Graduate Assistant/Associate Duties, Salary, and Promotion Guidelines

GA Classifications, Salary, and Promotion

Graduate Assistants/Associates in Teaching & Research (GAs) are officially classified into four categories:

CategoryAnnual Pay Rate
(0.50 Appointment)
Level I Graduate Assistant$15,743
Level II Graduate Assistant$16,454
Level I Graduate Associate$16,898
Level II Graduate Associate$17,120

The pay rates given here are current as of June 2008. Increases correspond to annual University budgetary guidelines.

Graduate Assistant I

New GAs start as Graduate Assistant I. (Exception: Students who enter with an MS and one year of acceptable teaching experience will start out at Graduate Assistant II.)

Graduate Assistant II

To be promoted to Graduate Assistant II, a student must either

  1. have a 3.5 cumulative GPA and one year satisfactory teaching or research performance, or
  2. have two years' satisfactory teaching or research performance.

Satisfactory teaching performance means that the GA received positive evaluations in all aspects of teaching responsibility. All teaching activities of GAs are under the supervision of an assigned member of the department. The supervisor will evaluate the performance of the GA and will submit a written report to the Graduate Committee and to the Undergraduate Committee. The evaluation is not considered confidential and may be discussed with the GA.

Satisfactory research performance is determined by the professor with whom the GA worked. We have additional information on satisfactory progress.

Graduate Associate I

To be promoted to Graduate Associate I, a student must have satisfactory teaching or research performance and be in the PhD phase of the program, namely either

  1. achieve a “high pass” on the qualifying exams and complete 30 units of coursework, or
  2. achieve a “pass” on the qualifying exams and successfully defend an MS thesis.

Graduate Associate II

To be promoted to Graduate Associate II, a student must both

  1. pass the oral component of the comprehensive exam, and
  2. have satisfactory teaching or research performance.

Promotions will normally take place in August following achievement of milestones.


Duties of a Half-Time (50%) Graduate Assistant or Associate in Teaching (GA):

  1. First-year Graduate Assistant duties will include:
    1. Teaching four (4) units per semester or equivalent time spent on tutoring, grading, or proctoring examinations.
    2. Mandatory attendance at the Graduate College two-day orientation in August as well as the Mathematics Department orientation of three half-days.
    3. Mandatory enrollment in MATH 596T.
  2. For Graduate Assistants/Associates in their second or later years, duties will include:
    1. Teaching nine (9) units per semester or equivalent time spent on tutoring, grading, or proctoring examinations.

Units of Teaching are determined as follows:

  1. If the teaching assistant/associate has total responsibility for a class then each hour per week of teaching counts as one unit.
  2. Each hour per week spent in the tutoring room counts as 2/5 unit.
  3. Each hour per week spent grading counts as 1/3 unit for undergraduate courses, or 2/5 unit for graduate courses.
  4. For a student holding a Graduate Assistantship/Associateship in Teaching for a percentage of time other than 50%, the duties are assigned proportionately (e.g., the work load for a 25% GTA is half of that for a 50% GTA).

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