Assistantship Types
Teaching Assistantships (GTA, GTI)
- Teaching assistantships are awarded by the academic department requiring instructional services.
- GTAs assist faculty members in teaching.
- GTIs have full responsibility for the course(s) they are assigned to teach.
- Appointments are usually for two semesters of the academic year.
- International students whose first language is not English must take the language assessment before beginning a GTA or GTI assignment.
Research Assistantships (GRA, GA)
- Research assistantships are awarded by the professor/program supervising the research
activity.
- and are usually associated with a specific research grant, contract, or internally supported research project
- Appointments are usually for the academic year, but frequently includes the summer session.
- Time devoted to the research activity is expected to exceed the stated work expectations
in cases where the research is related to the student’s thesis or dissertation,
- the additional time is to meet requirements for research credits in which the student is enrolled.
- Coding indicates external support (GRA) or internal support (GA).
Administrative Assistantships (GADE, GADI)
- Administrative assistantships are awarded by the programs to students who are given
administrative duties
- such as administrative office support, computer support or web page design.
- Coding indicates external support (GADE) or internal support (GADI).
Appointment Details
Full-Time to Quarter-Time Appointment
- Full assistantship appointments are for half-time work (20 hours/week)
- programs can divide appointments, resulting in three-quarter, one-half, or one-quarter of regular appointments (with proportional adjustments of the stipend, tuition, and fees as shown in the table below).
- Students’ work load assignments, including teaching preparation and grading of papers, should not exceed the level of their appointments.
- Pay information: Minimum Stipend Levels are set each academic year.
- Students on assistantships are paid bi-weekly.
| Assistantship Appointment | Stipend Support | Work Expectation (hrs/week)* | Percentage of Tuition Supported** |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full | Full | 20 | 100 |
| 3/4 | 3/4 | 15 | 75 |
| 1/2 | 1/2 | 10 | 50 |
| 1/4 | 1/4 | 5 | 25 |
|
*Since all students on an assistantship are also enrolled full-time, students are expected to spend additional time on work appropriate for nine credits of coursework or research activities. **The maximum amount of tuition support for an assistantship is determined by the specific graduate program. |
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Enrollment Requirement
- All supported students (including partially supported students) must be enrolled full-time.
- Students are responsible for paying for any credits over the tuition cap for the program that you enroll for
- as well as for student voted fees, and any remaining balance of the tuition and fee charges if partially supported.
- The credits required for full-time status may include research credits, graduate, audited, PE, ESL and undergraduate courses.
Additional Employment
- Students who accept additional employment may find it difficult to make good progress toward their degree.
- Failure to make good progress may result in a loss of support in the future.
- Students should consult with their advisor, and should ensure that the additional
employment will not impede progress toward their degree.
- Advisors will typically approve requests in cases in which the student’s education will be enhanced through the additional employment.
Contract Termination
A termination of support memo must be sent to the Graduate School (Heather Suokas) detailing the reason for the request. Mid-contract termination requests will be reviewed on a case by case basis and can only be approved by the Graduate School.