Graduate assistantships are available for new and continuing students in the College of Education. Students may assist faculty with research projects, play a role in teaching college courses or provide other services to the college or university. Graduate assistantships are offered as a one-quarter time (10 hours per week) or a one-half time (20 hours per week) appointment. More details about assistantships can be found on the Graduate School’s Graduate Assistantship webpage or in the Academic Programs Catalog.
If a program seeks to hire a GA for a three-quarters time appointment (29 hours per week) or up to nine hours of hourly work on top of a half-time assistantship, the program must request permission from the Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs in writing. To be eligible for this, the student must a) be in good standing, b) be able to perform the additional duties without adversely impacting their time to degree, and the request must be supported by the student’s advisor. The student’s proposed total workload will be considered, so programs are strongly encouraged to appoint a student to multiple sections of the same course and/or courses they have previously taught or supported.
There are three types of GA appointments: Teaching Assistantships, Research Assistantships and Teaching-Exempt Assistantships.
Assistantship benefits include:
Teaching assistant (TA) appointments are made by the department offering the course, which is almost always the same department offering the TA’s graduate program. Teaching assistantships are regulated by the University’s Graduate Employees Union (GEU) contract (the current contract information can be found at https://hr.msu.edu/contracts/ and navigating to Graduate Employees Union Contract).
Research assistant (RA) appointments are made by the department of the faculty member conducting the research which is usually the same department offering the RA’s graduate program. RA appointments are not covered by the GEU contract.
Teaching-exempt assistant (TE) appointments are made by the department or unit where the work is to be conducted. TE appointments may involve assisting with academic program data collection and analysis, supporting graduate student recruitment, or planning and offering events within the College. TE appointments are not covered by the GEU contract.
Information about most assistantship opportunities can be obtained by contacting your program director. From time to time, the College’s weekly e-newsletter GradLink may include information about a limited number of assistantship opportunities available outside of academic departments. Additional opportunities for support include the College’s many fellowships and scholarships.