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Graduate Assistantships

Assistantship Quick Links

Each year Wichita State University appoints a significant number of assistantships to graduate students in degree programs. Assistantships are offered in most academic departments offering graduate degrees and many administrative departments on campus. 

At Wichita State University, assistantship appointments are made on a semester-by-semester basis. The actual dollar value of an assistantship varies according to the length of the appointment, the number of hours worked per week and the funding base within each department. Recipients of a full-time graduate assistantship may not work more than a total of 20 hours per week. Some exceptions may be made to this limit for students who are not on a student visa. Additional information may be found in the University Assistantship Policies.

Eligibility

To be eligible for an assistantship, students must be admitted to a degree program in either full or conditional standing. Students admitted on probation or placed on academic probation following admission may be eligible for assistantship awards under certain circumstances.

Assistantship Types

Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA)

A graduate teaching assistantship may qualify the recipient for up to a 100 percent waiver of tuition for up to 12 graduate credit hours per semester. Note that this waiver impacts tuition only - student and course fees are not waived and are the responsibility of the student. 

Students wishing to be considered for a teaching assistantship should indicate their interest to their graduate coordinator or department chair as soon as possible after notification of admission. Applications for assistantships should be submitted directly to the program area where the assistantship is desired. 

English proficiency

Potential applicants for graduate teaching assistantships who are non-native speakers of English must first attain a score of 22 or higher on the speaking portion of the Internet Based TOEFL (iBT), OR achieve a score of 7.0 or higher on the Speaking portion of the IELTS exam, or a score of 50 or above on the SPEAK test. Scores must be less than 2 years old.

Graduate Research Assistant (GRA)

The primary function of a graduate research assistant (GRA) is to assist faculty members in their scholarly and / or creative activities. Duties may include basic scientific research using laboratory facilities, computer programming or operation, data collection, correlation and preliminary interpretation of data, statistical analysis of data and writing preliminary reports, bibliographical work, or assisting musicians or artists in their creative endeavors. GRAs have the latitude to make decisions involving judgment and / or discretionary choices when collecting data, performing experiments, operating equipment, or assisting in studios or laboratories.

Students wishing to be considered for a research assistantship should indicate their interest to their graduate coordinator or department chair as soon as possible after notification of admission. Applications for assistantships should be submitted directly to the program area where the assistantship is desired. 

Graduate Staff Assistant (GSA)

The primary function of a graduate staff assistant (GSA) is to assist in non-teaching and non-research activities. Specific duties of the GSA vary widely, depending on the administrative or academic unit to which they are assigned, but should be at a level to make use of their education and abilities. GSAs may assist in various offices if their assignment is to perform more than clerical duties. Computer data entry, record maintenance, reports and survey preparation, correlating data, and answering specific questions are some of the duties GSAs will typically perform.

Eligibility Limitations

Graduate assistantships are exceptionally competitive and are not available to all students. Non-degree and certificate-seeking only students are ineligible to hold a graduate assistantship. Undergraduate students admitted under the Senior Rule option, or in accelerated bachelor's to master's programs are not normally considered for assistantship appointments.

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