Graduate Assistantships and Graduate Work Study

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Graduate Assistant Application Form

GA Recommendation Letter/Form

 

Graduate assistants are appointed across a variety of academic and non-academic departments.  These appointments follow the University calendar and can be assigned during Fall semester, Spring semester, Summer I and Summer II terms, Maymester, and Winter intersessions.Students must be enrolled in graduate classes to be considered for graduate assistantships (see eligibility and appointment process). Graduate Assistantships are competitive and a privilege; students given this opportunity will adhere to the following policies while maintaining excellent academic standing.

Eligibility

To be eligible for a graduate assistantship, applicants must be regularly admitted to a degree program. Students who are conditionally admitted are not eligible for assistantships unless their deficiencies are undergraduate prerequisites. Provisionally admitted and non-degree students are not eligible to apply for assistantships.

Applicants must have an undergraduate GPA of 2.5 or higher.  Applicants with previous graduate coursework must have a graduate GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Appointment Process

Students interested in applying for a graduate assistantship must submit an application form and three letters of recommendation to the department or program in which an assistantship is desired. Applications should not be made to the Graduate School.  Application review and interviews are completed by the hiring program/department.
Once a candidate is selected, a Graduate Assistant Request will be submitted to the director of the Graduate School for final approval. Once approval is granted by the Graduate School, an acceptance letter must be signed by the candidate. This letter outlines the responsibilities, type of assistantship, and compensation offered through the assistantship and must be returned to the Graduate School before the candidate begins work or any tuition waivers are applied. Some departments have specific requirements for their graduate assistants beyond the Graduate School minimums; each applicant should inquire with the hiring supervisor regarding additional requirements. Note: although the Graduate Assistant Application is often submitted with regular admissions materials, this is not a guarantee that an assistantship will be awarded. The graduate assistant appointment process is completely separate from the ULM Graduate School application process.

Reappointment

Reappointment is contingent upon two criteria: the graduate assistant making satisfactory academic progress, and satisfactory completion of work duties. Graduate assistants are required to maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.00 and above, and must not earn more than one grade of C in their graduate coursework.

Required Course Load

Graduate assistants are expected to earn no fewer than nine semester hours of credit toward their graduate degree (12 hours for students in pharmacy) during a regular semester, at least six of which must be at the graduate level. 

During each summer term, May and winter intersessions, three semester hours of credit are required per term or per intersession.  Appropriate courses include:

1) Those which are required for the student’s graduate degree;
2) Those which have been identified as deficiencies/prerequisites and are included on the graduate student’s approved degree plan.

Work Load

All graduate assistant appointments include 20 hours of work per week under the direction of the student’s supervisor. Graduate assistants are not permitted to hold any other on-campus employment or second graduate assistantship.

During published student breaks, graduate assistants may not be asked to work. For unexpected University closures, graduate assistants will not be expected to make up time missed.

Compensation

University graduate assistantships feature a base compensation package that includes a full tuition waiver and out-of-state fee waiver. Students are also awarded a base stipend of at least $3,000 per regular term, $1000 per summer term and a minimum of $800 for intersessions .

Graduate assistants are required to pay all student assessed fees including general fees, activity fees, ID validation fees, technology fees, vehicle registration fees, international student service fees, and insurance fees.

Graduate Assistant Orientation

All graduate assistants must attend the Graduate Assistant Orientation.  Orientation is made available to graduate assistants and is completed in an online format.