Graduate students who are funded through the program must perform service to the university in order to receive the full stipend.
For the first year of Ph.D. study, this service generally takes the form of acting as a Graduate Assistant to a member of the Graduate Program in Religion faculty. RA/GA work is not to exceed 4 hours per week, 28 weeks per year.
For the second through fourth years of the program, students serve as teaching assistants in the Religion Department or as preceptors in the Divinity School, one course per semester. This work averages 10 hours per week over 28 weeks. (In some circumstances, it is possible for students to TA or precept additional courses or sections for additional pay.) Students may request a waiver of the service requirement for up to a year from the Director of Graduate Studies when research requires relocating for a time. Those who wish to waiver should submit a brief proposal of their research to the GPR office.
In the fifth year of the program, students are encouraged to teach their own course in the Religious Studies Department or elsewhere in the university as there is availability, though service in the fifth year is optional.