Graduate Assistantships

1. Graduate assistantships are awarded to selected graduate students in each graduate program. Applications and supporting documents for graduate assistantships should be submitted to the Dean of the Graduate School by March 1 for fall appointments and by November 1 for spring appointments. Individual programs may adhere to different deadlines, and applicants should contact their specific department for deadline information.
2. To qualify for an assistantship, a student must be in regular admission status.
3. An international graduate assistant who has earned a degree from outside the United States may not be assigned duties requiring oral proficiency until passing an English proficiency test administered by the Department of Modern Languages. If the student does not pass the examination, the enrollment in and passing of the appropriate ESOL course is required.
4. The amounts of assistantship stipends are announced annually. Compensation includes remission of tuition and most fees.
5. Assistantships are awarded for the academic year. They are contingent upon satisfactory performance in graduate studies and acceptable discharge of assistantship duties; they may be revoked at any time these conditions are not met. A graduate assistant must complete a minimum of nine credit hours applicable to the degree each semester.
6. Duties and responsibilities of a graduate assistant are specified by the department or administrative unit to which the student is assigned. They are generally the equivalent of teaching two lower-division lecture classes or 20 service hours per week.
7. No graduate assistant may receive payment for a second campus job unless approved by the major department and the Dean of the Graduate School. Individual departments may determine whether or not to permit assistants to accept off-campus employment.
8. Course-load requirements for graduate assistants are given in section V.C.4.  under General Regulations (next section).