Graduate Assistantship Eligibility

Admission Status

Must be fully admitted to the doctoral degree program. Master’s students are not automatically eligible for assistantships.

Enrollment

Must be enrolled in a minimum of 6 credit hours for the Fall and Spring semesters.

Academic Standing 

Must maintain a cumulative 3.00 GPA.

 

Graduate Assistantship Benefits

Teaching Assistant Stipend

Full-time TAs (teaching 20 hours per week) will receive $21,000.00 over the course of 9 months, to be paid bi-monthly.

Tuition Waiver

Covers all credit hours in Fall and Spring if the student is a full-time TA (tuition per credit hour is $572.75).

Fully Subsidized Health Insurance

All graduate assistants receive fully subsidized health insurance during the  academic year (effective Fall 2021). Insurance for the summer months is included with coverage for the spring semester. For more information, please visit Academic Health Plans or contact our department.

TA or RA summer stipends

In addition to the 9-month TA stipend, graduate students are eligible to receive $1,900.00 for a summer session (6 weeks) for a total of $22,900.00 for 12 months. A RA with a research group is typically paid about $5,750.00 for the summer (3 months). 

 

Graduate Student Fellowships

In addition to the regular Graduate Assistantship, we offer three fellowships for incoming excellent students. 

Excellent graduate students have an opportunity to be nominated for the University's Presidential Fellowship or the Graduate Assistantship Enhancement Program from the McCausland College of Arts & Sciences, the latter being $4,000.00 per year for up to 4 years.   

In addition, the Department offers first year graduate students a research fellowship of $3,000.00 during their first academic year.  

 

Per Semester Student Fees

Matriculation:  $80.00 (one-time fee paid during the first semester of study only)
International Student Services:  $225.00 per semester
Technology:  $17.00 per credit hour
Student Health Center:  $190.00 per semester

Teaching Assistantships are offered to all accepted PhD applicants; Master’s students are not automatically eligible. Students are expected to be a TA until they earn an RA from a research group. After passing the Admission to Candidacy Exam, candidates are expected to become Research Assistants in the field they have chosen. RA stipend amounts are determined individually by each research group.

Amounts shown are for the 2025-2026 academic year.