Graduate Assistantships provide students opportunities for professional experience, academic training, and financial support while pursing graduate degrees. Assistantships are paid positions that support the teaching, research, or service mission of UNC Greensboro. Stipend amounts vary by position and expected number of hours per week to a maximum of 20 hours per week. If you are awarded an Assistantship, you may be eligible for some or complete tuition remission.
Most students with graduate assistantships obtain them through their academic programs.
If you are a graduate student seeking an assistantship, contact your academic program for information about open positions. Students apply for all assistantships through Spartan Talent.
- Click here to view the 2022-23 Work Schedule
- Click here to view the 2023-24 Work Schedule
Assistantships provide relevant professional and academic experiences that may include:
- Teaching an undergraduate course
- Assisting a Faculty member with an undergraduate course
- Grading for an undergraduate course
- Leading a Discussion/Recitation Section
- Supervising/Teaching labs
- Working with a faculty member as a research assistant
- Tutoring or helping with skills development
- Engaging with faculty in artistic endeavors
- Developing administrative skills and other professional development such as decision-making, judgment, analysis, and evaluation skills
Workload
Graduate Assistants are usually expected to have 10-20 hours of responsibilities per week, depending on the appointment. The workload for Teaching Associates and Instructional Assistants is factored similarly to a faculty member’s teaching assignment. For example, one three-credit hour class is considered a 10 hours/week assignment. GRAs and GOAs are contact-hour assignments. These students should expect to work on the supervising faculty member’s research or at their office assignment for the number of hours specified on their contract.
Students will receive a monthly stipend direct deposit based on the number of months of the contract and the total stipend amount.
Teaching Associate
The GTA is a graduate student, enrolled in accordance with their plan of study, who serves as Instructor of Record for an undergraduate course in the discipline. This student has full responsibility for a course, including leading the class and assigning grades. Associates may also lead discussion sections, grade papers and exams, or supervise laboratory sections. Teaching Associates must have completed a minimum of 18 graduate credit hours in the instructional discipline. Graduate Teaching Associates may NOT teach graduate-level courses. Teaching Associates are supervised by a faculty member experienced in the teaching discipline, participate in pre-service training, and receives regular in-service training as well as planned, periodic evaluations.
Instructional Assistant
The GIA is a graduate student, enrolled in accordance with their plan of study, who may assist with grading and other administrative responsibilities related to a course. GIAs may be listed in the schedule for labs, recitations, tutorials, etc. that are linked to a course with a credentialed Instructor of Record. These courses are designated with an R, L, or T and the linkage to the Lecture course is clearly noted. This may include lab assistance and set-up, serving as a lab supervisor, meeting students in office hours or group settings to provide tutorial assistance, lead recitation sections; but does not deliver new course content. GIAs serve under the direct supervision of the faculty member who is instructor of record and a member of the graduate faculty, participates in pre-service training, and receives regular in-service training as well as planned, periodic evaluations.
Research Assistant
The GRA is a graduate student, enrolled in accordance with their plan of study and are assigned to work in a faculty member’s lab or provide fundamental support for a faculty member’s research. The supervising faculty member may or may not be the student’s main advisor. Duties of research assistants vary by discipline and lab but include all tasks needed to pursue research in a given area, such as: data collection, entry, and analysis; reviewing the literature and other library work; writing reports; copying, filing, and collating; organizing and/or cleaning the lab or office.
Clinical Assistant
The GCA is a graduate student, enrolled in accordance with their plan of study and engaged in clinical teaching, research, or clinical practice under the supervision of or in collaboration with a member of the graduate faculty. These students may be assigned case-loads, group counseling, crisis intervention, outreach programming, personality assessments, maintaining clinical records, or other clinical duties as assigned.
Office Assistant
The GOA is the title given to graduate assistants when there are no expectations of classroom teaching or grading. This individual may staff an open laboratory, studio, or workshop, where students complete assignments or work on projects; provide non-graded, individual instruction or tutoring, or help faculty prepare and manage classroom materials. The office assistant may also perform academic duties such as assisting in non-central roles of faculty research. An office assistant may also be assigned to a wide variety of other responsibilities that are not related to instructional or research processes but support the mission of the University. Graduate students who have appointments in non-academic units are always classified as office assistants.
To hold a graduate assistantship, a student must be:
- Admitted to a program as a master’s or doctoral student.
- Full-time enrollment, maintain a 3.0 GPA and otherwise making satisfactory academic progress toward degree attainment during the period of the assistantship.
Each department or unit establishes its own documented procedures for recruitment, selection, retention, and dismissal of graduate assistants in accordance with UNCG policy and Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity guidelines.
Renewing Assistantships
An assistantship without a fixed term specified in the initial letter of offer may, at the discretion of the academic program, be renewed if the following criteria are met:
- Funding is available.
- The student is making satisfactory academic progress, with a GPA not less than 3.0.
- The student’s assistantship performance is evaluated in writing by their supervisor to be satisfactory.
- The student’s professional and ethical behavior in all tasks and duties — including in courses in which they are enrolled and in research and creative work — is judged by the academic program to be satisfactory.
If the renewal falls within the number of years of funding specified in the initial letter of offer and the four criteria listed above have been met, the assistantship must be renewed.
I-9 Instructions for Graduate Students:
Graduate Assistants are contracted to start work on August 1. On or before this date, you must complete an I-9 verifying your identity and employment authorization to work in the United States. Failure to do so will delay your first paycheck until the end of September. Regardless, you MAY NOT begin your work assignment until you have filed your I-9 with the Graduate School.
The Graduate School will send you a link to the Guardian LawLogix I-9 system upon receipt of your hiring proposal. This link will be sent to your UNCG email address. Section 1 of the I-9 is completed electronically through the Guardian LawLogix I-9 system. Once Section 1 is complete, you will need to visit the Graduate School in person in 270 Mossman Building, to complete Section 2 of the I-9.
Section 2 of the I-9 requires that you present the originals of your identity documents. The documents presented must be originals (no copies) and must comply with the requirements outlined on the USCIS website – Form I-9 Acceptable Documents.
Only once Section 1 and Section 2 of the I-9 are fully complete and the I-9 has been approved by the federal E-Verify system, will you be eligible to begin working on campus. Failure to comply can result in loss of your assistantship.
Remote I-9 Completion:
If you are unable to visit the Graduate School to complete Section 2 of the I-9 on or before August 1, a remote option exists. You must contact the Graduate School prior to starting Section 1 of the I-9 so that you are sent the correct link.
Section 1 of the I-9 will still be completed electronically. To complete Section 2, you must present your original documents to a notary who resides within the United States. The notary will review your original documents and then complete section 2 of the I-9 form. The notary will upload copies of your identity documents.
Special Notes for International Students:
International students who do not have a social security number can still complete Section 1 without having an I-9. You can also visit the Graduate School to present the originals of your identity documents for Section 2. However, your I-9 cannot be submitted to the federal E-Verify system until you receive your actual social security number. As soon as you receive your social security number, you should contact the Graduate School for next steps.
International students must also meet with the Payroll Department to complete a tax assessment.
The International Programs Center is available to help international students with the various processes and applications needed both before and upon entry into the US.