Types of Graduate Assistantships
The University recognizes three types of Graduate Assistants:
- A Graduate Assistant (GA)
- The Graduate Assistant (GAS, GAW) may work in support of an academic office or a university support services department, manage a lab, or support a faculty member or students. The graduate assistant's primary purpose should not be general clerical work such as answering phones, filing paperwork, shredding documents, etc. Graduate Assistants will be subject to all policies concerning Graduate Assistants.
- The GAS (Graduate Assistant-Salary) will be paid from Instructional Funds. The GAS will not be considered the teacher of record.
- The GAW (Graduate Assistant-Wages) is paid from the wages account. The GAS will not be considered the teacher of record. The GAW will work in direct support of instruction and will assist students on a daily basis.
- The Graduate Assistant (GAS, GAW) may work in support of an academic office or a university support services department, manage a lab, or support a faculty member or students. The graduate assistant's primary purpose should not be general clerical work such as answering phones, filing paperwork, shredding documents, etc. Graduate Assistants will be subject to all policies concerning Graduate Assistants.
- A Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) will be paid from the Faculty Salaries category of the University budget. A Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) will be employed as the teacher of record and is responsible for assigning final grades. Work units are determined in the same way as for a regular faculty member. For the GTA, the teaching assignment should provide an opportunity for obtaining a depth of knowledge within the academic discipline.
A GTA who is working toward a master’s degree may be assigned to teach undergraduate courses only. A GTA who holds a master’s degree and is working toward a doctoral degree may be assigned to teach undergraduate courses. Exceptions to this policy are made only with the approval of the Dean of Graduate School. A GTA may not be assigned to teach doctoral-level courses. Only under extremely unusual circumstances or in cases of demonstrated expertise or experience may a GTA, working toward the doctorate, be assigned to teach master’s level courses. This arrangement must be reviewed and approved in advance by the Dean of the Graduate School. An exception at the discretion of the Dean of the Graduate School may be made in the case of GTAs who have demonstrated exceptional expertise or experience. The GTA is required to document all student contact hours. - A Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) will be paid from Institutional Grants awarded to certain faculty members and from outside university and faculty research contracts. The GRA is employed in conjunction with the research of a faculty member in a capacity that enhances the student's career and educational development. For the GRA, the research project may ideally result in a professional paper, thesis, or dissertation. Duties vary depending on the type of research project and may include laboratory experiments, library searches, data entry, preparation of reports, and other relevant assignments. The GRA's primary purpose should not be general clerical work such as answering phones, filing paperwork, shredding documents, etc.
Graduate Research Assistant - Advanced
(Additional positions in the GRA Category.)
The Graduate Council, working in conjunction with the staff in the Office of Human Resources, created (in addition to the Graduate Research Assistant positions already in place) additional levels of pay and titles for new categories of graduate student research positions. These titles and categories were added in order to provide more competitive stipends for those research positions that require skills, training, and ability above what would normally be expected of a Graduate Research Assistant. The purpose of these positions is to allow the faculty member whose research project demands a special or advanced level of knowledge or experience the opportunity to employ graduate students possessing these skills and also to facilitate the objectives of the graduate education of students as they apply their special skills and knowledge.
For a graduate student to be considered for an advanced, higher-level Graduate Research Assistant position, the faculty advisor, chair, or dean should submit a graduate assistant assignment position request through TWU's Oracle platform. The faculty advisor, chair, or dean must also submit the following:
- A position description (if the position is funded by a grant, a copy of the position description in the grant may be sent; otherwise, a description should be written)
- The student's vita
- An email to the Graduate School with a rationale for why the student's particular skills and expertise are needed for an advanced, higher-level Graduate Research Assistant position.
