunities for instruction in the lower division physics laboratories.  Research assistantships are dependent on funding from the various research programs in the Department. In addition to the graduate assistantship stipend, both teaching and research assistants receive a tuition waiver. Therefore, registration for courses requires only the payment of fees. In addition to employment during the academic year, many students elect to work in either teaching or research during the three-month summer period.