Graduate Assistantships
The Graduate Assistant (GA) fulfills a unique position in the university because they are both a student and an employee.
Graduate study and effective service as a Graduate Assistant both require extensive commitment. For this reason, limits are placed on the amount of effort (academic credits and teaching/research/service hours) to be spent in each role. Graduate Assistants are normally appointed as half-time assistants, but some may be appointed as quarter-time assistants
Graduate Assistant Jobs
Interested students may apply for a GA appointment to the graduate department to which they have been admitted or to service units, which may be related to their major field.
Applications have deadlines, so check with your department 2-3 months prior to the beginning of the semester.
We recommend contacting the department with specific questions about availability, deadlines and other questions.
Benefits of Graduate Assistantships
- GA's are covered by Worker's Compensation.
- Half-time GA's are eligible to obtain faculty parking privileges.
- Half-time GA's may also be assigned priority for student housing, subject to its availability.
- GA's are exempt from Social Security participation and are not eligible to participate in the university retirement plans.
Types of GA Positions
GTA (Graduate Teaching Assistantship)
Graduate Teaching Assistants are selected by the department in which the student is pursuing his/her major field of study and in which the teaching assistant duties are to be performed. GTA appointments are initiated by the major department chairperson and require the approval of the Dean of the college/school in which the instruction occurs and of the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies.GRA (Graduate Research Assistantship)
Graduate Research Assistants are selected by the faculty research supervisor with the concurrence of the student's major department chairperson. GRA appointments are initiated by the research supervisor and require the approval of the major department chairperson and the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies.GSA (Graduate Service Assistantship)
Graduate Service Assistants are selected by the administrator of the service unit. GSA appointments are initiated by the service unit administrator (i.e., the School of Graduate Studies, Memorial Union, etc.) and require the approval of the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies.GA Policies
Several factors must be met before an appointment can be received. Students must:
- Have been fully admitted to the School of Graduate Studies.
- Maintain the credit load requirements defined in the appointment letter.
- Maintain a 3.00 GPA to retain award or appointment.
- Maintain satisfactory job performance or could be subject to removal or termination.
Students who withdraw from or are dismissed from the School of Graduate Studies become immediately ineligible for and may not continue to hold an appointment or award.
Appointments may be half-time or quarter-time. For many assistantship appointments, the workload will be relatively uniform throughout the semester, but for others, the load will be uneven due to the nature of the duties and these amounts are averages.
- Half-time GAs will be expected to work up to a maximum of 20 hours per week, dependent upon departmental requirements.
- Quarter-time GAs are expected to work up to 10 hours per week.
Graduate assistantship stipends are subject to income tax and tax will be withheld. Rulings as to the actual taxability of any specific stipend are in the hands of the Internal Revenue Service.
Limitations
Academic Year
The School of Graduate Studies does not encourage outside employment for Graduate Student Assistants. Failure to make satisfactory progress towards their degree can result in coursework becoming obsolete prior to graduation, triggering the need for the additional work of revalidating obsolete coursework. Moreover, failure to make satisfactory progress may also constitute grounds for dismissal from the School of Graduate Studies.
- During the fall and spring terms, students holding an assistantship may work no more than 20 hours/week on campus during the fall and spring semesters. This includes all assistantships, staff and student positions, or faculty appointments.
- Exceptions:
- In unusual circumstances, Graduate Assistants can serve as consultants to projects or activities supported with University administered funds provided all of the following criteria are satisfied: (1) The services of the Graduate Student Consultant are outside of the realm of their Graduate Assistant responsibilities, (2) The services provided are limited in scope and do not involve prolonged teaching or research activities, (3) The combined activities, Assistant + Consulting, cannot exceed 23 hours per week (4) The consulting fee is appropriate considering the qualifications of the individual to be utilized, and the nature of the services to be rendered, and (5) the overload must be sanctioned by the Graduate Program Director of the program in which the student is enrolled and approved by the School of Graduate Studies’ Dean. Students should submit an assistantship petition form to request an exception.
Summer Term/Breaks
- During the winter and spring break periods and the summer term, graduate assistants may work up to 100% time (40 hours/week) in any combination of assistantships and other institutional (staff, student, faculty) roles. This is only recommended if the student’s course load is below 6 credits.
Graduate Teaching Assistants must be proficient English language communicators. The roles and responsibilities of students that are hired into a graduate teaching assistant position are varied, and depend on the unit's specific needs. The English language proficiency requirements vary based on these roles. Positions will fall into one of two categories - GTA General or Primarily Instruction or GTA Primarily Grading.
Students in a GTA General or Primarily Instruction role have the greatest responsibilities in their positions. An instructor's role is to teach regularly either a full semester lecture or laboratory course and/or lead discussions in sessions associated with existing courses. A general GTA role may vary vastly, but is any role that is not primarily instruction or primarily grading. Students in a GTA General or Primarily Instruction role must
- Be comfortable working with students using the English language. This necessitates
a score of at least:
- 26 on the speaking portion of the TOEFL iBT exam;
- 6.5 on the IELTS exam; or
- 120 on the Duolingo exam
Students in a GTA Primarily Grading role will have limited expectation to work directly with students and are given tasks to primarily assess student work. These students do not teach in the classroom, although they may have conversations with students on occasion. These students must
- Be moderately comfortable communicating with students using the English language.
This necessitates a score of at least:
- 20 on the speaking portion of the TOEFL iBT exam;
- 6.0 on the IELTS exam; or
- 110 on the Duolingo exam
New Graduate Assistants
New Graduate Assistants are encouraged to contact their department prior to the start of the semester. The following is very important for Graduate Assistants. Please read carefully.
- You must first accept your assistantship appointment by signing and returning your appointment letter.
- Next, you must complete and submit I-9 form and E-Verify with UND Human Resources.
Additional required training links will be sent to your email. Training will be emailed from "University of North Dakota Administrator" at Vector Solutions Training.
Additional documents to review:
- FERPA
- Disability Services for Students (recommended for Graduate Teaching Assistants)