Can you have a full time job while you pursue your doctorate?

While we recognize the difficulty of economic demands on all students, we also feel strongly that it is not possible to hold a full-time job and seriously pursue the rigorous nature of doctoral work at the same time.  All our PhD students hold Graduate Assistantships and/or Teaching Assistantships in order to hone the skills of instruction, public speaking, and writing crucial to success in any area of professional life. Some of our MA students also hold part-time jobs. However, in general, these additional workloads are approved based on their ability to feed an individual student’s future goals and immediate research interests. We expect that active participation in a vibrant departmental culture will engage student perspectives and believe that each student’s contribution depends upon their ability to keep an active presence in the program throughout their graduate degree work.