Graduate Assistantships

The Department of Communication offers a limited number of graduate teaching assistantships. Presently, the stipend for a teaching assistant is $6,000 per academic year, and he or she is awarded two semesters of tuition remission for nine credits each term. Appointments are normally for two semesters, the fall and the spring. Incumbent assistants with remaining course work are typically encouraged to reapply.
The responsibilities for these positions include teaching one section of public speaking, CMC 201, per semester. Teaching assistants are required to attend training seminars during the summer, and they are expected to maintain status as a full-time (9 credits) graduate student during each semester of the appointment. Moreover, to avoid conflicts with instructional and academic commitments, employment outside of the college is prohibited.

How To Apply

Eligibility for a teaching assistantship requires that an individual must be unconditionally accepted into the program. Thus, to receive full consideration for an assistantship, prospective graduate students should submit admission materials by the February prior the start of the academic year during which they would like to teach. For instance, a person who wants to teach during the 2020-2021 academic year, which begins in late August of 2020, should apply for admission by February 1, 2020.
Applications for assistantships are typically due during the first week of April. After the department reviews applications, interviews are scheduled for early May.
Also, applications for assistantships include an essay that addresses three questions. First, what in your academic background and past experience qualifies you to teach public speaking? Second, how would you describe your qualifications to grade students' written work for clarity, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and other elements of competency? Finally, what are the qualities of a good teacher, and how do you think you can actualize those qualities when teaching public speaking?

For More Information

For more information about specific deadlines and about the application process, please contact the department’s graduate coordinator, Dr. Matthew Althouse, at (585) 395-5203.