Assistantships

Qualifications

Applicants must meet the following requirements to be considered for an assistantship:

• Must be a degree-seeking WTAMU graduate student.
• Must be fully and non-conditionally admitted into the applicable WTAMU graduate program, to include completion of all application procedures, payment of application fees, and successful completion of all program admission requirement. For more information, contact the Graduate School.
• International students must have language proficiency (TOEFL, IELTS, or ESLI Level III completion) and complete all required credentials. For more information, please contact International Student Services.
• In order to credential a graduate teaching assistant, SACSCOC requires the following: a master’s in the teaching discipline or 18 graduate semester hours in the teaching discipline, direct supervision by a faculty member experienced in the teaching discipline, regular in-service training, and planned and periodic evaluations.
• Additional requirements may be provided by associated Colleges or Departments.

Considerations

• Some assistantships are awarded for a one-year period and require yearly reapplication for continuation. Others are awarded for a multiple year period. Still, others are awarded on a one-time-only basis. Please confirm with the department awarding the assistantship for details.
• Assistantship salary is determined by the associated College or Department based on disciplinary rates.
• Tuition and fees can be paid from a grant or other College or Department funding sources, in addition to the assistantship – if approved by the Department of College (note: tuition cannot be discounted).
• All assistantships are competitively awarded and are provided contingent upon current and continuing funding availability.
• There are different categories of graduate assistantships, including graduate assistantship research (GAR), graduate assistantships teaching (GAT) and graduate assistantship nonteaching (GANT).
• Please contact Human Resources for clarification of benefits and salary or hourly tracking requirements for each classification.
• Graduate hours are generally 20 hours per week but may be increased in the summer if a student has not graduated. Contact Human Resources for further information.
• Grant funded assistantships may have additional requirements and qualifications.

Recipients must fulfill the following requirements each semester in order to continue receiving the assistantship:

• Maintain status as a degree-seeking student
• Maintain a minimum GPA of 3.00 in program coursework (Note: Colleges and Departments may have a higher GPA requirement.)
• Maintain both academic and disciplinary good standing by the University
• With regard to the assistantship work, maintain satisfactory work level as determined by the program advisor, department and College.
• Graduate Assistantships require completion of all applicable university and program specific training, including WT assigned TrainTraq courses and research compliance training. Training must be completed before beginning assistantship work. Failure to do so or to remain current with training requirements will result in the termination of the assistantship.
• Maintain enrollment of 6 semester credit hours in each of the Fall and Spring semesters and 3 semester credit hours in each summer semester. For graduate assistants (GAs) who will not be working in the summer and are benefits eligible through their GA position in the spring, please contact HR for conversation related to bridging benefits over the summer. If a student in a GA position is not taking courses for a particular summer term, he or she will not have access to fee related services at the University. However, if a GA is deemed to be 50% or more FTE, they may have opportunity to purchase a VHAC pass at the student rate. Contact the Virgil Henson Activities Center for further information.