Appointments to graduate assistantships or graduate assistant/internships are made by the Dean of Graduate Studies upon recommendation of the department concerned. No award is made until the student has been admitted to the College of Graduate Studies. First-year international graduate students with superior credentials and/or prior academic study in the United States may apply for graduate assistantships. Graduate assistant/internships are usually supported by an external agency through a contractual arrangement with the University or by a departmental budget within the university.
It is the responsibility of the applicant to insure that recommendations from three people who know the applicant well enough to evaluate their qualifications (including at least one faculty member) are made on the forms provided and sent directly to the Dean of Graduate Studies.
The Chair of the department will be responsible for assessing the oral proficiency in English. Students who do not achieve a satisfactory rating will not be permitted to teach, and will be assigned non-teaching duties (research, grading, etc.) International graduate students, who have been appointed as teaching assistants, including graduate assistants who are assisting with teaching duties, are required to demonstrate oral proficiency in English. The speaking subsection of a standardized test will be utilized in the assessment process. For a TA, a minimum of 23 on the TOEFL IBT is considered satisfactory; a score of 7 is considered satisfactory on the IELTS.
Duties
The appointee is expected to devote 20 hours per week for 16 weeks per semester to assistantship duties. Graduate assistants not only provide a service to the institution but also gain valuable experience through their special association with the faculty. Graduate assistant/interns are assigned to a research or other appropriate work experience that is related to the academic program in which they are enrolled.
- Graduate Assistant (GA) A GA is normally be assigned duties primarily focused on the conduct of research/scholarly activity. A GA may be assigned teaching duties, but should not be the instructor of record. Appointment is typically for the Fall and Spring semesters of an academic year.
- Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) A GRA is only be assigned duties focused on the conduct of research/scholarly activity and will typically receive a twelve-month appointment.
- Graduate Assistant/Intern (GA/I) A GA/I is a special category of graduate assistant designated to provide opportunities for university offices or departments, community companies or agencies, or other appropriate external sponsors to involve graduate students as academic assistants/interns in real life experiences related to their fields of study.
- Teaching Assistant (TA) A TA will only be assigned duties focused on instruction and may be the instructor of record for a regularly scheduled lower division undergraduate class.
Note: Additional academic services to the academic program in which the student is enrolled may be appropriate for all assistantship appointments.
Appointment Period
Normally, the graduate assistant receives an appointment for a period of two semesters beginning with the fall semester. To remain eligible for an assistantship, assistants must discharge their duties satisfactorily and maintain good academic standing in their course work. Good academic standing for graduate students is a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 in graduate- level courses. Graduate assistants who must resign from their assistantship will be billed for the pro-rated amount of the fees not paid by the assistantship for that semester.
Course Work Enrollment
Assistantship appointees are normally expected to be full-time graduate students as defined in the Graduate Bulletin. An appointee must maintain full-time enrollment (9 semester hours of degree-credit coursework per term for the regular academic year. In addition, students appointed as Graduate Research Assistants must also enroll in at least 6 semester hours during the summer term. With the advisor’s approval, graduate coursework that is not part of the graduate assistant’s degree program may be counted toward the 18-semester-hour minimum for the assistantship. Approval to carry more than 18 semester hours or fewer than nine semester hours in any semester may be granted by the dean of The College of Graduate Studies only upon clear justification from the student’s academic program department. (For a TA who is the instructor of record and has a teaching load of five to six semester hours, the minimum required enrollment is six semester hours, but the College of Graduate Studies must be notified of this). For a teaching assistant who is the instructor of record and has a teaching load of four semester hours or less, the minimum required enrollment remains at nine semester hours).
Other Work Appointments
Graduate assistants shall not hold other full-time employment but may accept occasional or temporary employment outside the University during the term of the assistantship, subject to the approval of the department chair or the program director of the department. Other employment on the YSU campus requires the approval of the dean of The College of Graduate Studies.
Stipend and Fee Remission
A student appointed as a graduate assistant (GA, GRA, TA and GA/I) will be paid a stipend. The student transportation fee will be remitted during each term of appointment. The department/agency of service will provide a stipend to the University which will be paid to the student through the normal stipend process for GA/I appointments.
Leave Policy and Procedure
Graduate Assistant Leave Policy
Download the Graduate Assistant Leave Form here