Graduate assistantships are designed to allow graduate students to become fully immersed in their graduate education. Graduate assistantships provide a stipend plus a scholarship in exchange for on-campus employment in an area usually related to their program of study.
Stipend amounts and the amount of the tuition scholarship vary based on the assistantship awarded. The frequency of paychecks and other details also differ depending on how your assistantship is funded.
Graduate assistants are generally not eligible for other scholarships from the Graduate School or Missouri Western Foundation. Graduate assistants are generally not allowed to have off-campus employment (except for part-time consulting directly related to their area of study). Graduate assistants are required to be full-time students unless they are in their final semester.
Specific requirements that differ from those above may be outlined in an award letter.
Graduate assistants are sponsored by individual graduate programs and campus departments. Inquire within your department regarding the availability of graduate assistant positions.
Teaching Assistant Positions
Some academic departments may sponsor graduate teaching assistants. Inquire within your department regarding the availability of teaching assistant positions.
NOTE: Please confirm the conditions of your assistantship with the Graduate School. Not all assistantships are the same. Some contain full tuition scholarships, and other only partial scholarships. The amounts of stipends are also different depending on the work conducted. You should request the conditions of your assistantship in writing from the Graduate Dean if you have any questions.
Policies
Non Native English Speakers
Missouri Western must comply with Missouri Statute 170.012, meaning special conditions apply to non-native English speakers.
GA positions are not awarded to a faculty member or program on a permanent basis – they are awarded to specific students for specific tasks. There are no guarantees of another GA being awarded to a faculty member or program based on prior awards.
GA positions funded by graduate studies will be for a maximum of $7,000 per year plus a maximum of nine hours per semester of tuition remission. Note that these are negotiated, and many students receive a smaller stipend or less tuition.
Once awarded to an individual student, GA positions may be continued for four semesters if the student makes satisfactory progress, meets all requirements, the funding source continues, and the supervisor completes all necessary reports in a timely manner.
Graduate teaching assistants, because they are on each semester’s workload report, need to be renewed each semester.