Graduate Assistantships
SCSU historically has been able to offer over 260 graduate assistantships annually. This results in approximately 50 percent of our full-time graduate students having a graduate assistantship. Graduate assistantships are academically-related employment appointments reserved for graduate students. SCSU offers three types of assistantships: program assistants, research assistants, and teaching assistant positions.
A program support assistantship performs duties of a specific nature connected with academic program support. Research assistantships perform research studies and activities connected to a department or professor. SCSU offers a limited number of teaching assistantships. Teaching assistants help teach students under the general supervision of a professor and are not usually assigned the responsibility for an entire course.
Graduate Assistantship Eligibility
A student must be admitted to the School of Graduate Studies and be registered in the School each term of the appointment. International students as well as U.S. citizens and residents are eligible to apply. Fifth-year certificate, certificate and language admission students are not eligible for graduate assistantships.
Securing a Graduate Assistantship
Graduate assistantships at SCSU are competitive and based on the qualifications of the applicant and the availability of funding. Undergraduate GPA, pertinent experience, test scores, letters of recommendation, educational preparation or appropriate combinations of these factors are considered in the appointment process.
Students interested in securing a graduate assistantship should apply directly to the department, graduate coordinator or service units to be considered for employment. Students will be encouraged to submit a cover letter indicating their interest and skills, résumé, unofficial transcripts as well as SCSU's graduate assistantship application. Departments and administrative offices will generally invite the student to interview for the graduate assistantship position in person, by phone or E-mail. All applicants for a graduate assistantship are required to have been admitted to a master's degree program. All GA contracts are subject to the approval of the School of Graduate Studies.
Graduate Assistantship Benefits
All graduate assistants will be eligible for the following benefits:
Salary — Graduate assistants are compensated according to pay rates established by SCSU's administration. Academic year assistantship stipends pay $10,300 for 2009-2010, depending upon the hours of assignment and the length of the appointment as noted below. A limited number of competative Doctoral assistantships pay $15,000 for a full-time academic year appointment in 2009-2010. Please note that the stipend is earned income and subject to federal and state taxes and wtihholdings.
| Graduate Stipend | Minimum Target Workload (Hrs/Week) |
Graduate Credits Required per Semester** |
Number of Graduate Credits Paid for by Graduate Assistantship |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10,300/year or $5,150/semester |
20 | 8 (5xx/6xx) | 8 |
| $7,500/year or $3,750/semester |
15 | 6 (5xx/6xx) | 8 |
| $5,150/year or $2,575/semester |
10 | 6 (5xx/6xx) | 8 |
| Doctoral Stipend | |||
| $15,000/year or $7,500/semester |
20 | 6 (7xx/8xx) | 6 |
**International Students please note that the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) regulations require that international students take a full-time load of eight credits per semester regardless of appointment hours.
Tuition Waiver — Both full and part-time master's level graduate assistants, in addition to a salary/stipend, are eligible for tuition waiver for graduate (500-600) level credits, up to a maximum of eight graduate credits per semester during the academic year. Only full-time doctoral level assistantships are avialable. Doctoral students are required to enroll in 6 six doctoral level credits and 6 doctoral credits will be waived.
Tuition waiver is available to graduate assistants during the academic year. Tuition waiver is considered to be earnings and is therefore subject to FICA plus State and Federal tax withholding. The schedule below outlines the amount of tuition waiver available. A student must be at least a half-time graduate assistant, i.e., working 10 hours per week, to qualify for tuition waiver.
All student fees other than tuition must be paid by the student. Tuition assistance is computed only for graduate credits (5xx -8xx) courses), and no tuition waiver is awarded for graduate courses enrolled in after the tenth class day of each semester.
NOTE:
- The tuition waiver is not available during the May Intersession, Summer Session I or Summer Session II.
- Undergraduate preparation courses are not eligible for graduate assistantship tuition benefit.
| Number of graduate credits enrolled in per semester | Number of graduate credits paid for by assistantship |
| 6 | 6 (5xx/6xx) |
| 7 | 7 (5xx/6xx) |
| 8 or more | 8 (5xx/6xx) |
| Doctoral students | |
| 6 or more | 6 (7xx/8xx) |
Resident rate privilege — All graduate assistants,
international, and US citizens and residents qualify for in-state tuition
rates. Graduate assistants will find the in-state rate credited on their fee
statement as a MN RATE Tuition Scholarship.
International students — Students who have a completed
graduate assistantship contract, fully signed by the School of Graduate Studies
and the sponsoring department, may include the assistantship stipend as income
on their financial certification form. A student will also need their graduate
assistantship contract letter when they apply for their visa.
Appointment Policies
The maximum graduate assistant appointment is 20 hours per week. Graduate students may be appointed for a maximum of 240 duty days during the calendar year. Graduate assistants cannot be concurrently employed as adjunct faculty. Graduate assistants may not hold other employment or student employment positions with SCSU while employed as a GA.
To qualify for the tuition waiver, a GA's appointment must begin no later than the tenth duty day of the term and must continue through the last duty day of the term. If a graduate student terminates his/her assistantship prior to the mid-point of the term, he/she shall lose all tuition and stipend support for that term.
If termination of an assistantship occurs before the date stated on the GA Employment Referral, the effective termination date will be when the School of Graduate Studies receives written verification from the department. All GA compensation earned prior to this date will be charged to the administrative unit responsible for the direct supervision of the graduate student.
Appointment Obligations
The maximum number of hours per week a graduate assistant may work is 20 hours. It is the obligation of the GA and the employing unit to adhere to fair labor practices. GA's are obligated to attend mandatory employee training sessions when requested.
Continuance of Graduate Assistantship
A student must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA each semester to maintain his/her graduate assistantship. A graduate assistantship may not be deferred for use in another academic year. Additionally, tuition assistance is not available during the summer terms. A number of departments do offer graduate assistants continued employment in the summer months at approximately $16.00 an hour, a rate established by SCSU administration. Generally graduate assistants will be eligible for appointment as a GA for a maximum of two years, unless a department or college maintains a policy of permitting appointments for three years to conduct special research. Most full-time graduate students should be able to complete their graduate program within two years.
Resolution of the Council of Graduate Schools in the United States
Acceptance of an offer of financial aid (such as a graduate scholarship, fellowship, traineeship, or assistantship) for the next academic year by an enrolled or prospective graduate student completes an agreement that both student and graduate school expect to honor. When a student accepts an offer before April 15 and subsequently desires to withdraw, the student may submit a written resignation for the appointment at any time through April 15. However, an acceptance given or left in force after April 15 commits the student not to accept another offer without first obtaining a written release from the institution to which a commitment was made. Similarly, an offer made by an institution after April 15 is conditional on presentation by the student of a written release from any previously accepted offer. It is further agreed by the institutions and organizations subscribing to this resolution that a copy of the resolution should accompany every scholarship, fellowship, traineeship, and assistantship offer. A copy of the resolution is available from the Council of Graduate Schools at http://www.cgsnet.org/portals/0/pdf/CGSResolutionAug2006.pdf.
