Each year Wichita State University appoints a significant number of assistantships
to graduate students in degree programs. Assistantships are offered in most academic
departments offering graduate degrees and many administrative departments on campus.
At Wichita State University, assistantship appointments are made on a semester-by-semester
basis. The actual dollar value of an assistantship varies according to the length
of the appointment, the number of hours worked per week and the funding base within
each department. Recipients of a full-time graduate assistantship may not work more
than a total of 20 hours per week. Some exceptions may be made to this limit for students
who are not on a student visa. Additional information may be found in the University Assistantship Policies.
Eligibility
To be eligible for an assistantship, students must be admitted to a degree program
in either full or conditional standing. Students admitted on probation or placed on academic probation following admission
may be eligible for assistantship awards under certain circumstances.
Assistantship Types
Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA)
A graduate teaching assistantship may qualify the recipient for up to a 100 percent
waiver of tuition for up to 12 graduate credit hours per semester.
Students wishing to be considered for a teaching assistantship should indicate their
interest to their graduate coordinator or department chair as soon as possible after notification of admission. Applications
for assistantships should be submitted directly to the program area where the assistantship
is desired.
English proficiency
Potential applicants for graduate teaching assistantships who are non-native speakers
of English must first attain a score of 50 or above on the Test of Spoken English
(TSE)/SPEAK, OR a score of 23 or higher on the speaking portion of the Internet Based
TOEFL (iBT), OR achieve a score of 7.0 or higher on the Speaking portion of the IELTS
exam. Scores must be less than 2 years old.
Graduate Research Assistant (GRA)
The primary function of a graduate research assistant (GRA) is to assist faculty members
in their scholarly and / or creative activities. Duties may include basic scientific
research using laboratory facilities, computer programming or operation, data collection,
correlation and preliminary interpretation of data, statistical analysis of data and
writing preliminary reports, bibliographical work, or assisting musicians or artists
in their creative endeavors. GRAs have the latitude to make decisions involving judgment
and / or discretionary choices when collecting data, performing experiments, operating
equipment, or assisting in studios or laboratories.
Students wishing to be considered for a research assistantship should indicate their
interest to their graduate coordinator or department chair as soon as possible after notification of admission. Applications
for assistantships should be submitted directly to the program area where the assistantship
is desired.
Graduate Staff Assistant (GSA)
The primary function of a graduate staff assistant (GSA) is to assist in non-teaching
and non-research activities. Specific duties of the GSA vary widely, depending on
the administrative or academic unit to which they are assigned, but should be at a
level to make use of their education and abilities. GSAs may assist in various offices
if their assignment is to perform more than clerical duties. Computer data entry,
record maintenance, reports and survey preparation, correlating data, and answering
specific questions are some of the duties GSAs will typically perform.
Handshake
GSA positions are typically advertised and applied to through Handshake. The Career
Development Center offers students access to Handshake, an online system where you
can search and apply for graduate assistantships and view additional opportunities
for on-campus employment, co-op / internship positions and full-time employment. To
access Handshake and search for available positions across campus, go to wichitastate.joinhandshake.com and log in using your myWSU ID and password.
Eligibility Limitations
Graduate assistantships are exceptionally competitive and are not available to all
students. Non-degree and certificate-seeking only students are ineligible to hold
a graduate assistantship. Undergraduate students admitted under the Senior Rule option,
or in accelerated bachelor's to master's programs are not normally considered for
assistantship appointments.
