Graduate Assistantships
The University of West Georgia provides a number of Graduate Assistantships and Teaching Assistantships for our students. These assistantships offer valuable professional development opportunities in various programs and departments within the university for our degree-seeking students through supervised work experiences.
Assistantships support the research, teaching, and service responsibilities of the University and help students pay for their graduate training. Therefore, graduate assistants must maintain satisfactory academic progress and performance and successfully complete the assigned research, teaching, or other responsibilities. Almost all of the assistantships are managed directly by the various departments and programs. Please contact the department directly for information.
Graduate assistantships, graduate research assistantships, teaching assistantships, and fellowships are available to full-time, degree-seeking students. Assistantships are primarily available in academic departments and administrative offices on campus. To obtain information about available positions, please contact your department.
Types of Assistantships
Teaching Assistants, Level 1 (TA1)
Graduate students appointed to the position of TA1 may not have primary responsibility for a course or serve as the instructor of record, but may assist in the instructional process by serving as discussion leaders in breakout sections, grading papers, proctoring exams, working in approved tutoring/instructional support programs, and/or assisting the primary instructor of record in other ways. The department chair and graduate program director shall determine that the credentials of a student assigned as TA1 qualify the individual to assist in instruction activities.
Teaching Assistants, Level 2 (TA2)
Graduate students appointed to the position of TA2 will have completed more than 18 hours of graduate course credit in the appropriate discipline and will have completed training facilitated by their College or program. TA2s may have primary instructional responsibility for a course and may have autonomy for teaching, assigning grades, and providing laboratory instruction/setup as part of a regularly scheduled course. TA2s must be under the supervision of a faculty member that teaches in the discipline. The department chair and graduate program director shall determine that the credentials of a student assigned as TA2 qualify the individual to undertake the assignment of instruction.
Research Assistantships
Research Assistantships (RAs) are research positions that allow graduate students to conduct research of a scholarly nature, normally under faculty supervision. While not a requirement, in many cases the source for RA salaries and tuition may be an external funding source (NSF, NIH, etc.) and thus not paid by a unit of the institution. The work of an RA can include, but is not limited to, the collection and analysis of data, the development of theoretical analyses and models, and/or the production or publication of scholarly research or creative work that supports his or her own professional agenda and may benefit of the University, faculty or academic staff supervisor, or granting agency. Other work, such as instructional support, may be included in the general job duties of a research assistant.
Pre-Professional Graduate Assistantships
Pre-Professional Graduate Assistantships (GAs) are assistantships that provide general administrative support to academic and administrative units within the University. Whenever possible, the duties assigned to graduate assistants should be relevant to the graduate program and the professional goals of the students.
Assistantship Guidelines
The following guidelines should be used when determining the work assignments and workload for assistantships:
- Assistantships best serve the student, the hiring unit, and the student’s academic department when they are used as an integral component of the graduate education experience.
- Assistantships should enhance the educational experience by exposing the student to the professional activities of their disciplines, involving them in university activities related to their academic and professional interests, and affording them the opportunity to work closely with faculty and professionals.
- Assistantships should provide high quality support for the academic mission of the University.
Eligibility for Assistantships
To be eligible for an assistantship, students must meet the following criteria. Students admitted provisionally to a program are not eligible for an assistantship.
- Earned a Bachelor’s degree.
- Have applied for and been accepted to a graduate degree program of study at UWG.
- Be enrolled as a full-time student in a graduate program of study.
- Have maintained a 3.0 GPA in previous and current graduate course work.
- Meet the requirements to be eligible for employment in the US.