Overview

Graduate assistantships are available through graduate programs and some non-academic departments. Assistantships include a partial or full tuition waiver and a stipend. Some programs may offer a larger stipend. Assistantships are generally not available during the summer terms.

  • Full-time assistantships require the student to work 20 hours per week for the 9-month academic year. Full-time Graduate Assistants must be enrolled in at least 9 hours of credit courses that are covered by the tuition waiver. The full-time stipend is a minimum of $8,000 for the academic year.
  • Part-time assistantships require the student to work 10 hours per week for the 9-month academic year. Part-time Graduate Assistants must be enrolled in at least 4.5 hours of credit courses that are covered by the tuition waiver. The part-time stipend is a minimum of $4,000 for the academic year.

Doctoral students with full-time graduate assistantships are eligible for health insurance reimbursement. Find more information about the Doctoral Health Insurance Reimbursement process at https://ualr.edu/gradschool/current-students/health-insurance/.

Graduate Assistant duties vary, but most involve either teaching or research responsibilities at UA Little Rock or cooperating agencies. Graduate Assistantship in non-academic units uaually consist of admisitrative duties. Job duties of the assignment should contribute to the student’s field of study. See the other links under “Graduate Assistantships” for more details.

Assistantship Schedules

Graduate Assistantships are 9-month appointments that cover the academic year. This begins on August 16th and ends on May 15th. Summer assignments vary depending on funding. During the academic year, Graduate Assistants receive their stipend in eighteen, equal payroll disbursements. These payments  will be received as direct deposits on the 15th and the last day of the month. If the 15th or the last day of the month falls on a weekend, the disbursement will be deposited on the Friday before the pay date.

Work schedules will depend on the arrangements made with the department supervisor. Graduate assistants are accountable to their supervisors for their time and are not required to make up hours missed on days the university is closed (e.g. snow days, holidays).

Length of Appointment

Appointments are renewable each semester, contingent upon satisfactory academic progress toward a degree. Satisfactory progress entails passing the 9/4.5 graduate hours with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher if required by the graduate program and satisfactory work performance the previous semester. Graduate assistants can be terminated during an appointment at the request of a sponsoring supervisor and after review by the graduate dean.

The maximum appointment time is two years for a master’s student and five years for a Ph.D. student.

Application for Graduate Assistantships

All Graduate Assistantship positions are posted on the Workday Career Opportunities page. Choose the External Candidate link if you are NOT currently a University of Arkansas System employee. Choose the Internal Candidate link if you ARE a University of Arkansas System employee

International Students

Before they begin their assistantships, students on F-1 or J-1 visas must also complete the Certificate of On-Campus Employment Eligibility and have it approved by International Student Services. This form is required for international graduate assistants to be paid for their assistantships. International Student Services is located in room 101 of the Trojan A Building.