• Financial support while pursuing degree
• Part‐time work for pay
• Work while pursuing degree
• Work within University setting –typically academic department
• Experience in teaching or other academic‐scholarship related areas
• Research related to your Ph.D.

What are the types of assistantships?

Every university may call an assistantship by a different name, but in general there are three types:

• Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTA), aka Graduate Instructors, Teaching Assistants
• Graduate Research Assistants (GRA), aka Research Assistants
• Graduate Student Assistants (GSA)

What responsibilities do graduate assistants have?

• GTAs typically have teaching‐related responsibilities, assisting in classrooms or labs, grading papers.
• GRAs have research‐related responsibilities.
• GSAs have varied responsibilities, including research not related to their own dissertation research.

Who offers assistantships?

• Varies at each university.
• In some cases, academic departments offer the positions.
• In some cases, graduate assistant positions are offered by the Graduate School.
• In some cases, it is a combination of the two.

How many hours does a graduate assistant work?

• Hours vary by institution.
• WSU’s graduate assistants are considered 50% time (1/2) and are expected to work an average of 20 hours per week over the course of a semester.
• Some institutions may also have ¼, ¾ and/or full‐time graduate assistant positions.

What type of benefits do graduate assistants receive?

Graduate assistant compensation and benefits vary by institution and fraction (½, ¼, etc.) of employment. Most provide salary and tuition scholarships.

• Salary amounts vary by institution
  • WSU’s range between $13,447 and $16,197
• Tuition scholarships vary by institution.
• Medical, and/or dental, and/or vision benefits are also offered in some cases.

Are the there any requirements for holding an assistantship position?

• Work responsibilities must be satisfactory
• Typically must maintain a minimum HPA
• Typically must be enrolled for a minimum number of graduate‐related credits.
• Must maintain satisfactory academic progress and makeprogress toward your degree.

    Are the there any limitations while holding an assistantship position?    

• Typically (varies by institution) cannot concurrently hold other employment.
• Some departments and/or universities may limit the number of semesters a student can hold an assistantship. At WSU, some departments limit assistantships to four years. The University policy is that a graduate student may hold an assistantship for no more than six years.

What to do and when to do it.

• Begin researching assistantship information at least one full year prior to starting your graduate program.
  • Most departments and universities begin considering assistantship applicants in late fall or early in the calendar year for the upcoming academic year (9‐12 months in advance).
• Visit websites of the universities you are considering to determine the nature of their assistantship programs.
• Once you decide upon a university, speak with the department graduate director and/or graduate secretary as well as the university’s Graduate School about assistantship opportunities. Get clarification regarding where and when to apply.
• Determine your financial obligations for the first academic year and how an assistantship will aid with the expenses. Will you require additional funding?
• Once you are a graduate student and have an academic advisor, work with your advisor to establish long‐range goals with respect to your academic progress and assistantship positions.
  • It may be prudent to accept teaching assistant positions early in your academic progress and GRA positions later, closer to the end of your degree requirements.
• You will want to spread out your financial assistance over the course of your degree program to meet all your needs.
  • Do not overlook scholarship and fellowship opportunities that may offset non‐assistantship semester(s).
• You may also want to space your time so that you have no employment‐type obligations during the last year or semester of your Ph.D.