Graduate Assistantships Impact

Graduate Assistantships

What is a Graduate Assistantship?

Benefits to becoming a Graduate Assistant

girl collecting dataGraduate assistantships positions at Fairmont State provide students with financial support and professional experience while contributing significantly to our academic and administrative capabilities. Graduate Assistants (GAs) are, first and foremost, graduate students pursuing an education at Fairmont State University. The opportunity to work closely with faculty members and undergraduate students in teaching, research, or administrative environments is an integral part of that education. The addition of a GA to a department or unit is intended to benefit both the unit and graduate student.

GAs are considered student employees.  As such, their primary purpose for being at the institution is to obtain an education. A student employee is not eligible for benefits and is not covered by the classification program. Service in this capacity does not apply to any seniority or years of experience.

GAs provide financial support for graduate students while they are pursuing a master’s degree. The financial support (e.g., stipend, tuition, benefits) is part of the University’s commitment to the success of our graduate students. The assistantship should mutually benefit the educational and professional trajectory of the graduate student and the department or unit they serve. GAs are encouraged to discuss their professional goals and areas of development with their supervisor, making the most of the opportunities presented during their time at FSU.

Types of Graduate Assistants

Teaching Assistant

Teaching assistants (TA) assist faculty with instructional responsibilities or serve as the principle instructor in one or more courses.  TAs are selected on the basis of past teaching experience or academic promise as effective instructors in their field of study. Duties may include assisting faculty with teaching-related tasks (e.g., leading discussion groups, lecturing, laboratory, preparing instructional materials, grading exams), responsibilities associated with a self-contained class, and/or advising students.

Graduate Teaching Assistants who have the primary responsibility of teaching a course for credit and/or assigning final grades for such a course must have earned at least 18 graduate semester hours in the teaching discipline, be under the direct supervision of a faculty member experienced in the teaching discipline, receive regular in-service training, and be regularly evaluated.  All first time teaching assistants are required to attend the Graduate Assistant Professional Development Workshop that is held prior to the beginning of each semester.

Research Assistant

Research Assistants (RA) are selected for excellence in scholarship and promise as researchers. RAs work in research, administrative, academic and other university settings to assist faculty or other university personnel on research projects. They do part-time research as a portion of their training under the direct supervision of regular faculty members or work with administrative units to support the research initiatives of the institution. Duties vary by discipline and program, but generally include data collection and entry, data analysis, attending conferences to present results, and training and supervising less experienced researchers.

Service Assistant

Service Assistants (SA) work with the administrative staff of a school, department, college, or office to assist in the operations of the university whose mission is closely related to the student's area of academic study or interest. Service assistantships are available for academic and nonacademic units. Duties vary widely, but may include gathering, organizing, and analyzing information, implementing and evaluating programs, academic advising, academic tutoring, career counseling, preparing marketing materials, and recruitment events.

Graduate Assistant Recruitment and Hiring Timeline

October

Office of Graduate and Professional Studies holds Information Session for pending graduates (seniors) interested in an assistantship for following Fall semester

March 15

Deadline for applications from students. Students apply to the general Graduate Assistant Hiring Pool for the next academic year. 

Deadline for Departments to request a position by submitting a position description.

April 1

Departments review applications and submit their requests for interview.

April 1-30

Interviews take place within departments.

May 1

Departments make their final selections.

May 15

Offer letters sent to selected students

First Week of August

Orientation 

First Day of Classes

Appointments begin