Depending on the options by which a student chooses to fulfill the foregoing requirements, a typical program of study during the first two years might look like the following:
| First Semester | Second Semester | First Semester | Second Semester |
| Theory | Theory | Empirical Seminar | Seminar(s) |
| Statistics | Social Statistics | Seminar(s) | Seminar(s) |
| Quantitative Methods | Qualitative Methods | Reading course(s) | Reading Course(s) |
| Seminar(s) | Seminar(s) | Workshop | Workshop |
| Workshop (audit) | Workshop (audit) | Workshop | Workshop |
Students devoting a substantial share of their first year to training in demography, regional studies, or other interdisciplinary work generally postpone some of their basic skills courses until the second year. Students desiring to pursue additional work in advanced statistics and quantitative methods may also do so during their second or third year, choosing from a wide range of interdisciplinary courses (some of which are listed below) or by working with departmental faculty who specialize in quantitative research.
After four years in the program, students are no longer officially enrolled in the university, and therefore are not required to pay tuition or other fees. An exception is sometimes made for students interested in comparative and regional studies who must gain additional language skills. In those cases, enrollment is possible for five years. Otherwise, the program is designed to make it possible for students to finish their dissertations by the end of their fourth year. In cases where students may choose to spend longer on the dissertation (for example, because of more ambitious projects or ones requiring travel or foreign study), access to library and computing facilities continues, and students are allowed to defer payment of loans and (if applicable) to retain visas for educational purposes.
