Graduate assistantships are positions given to the most outstanding students. Duties may include laboratory supervision, teaching, and research related tasks. Stipends are competitive and assistantships supported through the Graduate School include a partial tuition waiver of six graduate hours per semester for a full-time appointment. Additional assistantships are available through the Office of Housing & Residence Life and other academic and administrative units and many of these also provide a partial tuition waiver.

Graduate Assistants (GAs) are appointed by the individual departments of each college and subject to the approval of the Graduate School. Questions regarding application for appointment should be directed to the graduate coordinators of that department.

Graduate Assistants must be enrolled in a graduate degree program and must be enrolled in a minimum of 9 hours of graduate coursework applicable to their degree. Students in their final semester of graduate study who have applied for graduation may hold an assistantship with less than full-time enrollment. Graduate Assistants must maintain and overall graduate GPA of 3.0 or higher. Students admitted to the Graduate School on Probationary Admission are typically not eligible for Graduate Assistantships. Graduate Assistantship appointments are limited to no more than 4 academic terms, excluding summers. Exceptions may be granted for programs exceeding 40 semester hours. Students may receive support in a second subsequent graduate program provided that they have completed all requirements for their first degree. Assistantships will not be awarded for a third master’s program.

Additional on-campus employment for graduate assistants is normally not allowed. Under exceptional circumstances, additional on-campus may be considered for students who have completed 18 or more hours toward their graduate program with a graduate GPA of 3.5 or above. Graduate assistants who meet these conditions may be eligible for additional employment of up to 7.5 hours/week (17.5 hours/week for graduate assistants on half-time appointments). Additional employment must be recommended by the student’s academic advisor and department chair and are subject to approval by the Graduate Dean. Requests forms for additional employment and additional information are available on the Graduate School website. International students on student visas may not be eligible for additional employment.