Graduate Assistantships
Graduate Assistantships are awarded on a competitive basis to qualified graduate degree seeking students. The Assistantships offer assignments in teaching, research or administration. They are designed to offer students supervised educational experiences at the graduate level. Interested students should visit the UNK employment website at unkemployment.unk.edu. The website will list all open Graduate Assistantships, as well as provide instructions for completing the application process. Assistantship decisions begin in the spring for the following academic year appointments although applications are accepted until all positions are filled. Early application is encouraged.
Graduate Assistants employed full-time will automatically be awarded a stipend as well as tuition remission (resident or nonresident as appropriate) equivalent to one-fourth of the credit hours remaining in their Graduate Degree Program each semester they serve as a Graduate Assistant. Tuition remissions for Graduate Assistant appointments less than full-time will be prorated accordingly. Fees are not included in tuition remission and must be paid by the student. Remissions will apply only to course work applicable to the approved program listed in the graduate catalog (or their substitutes). All tuition and fees for courses that do not meet the above criterion, as well as any courses the student drops or withdraws from, will be paid by the Graduate Assistant.
Academic Standards
The Graduate Assistantship is intended to provide support to students pursuing a graduate degree who have demonstrated a high level of academic achievement or potential. Graduate students must be fully admitted to a degree program prior to the awarding of an assistantship. Graduate Assistants are required to maintain a minimum G.P.A. of 3.0.
Work Load
Assistantships assigned on a halftime basis carry a workload of ten (10) hours per week. Assistantships assigned on a full-time basis carry a workload of twenty (20) hours per week. The University considers twenty hours per week full-time student employment. Therefore, full-time Graduate Assistants may not hold any additional employment positions at UNK.
Temporary leave from assistantships due to brief illness, family emergency, etc., are administered by the department and reported to the Office of Graduate Studies & Academic Outreach.
Course Load
Individuals receiving an assistantship must enroll in a minimum of six credit hours per semester/term and are expected to complete a minimum of six (6) graduate credit hours per semester. These credit hours must be applicable to the student's Program of Study. Although the minimum enrollment for a Graduate Assistant is six (6) credit hours, full-time graduate status is nine (9) hours. Full-time status is needed for student loan deferral and to receive full-time financial aid.
Duties
The Graduate Assistant reports to the Graduate Program Chair, who has the prerogative of assigning the graduate assistant to a full-time faculty member who supervises and evaluates the work of the assistant within the program. Graduate Assistants may be assigned teaching, research or administrative duties. The Graduate Program Chair will clearly identify these duties.
A graduate Teaching Assistant is generally asked to teach the equivalent of six (6) credit hours of courses or labs. Office hours and class preparation for a Teaching Assistant should be included in the assignment.
Length of Appointment
Assistantships may be awarded on a semester or academic year basis.
Successive assistantships may be awarded to a student at the discretion of the department and are subject to the successful degree progress as described above. Graduate students are generally awarded an assistantship for no more than two (2) years per program. Appointments exceeding two years must be approved by the Dean of Graduate Studies & Academic Outreach.
Graduate Assistants are granted the same library privileges as faculty members.
Application
Students can find a list of open Graduate Assistantships, as well as instructions for creating an employment application at unkemployment.unk.edu. For questions about completing the application, call the Human Resources Office at (308) 865-8522.