The CED is pleased to offer a limited number of Graduate Assistantships each year. There are 3 types of assistantships, a Graduate Assistantship (GA), a Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA), and a Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA). A GA is commonly offered in the CED, and this term is used throughout this document about all types.
Qualifications: All GAs must be registered for at least 12 hours in fall and/or spring semesters of the assistantship or 9 hours in summer for a summer assistantship. Assistantships can only be held by academically accomplished students with a GPA over 3.0. Additionally, GTA qualifications can be found here. Other qualifications may be required for GRAs, as needed by the faculty.
Expectations: GA work could include a variety of tasks, from assisting with research for faculty publications to teaching or assisting a faculty member with teaching, to working with CED staff or staff in other University departments on essential operations. GAs are expected to bring a high degree of professionalism to their assistantship work, just as they are to their academic work. Assistantships are opportunities for the student both to receive funding and to receive additional training related to their program of study.
The number of GAs offered varies with the college budget and program enrollments. Assistantships are usually for one semester. They greatly reduce tuition and pay a stipend. In exchange, the GA typically works 13 hours/week for the College, its faculty, or its partners. GAs cannot work over 20 hours/week. Students who receive an assistantship are not eligible for scholarships or additional work hours. Students who fall behind on hours or are unable to complete their assistantship may lose their funding. Students with unsatisfactory or unprofessional work on a previous assistantship will be ineligible to receive further assistantship support.
Procedures: Once a year in spring semester, students are given the opportunity to apply for GAs for the following academic year. Applications are distributed by the graduate administrative staff by March 1 and are due via email to graduate administration by April 1. Faculty are asked about their needs, including the skillsets they require. CED GAs are then assigned by the graduate coordinator of each program, in consultation with the graduate administrative staff, on the basis of merit, recruitment & retention, and fit. GAs are typically promised to students by the end of spring semester for the next academic year, though the exact assignments are not usually handed out until the week before classes start in the fall. Exceptions to this process are GRAs that are given by CED faculty through external grant funds. These assistantships are intended to provide research assistance for a faculty member. Students are encouraged to discuss their interest in working for faculty whose scholarly expertise aligns with the student’s research interests.
For more information on financial aid for graduate students, visit the Office of Student Financial Aid.
