Graduate Assistantships

What is a Graduate Assistantship?

A graduate assistantship is a form of employment at NDSU specifically for current, typically full-time, graduate students. The goal of the assistantship is to provide opportunities for professional development in the form of rigorous work alongside faculty and staff in different fields of study in higher education. Assistantships may vary in length and depend on the availability of funding. Usually, they are granted for an academic term or a year, and may be renewed for multiple years with satisfactory performance reviews.

Assistantship Eligibility

To be eligible for an assistantship, students must meet certain criteria as noted in the Graduate Assistantship and Fellowship Policy. This includes:

Be a degree seeking student
Be in good academic standing
Be enrolled in a minimum of six graduate credits during fall and spring semester*

Additional Criteria:

Consent to a criminal background check
Maintain appropriate residency status
Demonstrate English Proficiency (Teaching Assistants)

*For more information on eligibility, please refer to the Graduate Assistantship and Fellowship Policies

Expectations for Graduate Assistants*For more information on eligibility

Once an assistantship is secured, graduate assistants will need to continue to meet expectations set out specifically for graduate assistants. The expectations are:

Be registered for a minimum of six graduate credits each (fall and spring) semester that they receive an assistantship
Remain in good academic standing
Maintain appropriate residency status
Abide by the conditions of their contract
Make satisfactory degree progress
Make satisfactory research progress
Complete required trainings within 30 days of their first day of work

Funding Through an Assistantship

There are three ways a student may receive funding or financial assistance through an assistantship.

All assistantships come with a monthly stipend, which is dependent on department funds, graduate level, and work performance. Graduate Assistants will receive their stipend in two payments per month, following the university’s pay period cycle.

NDSU has a semi-monthly pay cycle where pay days are on the 15th and the last day of the month. If either of these dates fall on a weekend or holiday, payday is moved to the prior business day. NDSU also has a semi-monthly pay delay. With this delay, hours worked the 1-15th of the month are paid on the last day of the next month; hours worked 16-31st of the month are paid on the 15th of the next month.

For more information on pay periods and cycles, please visit NDSU Payroll website.

Graduate Assistants with a qualifying assistantship will also be placed on an unique tuition rate, which will affect the cost of tuition. This rate matches the North Dakota residency rate and is contingent on a student having a qualifying assistantship, including working a minimum of 160 hours per (spring and fall) semester.

For more information on Graduate Tuition Rates, please visit NDSU One Stop: http://www.ndsu.edu/onestop/account/tuition/graduate

Students who do not meet the 160 hours per semester requirement for any reason will be billed for that semester at their original residency rate and will be expected to pay tuition.

Graduate Assistants may also receive a tuition waiver. This tuition waiver is provided by the student’s primary academic college, and is subject to college’s budget. Along with the NDSU Graduate Assistantship and Fellowship Policy, each college has their own Tuition Waiver Policy. Tuition Waivers are awarded to assistants if they meet the criteria of both NDSU and their respective college. Students may also receive a tuition waiver during the summer semester, but they must first meet their college’s policy requirements. Graduate Tuition Waivers awards are applied to accounts by semester after policy compliance review.

Prior to receive a tuition waiver, graduate assistants must (at minimum):

Work a minimum of 160 hours during spring and fall semesters
Meet assistantship eligibility requirements and expectations
Meet primary academic college’s tuition waiver requirements

For more information on your college's specific Tuition Waiver Policy, please visit your academic college's website. If you are enrolled in more than one program, and/or are enrolled in a program with differential tuition, please review with both colleges to confirm which policy will be utilized.

What is Covered
The Graduate Assistantship Tuition Waiver covers only base tuition for NDSU graduate credits only.

What is Not Covered
Students are responsible for differential tuition, student fees, and tuition for non-graduate level credits or Cooperative Education Credits.

Waiver Adjustments
The tuition waiver’s amount may be reduced if the student is also receiving other financial aid rewards specifically to pay for tuition. Additionally, students who receive this waiver may not receive other NDSU tuition waivers; students will receive the waiver resulting in the most tuition being waived.

Before You Begin...
As part of the hiring process, students must read the Tuition Waiver Agreement in their contract. By signing the contract, graduate assistants agree to comply with the policies for the Graduate Assistantship Tuition Waiver. For more information, please visit the NDSU Graduate Assistantship and Fellowship Policies page: http://catalog.ndsu.edu/graduate/graduate-school-policies/graduate-assistantship-policy/#tuitionwaiverstext

Assistantship Types

There are three different types of assistantships at NDSU: Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA), Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA), and Graduate Service Assistantship (GSA). The type of assistantship is based on the responsibilities of the appointment, and there are both Graduate and Doctoral levels for these assistantship types.

Graduate Research Assistants (GRA) conduct research with faculty members that contributes directly to their graduate education and may lead to a dissertation or thesis topic. GRAs responsible for, or with access to, controlled substances and other drugs, explosives, or potentially dangerous chemicals must submit to a criminal background check. Students on research assistantships may also do related research for course credit. The number of hours of work per credit may vary depending on the discipline/department. 

Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTA) share faculty responsibilities for undergraduate teaching but cannot teach graduate level courses. Responsibilities may include instruction, grading, course development, and proctoring exams. GTAs must demonstrate English proﬁciency (refer to catalog section titled "English Language Proﬁciency Procedures for Graduate Teaching Assistants"). A criminal background check is required.