Assistantship opportunities in the IS department
There are three main forms of assistantships which serve as a source of funding and employment for students: research assistantships, teaching assistantships, and graders.
Research assistantships (RA)
Research assistantships (RA) are offered and supported by individual faculty members. This form of funding is mainly open to Ph.D. students, though M.S. students can also be hired as RAs depending on the need of the project and the skills of the student.
Ph.D. students are typically hired as RAs at the time of admission to the Ph.D. program.
Ph.D. and M.S. students can reach out to individual faculty members via this form expressing interest in working with them, share their resume, and specifically identify how the student’s experience and skills are a match for the research projects of the faculty member. Faculty members with open RA positions will look at the data collected through this form and may contact the student, if the student’s experience matches with the needs of the project.
Additionally, if a faculty member has funding for RAs, they will advertise the position on the graduate student mailing lists and groups. In the advertisement, they will specify the skills needed and the application process. The duration of the funding support (one semester only vs. two semesters vs. two semesters and summer) and the type of support given (stipend vs. stipend and tuition vs. stipend and tuition and health) often depends on the availability of funds.
Teaching assistantships (TA)
Teaching assistantships (TA) are offered and supported by the department. The department has a very small number of TA positions available. TA positions are mainly offered to Ph.D. students. Due to the limited TA positions available, the department is unable to support M.S. students as TAs. TA appointments typically cover stipend, tuition and health.
Newly admitted Ph.D. students are selected for TA offers based on a set of predefined criteria, that includes prior teaching/TA experience, performance in English language tests (if international student), GPA, and research experience. TA appointments are typically 2-year appointments, offered 1 year at a time. A 3rd year of TA may be offered if the student has passed proposal defense by the end of their 3rd year in the program. The expectation is that the Ph.D. student will transition to an RA with their faculty mentor after the initial 2-year period. Beyond this 2+1 period, Ph.D. students may be offered funding as a TA or grader if their mentor requests it and it’s approved by the department, provided that the student has made significant progress in their Ph.D. and funds are available.
Grader Positions
Grader positions are offered by either the department or individual faculty members. They are open to both MS and PhD students. Please complete the application form for consideration of grader position. These positions only pay a stipend at an hourly rate as set by the graduate school, and sometimes may cover health benefits. Tuition remissions are not included but sometimes graders may qualify for in-state tuition. Students interested in grader positions can fill out the application form and upload their resume to a repository. When a grader position is available, the department will look at the resume repository and also seek recommendations from the instructor of the course for the position. In some cases (e.g., when case no appropriate candidates are found from the repository), advertisements will be sent out on the graduate student mailing lists and groups, wherein the skills needed, application process and selection process will be specified.