Departmental Policy on Eligibility

Each department must establish a clear policy on graduate students’ eligibility for teaching and research assistantships and disseminate the policy to graduate students in the department. This policy must define criteria for selection and reappointment, including criteria for measuring appropriate progress toward the degree. The policy must also specify a limit on the length of time for which students may be awarded assistantships, consistent with the University policies below.

In establishing its policy on eligibility for graduate assistantships and in admitting students to its graduate programs, the department must beware of making commitments to more students or to a longer period of support than it can reasonably expect to fulfill.

University Policies on Eligibility

During the term of the appointment, the graduate assistant must be registered in the Graduate College and must be a student in good standing in the department in which he or she is a degree candidate. In an academic semester during which a graduate student is holding a half-time teaching or research assistantship, he or she may be enrolled for no more than 12 credit hours (6 credit hours in the 8-week summer session).

As a general guideline, the University recommends five academic years of assistantship support as the maximum expected for Ph.D. candidates, three years for MFA candidates, and two years for other master’s degree candidates. Extensions are to be based on departmental need and should be formally approved within the department.