Graduate assistantship refers to a salary employment opportunity available for graduate students. Graduate assistants are required to work for a stipulated number of hours weekly and in return, they get to receive a tuition waiver, and sometimes a monthly living stipend.
Assistantships can be viewed as a type of grant but it can be quite demanding as it requires your time and physical work and energy, while you also concentrate on your studies. However, one of the benefits of assistantships is that they provide you with the necessary experience which can aid your studies and employability in the future.
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Many benefits come with studying in the United States. Although it houses some of the best universities in the world according to the QS world ranking, it also offers quality education. This is one of the reasons international students pick the US as part of the options they consider when they want to study abroad. Consequently, education is expensive, hence the reason why international students look for ways to sponsor their education. Grants, student loans, scholarships and assistantships are some of the options available for students to sponsor their education.Â
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Benefits of Assistantship Programmes in the U.S
To reduce the cost of education and allow students the opportunity to fulfil their dreams, schools in the U.S. offer graduate assistantship programs. Also, there are other aid opportunities available to help international students, but they are quite limited and not open to everyone. Some of the benefits of the graduate assistantship programmes include:
- Students are entitled to receive monthly stipends, tuition waivers, health insurance and other benefits based on what the university offers.
- Students get to gain experience that will look good on their CV and increase their employability in the labour market.
- Additionally, students get to work directly with experts in the fields and it improves their network base. They also get to gain insight and knowledge beyond the classroom setting.
- Furthermore, assistantships help students take care of their day-to-day non-academic needs. This is because they get paid directly unlike scholarships and student loans which are sometimes paid directly to the school.
Assistantships vs Scholarships
Like it was defined earlier, graduate assistantships are employment opportunities offered to students on campus and in return, they get rewarded with monthly stipends, tuition waivers, health insurance and other benefits as provided by the school.
On the other hand, scholarships are free fee waivers that are offered without any form of service from the students. They can be offered by the university or individuals or organizations. Moreover, in the U.S. assistantship opportunities are more available and accessible than scholarship opportunities.
Types of Assistantships in the U.S.
There are different types of graduate assistantships available in universities in the United States. Some of them include:
- Graduate Assistantships (GA)
- Teaching Assistantships (TA)
- Research Assistantships (RA)
Each of the types are discussed below:
1. Graduate Assistantship
Graduate assistantship opportunities provide a way for international students to fund their education. A graduate assistant is responsible for helping a professor or a faculty member in different areas including teaching, class preparation, research and other aspects. Graduate assistantships require 15-20 hours a week and the student is paid by the university for the job.
Responsibilities of a Graduate Assistant in the USA?
The job description of a graduate assistant depends on the responsibility given by the supervisor and the department. However, generally, a graduate assistant is expected to:
- Assisting with academic tasks and class preparation
- Developing and conducting academic conferences
- Working on funded projects
- Evaluations and Outreach
- Working in non-academic areas such as Student Affairs.
How to Get a Graduate Assistantship in the USA?
The basic requirement for the graduate assistantship opportunity in most universities is:
- Admitted to one of the graduate programs at the university
- Good Overall score or GPA
- Proficiency in English Language (both written and spoken)
- Fulfil any university-specific enrollment requirements
2. Teaching Assistantship
Teaching assistantship in the U.S. entails being an assistant to a professor. Professors usually have other engagements asides from lecturing in classes. Sometimes, the assistant also gets to teach when the professors are unavailable.
Responsibilities of a Teaching Assistant in the USA
The responsibilities of a teaching assistant include:
- Helping professors with their daily activities
- Preparing and checking students’ assignments
- Assisting students where necessary
- Sometimes preparing and conducting lectures
- Leading discussion groups etc.
Professors often select dedicated and eager students who are wishing to learn and will be effective in driving the right results for the professor.
How to Get Teaching Assistantship in US Universities
Getting a teaching assistantship is not such a rigorous process. You can apply for a teaching assistantship when you apply for admission but you will only be eligible after you have completed your first semester. The basic eligibility requirements include:
- Must be admitted to one of the graduate programs at the university
- Must have good proficiency in the English Language (both written and spoken)
- Must participate in the required teaching assistantship workshop sponsored by the college/university
- Good Overall score or GPA
Once you have met the requirements, you need to go through each of the professor’s profiles and pick the one that will be best for you. It is advisable to choose wisely.
3. Research Assistantship
Research assistantship requires that students should help the professors they are assigned to with research work. The students get to have a firsthand experience in research and in return, professors get their workload reduced.
The major difference between the teaching assistantship and the research assistantship is that while the teaching assistantship is majorly concerned with assisting professors with teaching duties, the research assistantship has to do with research projects.
Responsibilities of a Research Assistant in the USA?
The research assistantship responsibilities include:
- Report Writing
- Reviewing Literature
- Reorganising the professor’s lab/ office
How to Get Research Assistantship in US Universities
The basic requirement for the graduate assistantship opportunity in most universities is:
- Should be admitted to one of the graduate programs at the university
- Must have proficiency in the English Language (both written and spoken)
- Should have experience in research and knowledge of the field.
- Must have a good overall score or GPA
Generally, there isn’t so much difference between the three types of assistantship opportunities. The major difference is that graduate assistantships are often more profitable as they have higher pay than research assistantships and teaching assistantships because it requires that the students are more knowledgeable in the field.
How to Get Assistantship in the U.S.
The process of getting any form of assistantship differs according to individual university requirements. The process may sometimes include submitting an application form, a physical interview and an essay submission. The guidelines include:
- Get in touch with your department to enquire about open assistantship offers.
- Do research by getting the profiles of the professors currently in your department and going through them.
- Get to know about the professor you want to work for and his area of specialization.
- Prepare an Assistantship cover letter
- Schedule a meeting with the professor to discuss the possible opportunities available.
- Tell them about your experience and your qualifications.
- The professor gets to make the decision if he/she wants to hire you and he will also decide your pay.
Preparing an Assistantship Cover Letter
Your cover letter should contain relevant information about your experience, skills and what you are willing to offer as this will help in convincing your employer. Some of the elements of an assistantship cover letter include:
- Reason for your aspiration to obtain the specified assistantship
- A good academic record
- Work & achievements
- Excellent oral and written communication skills
- Self-motivation
- Professionalism
- Computer competences
- Organizational skills
- Problem-solving orientation
- Teamwork
- Other important information.
Graduate Assistantship Opportunities Available
Some of the graduate assistantship opportunities available in the U.S include:
In conclusion, graduate assistantships also require effort to get and intentionality to maintain. However, it is also equally beneficial to many students who can handle them.
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