The Graduate Tax Program, established in 1945, is the foremost program of its kind. The graduate tax faculty includes several of the country's leading academic figures in taxation as well as tax practitioners who combine an extraordinary commitment to teaching with practical knowledge accumulated over years of experience at the most sophisticated levels of tax practice. Alumni of the program are found in prominent positions in tax practice, government, the judiciary and academia.The program, offered on a full-time and part-time basis, is designed to provide a firm grounding in all of the major areas of federal taxation, offering over 50 graduate-level courses annually. While not an application requirement, students are expected to have taken a basic income taxation course before enrolling because all advanced tax classes take a rigorous approach to their material in order to effectively address the complexities of tax law. Going beyond a narrow, mechanical understanding, faculty emphasize theoretical and policy issues in locating responsible solutions to tax problems.