As with most universities, there are three broad classes of funding for graduate students at The University of Texas at Austin: Teaching, Research, and Fellowships.

The Physics Department has over 100 Teaching Assistant (TA) positions each long semester (fewer in the Summer) for support of incoming and continuing doctoral students. New students typically receive a commitment for five years of funding as a TA (Teaching Assistant), GRA (Graduate Research Assistant), or Fellow, all are contingent upon adequate progress toward completing the degree.

First-year TA positions can be augmented with one of the department's endowed fellowships at the discretion of the Graduate Advisor. Dean’s Strategic Fellowships and Provost’s Graduate Excellence Fellowships are available for some students.

A selection of The Department’s endowed fellowships (available for recruitment purposes) includes:

• Lawrence C. Biedenharn, Jr. Endowment for Excellence,
• Cécile DeWitt-Morette and Bryce DeWitt Endowed Graduate Fellowship in Physics,
• A. Wilson Nolle Endowed Graduate Fellowship,
• The John A. Wheeler Fellowship in Physics, and
• The Robert N. Little Graduate Fellowship in Physics

All applicants are considered for a wide range of recruitment fellowships from the Department, the College of Natural Sciences, and The Graduate School—there is no separate application for funding and all doctoral students are funded as described above.

The Department actively encourages all of its students to take advantage of funding opportunities from sources outside of the University, including those which are wholly extramural.