Normally, the department is able to provide full financial support to each student admitted into the Ph.D. program. That support consists of a fellowship that provides full tuition and student health insurance plus an academic year stipend sufficient to support oneself in Nashville. Fellowships are normally renewed for up to five years for students making satisfactory progress toward their Ph.D. degrees. Fellowships requre their recipients to work as a teaching or research assistant for four of the five year during which they are held. One year is devoted to more intensive course work and is service free. Faculty members often employ graduate students as research assistants in summer months. Advanced graduate students may have the opportunity to teach their own classes, especially in summer sessions.

The department is rarely able to provide significant financial support for master's students.