The following table indicates estimates for an appropriate distribution of effort in the Ph.D. program. It is based on actual student performance over the past few years; it also corresponds to the faculty's judgment of realistic estimates of the time required by various components of the program.
These figures are meant to be suggestive, not prescriptive. We present them so that all faculty and students can develop a shared image of the expectations of the program.
| COMPONENT | INTENSITY | DURATION | TOTAL TIME |
| Immigration Course | full time | 3 weeks | 3 weeks |
| Courses | 1/4 time | 1 sem each | 2 sem |
| Teaching | 1/2 time | 2 sem | 1 sem |
| Skills | variable | variable | variable |
| Directed Research | 1/2 time | * | 3-5 sem |
| Thesis Proposal | 1/2 time | 2 sem | 1 sem |
| Thesis | full time | until done | 2-3 sem |
| Emigration Course | variable | optional | |
| Good Works | variable | often |
* Always, except during the IC and when writing a thesis.