Graduate teaching assistants primarily support instructional activities within the department. Responsibilities could include grading problems and quizzes; assisting professors in conducting large lecture and television classes or laboratory courses; or teaching refresher or lower-level undergraduate courses. Graduate assistants teaching undergraduate courses, will be provided with adequate coaching and instruction to ensure a quality education for our undergraduate students.
Graduate research assistants contribute, with supervision, to a research program within or between departments. Research projects vary and may include work that is part of a faculty member’s ongoing research, a grant-funded project or other sponsored research.
In sponsored research, graduate assistants are accountable to the research project supervisor or authorized representative. Duties will be in compliance with the terms and conditions of the statement of work under the research grant or other contractual agreement.
Students may use any or all of their assigned work on a research project as a basis for a thesis, provided it meets the approval of the advisors, graduate committee and department chairperson or program director. However, an appointment to a research project does not guarantee that the work will qualify for thesis requirements. If a portion of the research work is used as the basis of a thesis, the preparation of the thesis will be on the student’s own time and expense. Only reports required under the terms of the research project agreement shall be prepared as a part of a student’s duties.
In some cases, a graduate assistant may be employed in both instruction and research.
Graduate administrative assistants are enrolled in a graduate program and assigned duties by an administrative unit. Students may work in offices such as the Dean of Students, Career Services, Residential Education or the Office of the Comptroller. Responsibilities should relate to the graduate assistant’s program of study and serve as legitimate work experience.