Graduate Assistantships in English
Teaching Assistantships : As many as twenty-eight teaching assistantships in English are awarded annually to superior students judged capable of effective teaching. Assistants are assigned teaching duties -- three or four sections of freshman English (ENG 101 and 102) during the three quarters of the regular academic year. Assistants are required by contract to take a minimum of eight hours of graduate course work during each of the three quarters in which they teach. They may take up to four courses during the fourth (summer) quarter at no charge.
New graduate teaching assistants are also required to take the Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kit (SPEAK) test or be screened for English proficiency prior to signing their assistantship agreement. Assistants who will teach English department courses must score 300 on this test and must have had extensive exposure to American English language and culture.
Teaching assistants receive a monthly stipend. The annual (3-quarter) stipend total for 2004-2005 first-year TAs was $8600; second-year TAs received $9200. Teaching assistants also receive full tuition waivers for fall, winter, and spring. Summer quarter tuition waivers are also available after a teaching assistant has completed three quarters.
Assistantship contracts are normally written for three quarters but may, under unusual circumstances, be written for one or two quarters. It is also possible for assistants who have accepted a three-quarter contract to resign after one or two quarters when circumstances warrant. Assistants may not, however, drop courses without permission of the Dean of the Graduate School and may not include audits or undergraduate classes as part of their contractually required course work. Occasionally assistantships are available during the middle of the year.
ENG 703/704 : As part of their regular course load, graduate teaching assistants are required to take ENG 703-4 and 704-2, a seminar on teaching college composition, during the fall and winter quarters of their first year. The six credits will count toward the M.A. degree.
Other Assistantships : Occasionally one or two research assistantships may be available to students interested in writing a thesis that can be developed in conjunction with research work done for an individual faculty member. The annual stipend for these positions was $3250 in 1984-85. Availability of these assistantships is severely limited, both by the amount of suitable research work being conducted by English Department faculty and by resources of the department.
Term of Service : Normally assistantships are awarded for a term of one year beginning in Fall quarter. This term may be renewed once; thus all teaching assistants may be able to teach for six quarters.
Benefits : Assistants fall under the provisions of the educational benefits policy which includes a fee waiver for total tuition. The proper form must be obtained each quarter from the Graduate School. Assistants must take a contractually required minimum of eight hours (two to three courses) a quarter.
COLA Graduate Assistantship : English M.A. students with appropriate technology skills may also be eligible for a COLA G.A. position, compensated by both stipend and tuition remission. Select the link for current details.
In addition to holding an assistantship, students may earn no more than $500 a quarter on the average as an employee of the University. Students are allowed a total of 1500 hours of university employment a year.
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