The Graduate School at the University of Louisiana at Monroe approves the appointment of more than 200 graduate assistants each year. Graduate assistants are appointed across a variety of academic and non-academic departments, and come in the form of teaching or research assignments. These appointments follow the University calendar and can be assigned during Fall, Spring, Summer I and Summer II semesters as well as Maymester and Wintersession. The Graduate School considers assistantships to be a privilege; students given this opportunity will work to remain in accordance with the following policies while maintaining excellent academic standing.
Eligibility
To be eligible for a graduate assistantship, applicants must be regularly admitted to a degree program. Students who are conditionally admitted are not eligible for assistantships unless their deficiencies are undergraduate prerequisites. Provisionally admitted and non-degree students are not eligible to apply for assistantships.
Applicants must also have an undergraduate GPA of 2.5 or higher; if any graduate coursework has been completed (either at ULM or any other institution), applicants must have a graduate GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Appointment Process
Students interested in applying for a graduate assistantship must submit an application form and three letters of recommendation to the department or program in which an assistantship is desired. Applications made to the Graduate School will not be accepted. Once the application materials have been reviewed by the department/program and candidate(s) selected, a request will be submitted to the director of the Graduate School for final approval. Once approval is granted by the Graduate School, an acceptance letter must be signed by the candidate. This letter outlines the responsibilities, type of assistantship, and compensation offered through the assistantship and must be returned to the Graduate School before the candidate begins work or any tuition waivers are applied. Some departments have specific requirements for their graduate assistants beyond the Graduate School minimums; each applicant should inquire with the hiring supervisor regarding additional requirements. Note: although the Graduate Assistant Application is often submitted with regular admissions materials, this is not a guarantee that an assistantship will be awarded. The graduate assistant appointment process is completely separate from the ULM Graduate School application process.
Important Dates
The vast majority of assistantships begin in the Fall semester. If awarded an assistantship, work will begin on the first class day and will end on the final exam day of that term. Fall and Spring semesters are full 16-week semesters, while Summer I and Summer II semesters are four weeks each. Maymester and Wintersession are three weeks each.
Reappointment
Reappointment is contingent upon two criteria: the graduate assistant making satisfactory academic progress, and satisfactory completion of work duties. Graduate assistants are required to maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.00 and above, and must not earn more than one grade of C in their graduate coursework. If a request is made for reappointment, the student’s major professor must initial the request form indicating that the student is making satisfactory progress towards his or her degree. Receiving a request for reappointment from the student’s supervisor indicates satisfactory completion of work duties.
Required Course Load
Graduate assistants are expected to earn no fewer than nine semester hours of credit toward their graduate degree (12 hours for students in pharmacy) during a regular semester, at least six of which must be at the graduate level. During each summer semester, Maymester, or Wintersession, three semester hours of credit are required. Appropriate courses include:
1) Those which are required for the student’s graduate degree;
2) Those which have been identified as deficiencies/prerequisites and are included on the graduate student’s approved degree plan.
Work Requirements
There are no part-time graduate assistantships. All graduate assistant appointments include 20 hours of work per week under the direction of the student’s supervisor. Graduate assistants are not permitted to hold any other on-campus employment or second graduate assistantship.
During published student breaks, graduate assistants may not be asked to work. For unexpected University closures, graduate assistants will not be expected to make up time missed.
Compensation
University graduate assistantships feature a base compensation package that includes a full tuition waiver and out-of-state fee waiver. Students are also awarded a base stipend of at least $3,000 per regular term, $1000 per summer term, or $800 for Maymester or Wintersession. Some departments offer assistantships with stipends that exceed the minimum.
Graduate assistants are required to pay all student assessed fees including general fees, activity fees, ID validation fees, technology fees, vehicle registration fees, international student service fees, and insurance fees.
Late Appointments and Mid-Semester Resignations
All open graduate assistant positions should be filled by the end of the first week of classes each semester. For students who are awarded an assistantship after that date, the tuition waiver and stipend amounts will be pro-rated to adjust to the date work begins. If a student resigns his or her graduate assistantship at any point during the semester, that student will be responsible for the remainder of his or her tuition at a pro-rated rate proportional to the fraction of the semester worked, and will only receive stipend distributions through the final day of work.
Orientation
All graduate assistants are required to attend one orientation meeting per academic year, usually held the first day of each Fall and Spring semester. If this orientation is not attended, both the graduate assistant position and tuition waiver will be revoked. If the student is unable to attend the orientation due to extenuating circumstances, the student must notify their supervisor and the Graduate School in advance to make arrangements for a make-up time.
Exception Policy
If for any reason an exception to the above policies is requested, the student, student’s supervisor, and student’s major professor (if different than supervisor) must submit letters to the director of the Graduate School describing the exception being requested and detailed reasons for this request. These requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and submitting a request for exception does not guarantee the request will be granted. No requests for exceptions will be considered unless submitted as outlined above.
Payroll Information and Timesheets
All graduate assistants must complete a Hiring Packet with their supervisor that must be submitted through Human Resources to Payroll. Monthly timesheets should be submitted well before the deadline and must be signed by both the graduate assistant and their supervisor. These forms are available at www.ulm.edu/forms. All graduate assistants are paid at the end of each month. There are four pay periods in the Fall semester, five in the Spring semester, and one for each Summer semester.
Forms and Resources
All required forms, including applications, request forms, and appointment letters can be found at www.ulm.edu/gradschool/assist_workstudy.html. For any additional information, please contact the Manager of Operations and Marketing for the Graduate School at 318-342-1037.
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