Funding The Department, together with the Graduate School, offers four or five funded slots per year to students admitted into the PhD program. These include tuition remission, a living stipend, and health insurance, and are guaranteed for five years, assuming adequate progress in the program. They are free of service for the first year; and assuming standard progress, they are also free of service for the fifth year. During the second and third years, students serve as teaching assistants; during the fourth year, students teach one class per semester. While funding is guaranteed for a total of five years for awardees in good standing, the Department can typically extend support to students in good standing for a sixth year. The Department has a limited amount of funds to pay the application fees for competitive candidates for whom paying fees would be a serious hardship. To apply for these funds, an applicant should send an email to the Director of Graduate Admissions in the Philosophy Department, outlining his or her educational background and explaining why the funds are needed. All application materials other than the application fees should be filed as usual until the applicant hears from the Department about these fees.